Helicopter Logging Operations To Begin In Williams Lake Area
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WILLIAMS LAKE – Helicopter logging operations are expected to start this week in the Williams Lake area. For the third year in a row, the Province will help manage the spread of Douglas-fir beetles on Crown land.
The work is expected to expand into new areas, as the previous treatment areas show fewer trees currently under attack. They will start in the Esler area, then to the South Lakeside area and after that, further south off Anderson Road.
Residents in the area can expect to see helicopters in the air as early as Thursday, until mid-March 2019, which is when the logging activities is expected to wrap up. For people’s safety, they should stay away from the active harvesting areas and do not operate any drones near the areas as well.
A naturally occurring pheromone (methyl cyclohexenone) will be used to force back the beetles from vulnerable areas, while also protecting small stands of trees near parks, protected areas, campgrounds, residential properties or old growth management areas. In some cases, the application of this pheromone has reduced Douglas-fir beetle attacks by over 90 percent. ‘Trap trees’ will also be established by cutting down large, healthy Douglas-fir trees in accessible areas, in order to attract adult beetles in the spring. Trap trees are more successful in attracting adult beetles than standing trees and therefore can greatly reduce the number of attacks on healthy Douglas-fir trees nearby. Once adult beetles and larvae are established within a trap tree, it will be taken to a mill where the beetles and larvae will be destroyed in the milling process. Some infested trees will be cut down and burned so that the beetles are destroyed. In the mill yards and log storage areas, funnel traps will be deployed to capture adult beetles. These efforts are part of the Williams Lake Beetle Management Unit 2018 Treatment Plan.
