Business
Western Forest Products Reports Temporary Reductions to its Allowable Annual Timber Cutting Rights
Western Forest Products Reports Temporary Reductions to its Allowable Annual Timber Cutting Rights.
About this update from Western Forest Products Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nTSX: WEF\n\nDUNCAN, BC, Oct. 16 /CNW/ - Western Forest Products Inc. (TSX: WEF)\nreports temporary reductions to its annual timber cutting rights (Allowable\nAnnual Cut (\"AAC\")).\nThe British Columbia Chief Forester has announced temporary reductions\naffecting several coastal logging operators' timber harvesting rights totaling\nalmost one million cubic meters to the AACs of specific Tree Farm Licences and\nTimber Supply Areas on the British Columbia coast. A number of Western Forest\nProducts tenures are affected by these reductions. While apportionment of the\ntemporary AAC reductions to specific licensees is outstanding, it is\nanticipated that Western's tenures on the Haida Gwaii / Queen Charlotte\nIslands and the Central Coast will see a total AAC reduction of approximately\n450,000 cubic meters. This volume is equivalent to approximately 6% of\nWestern's annual timber harvest rights.\nThe reductions follow earlier announced provincial orders-in-council that\ntemporarily put various coastal areas off limits to forest development through\nPart 13 of the Forest Act. The AAC reductions were made to ensure that harvest\nrates remain at a sustainable level until land use planning is completed in\nthe areas affected by the Part 13 orders.\nThe Part 13 orders and the temporary AAC reductions were anticipated and\nhave been factored into Western's short-term harvesting and mill production\nplans. If the Part 13 orders extend for more than four years from the date of\nissue or the Province's land use planning process results in these reductions\nbecoming permanent, then Western will have the ability to seek compensation\nfrom the Province for the reduced cutting rights thereafter.\n\nWestern Forest Products\nWestern is an integrated Canadian forest products company and the largest\ncoastal British Columbia woodland operator and lumber producer with an Annual\nAllowable Cut of approximately 7.7 million cubic meters of timber (before\ntemporary AAC reductions) and lumber capacity in excess of 1.5 billion board\nfeet from nine sawmills and five remanufacturing plants. Principal activities\nconducted by the Company and its subsidiaries include timber harvesting,\nreforestation, sawmilling logs into lumber and wood chips, and value-added\nremanufacturing.\nSubstantially all of Western's logging is conducted on government own...