CSA Designation Advisory Group Meeting #3 - April 3/4, 2012
April 3, 2012
The drive to Huntsville was uneventful. I got a quick lunch in town, then parked my vehicle behind the AFA office and loaded my stuff into an AFA vehicle for the 'car-pool' to the Pembroke meeting.
Upon arriving in Pembroke, the advisory group took a tour of Herb Shaw and Sons Ltd.'s Pole Plant, to gain an understanding of the production of utility poles from Algonquin Park's Red Pines.
Dana Shaw explained the procurement, production and grading processes ...
Red Pine trunks are fed into the shaping shed where bark and excess wood is removed ...
While the upper wheels hold the log in place, the lower blades spin at 1500 rpm ...
Shaped poles are then transported to the drying-stack area ...
After drying for a few months, the poles are then treated with preservative ...
April 4, 2012
The day's meeting was conducted in the Algonquins of Ontario office in Pembroke ...
The meeting opened with discussion of the current impacts of natural disturbance upon the forest of Algonquin Park. Instances include fire, wind, hail, Eastern Spruce Budworm, Birch Skeletonizer, Forest tent Caterpillar, Greenstriped Mapleworm, Jack Pine Budworm, White Pine Weevil, Eastern Hemlock Looper, Gypsy Moth, Bruce Spanworm, White Pine Blister Rust, Birch Decline, Maple Decline, and many more. Future threats include Beech Bark Disease, Garlic Mustard, Emerald Ash Borers and Asian Long Horned Beetles.
The day continued on where the previous meeting had left off .. with updating and refinements of the CSA Standard's Criterions (summarized and abbreviated as follow)
Criterion 1. Biological Diversity .. Element 1.2 Species Diversity ... Degree of suitable habitat in the long term for selected species ... Degree of habitat protection for selected species ... Riparian buffers ... Status of red spruce ... Hemlock regeneration.
Criterion 1. Biological Diversity .. Element 1.3 Genetic Diversity ... Tree marking guidelines ... Artificial renewal seed zones ... Zone boundaries .. Sites' management strategies ... Protection of sacred and cultural sites.
Criterion 2. Maintenance and Enhancement of Forest Ecosytem Condition and Productivity .. Element 2.1 Forest Ecosystem Resilience ... Reforestation success ... Additions and deletions to forest area ... Proportion of sustainable harvest level that's actually harvested.
In addition, through the course of the day, several videos were viewed and discussed ...
(Barry Bridgeford .. 2012-04-22)
Official AFA Minutes of this meeting can be downloaded here.