The controversial logging project near Star Creek is almost completed.
“We have finished three of the four harvest type treatment areas…We have about a month left of work to complete the fourth harvest treatment area and processing the remaining wood on site,” said Canfor public affairs director Corinne Stavness.
The logging is a research project led by the University of Alberta and Environment and Sustainable Resource Development’s (ESRD) forestry division, Canfor Pulp Products Inc. accepted the contract to log 168 hectares of forest near the Star Creek headwaters.
Through logging the basin, researchers hope to discover how current and potential future forest harvesting practices and compare it to the impacts of wildfire.
Loggers are using three different harvesting practices including clear-cutting, strip harvesting and shelterwood harvesting. The project is also studying the impact the 2003 Lost Creek Wildfire had on water quality.
While the area around Star Creek is to be logged, the area around North York Creek was left untouched and used as a control sample.
It’s the second phase of the Southern Rockies Watershed Project, which was a 10 year project started in 2004.
The project began after the Lost Creek Wildfire and found the fire affected both the quality and quantity of water produced in the area.