The cover for continuous case

Demonstrations could move novel forest operations and high-tech equipment into the mainstream

Born and raised in Calgary, Jill Kantelberg spent her summers camping and hiking with her family in BC’s interior where she marvelled at verdant forests of pine, spruce and aspen. This experience, and the times she has ridden horseback under the trees in Germany and France, informed the passion the interior designer has for the natural beauty of the forest, along with her powerful desire to support innovative harvesting practices.

Jill and her partner Michael McCain’s transformational gift of $250,000 to move Canada towards continuous cover forestry practices is making possible innovative research, teaching and partnerships led by UBC Forestry Prof. Suzanne Simard and Assoc. Prof. Dominik Roeser

Continuous cover forest management systems retain tree densities and formations that best suit the local climate and ecosystem. Also known as selective or partial harvesting, the approach involves removing only a select number of trees, leaving many still in place. The practice originated in Europe in the late 1800s, and has been mainly used there up to now. This has opened the door for BC to become a leader in demonstrating the potential of continuous cover forestry.

Suzanne and Dominik’s multidisciplinary research will showcase this approach to forest management within UBC Forestry’s 5,157-hectare Malcolm Knapp Research Forest near Maple Ridge within the Lower Mainland’s temperate rainforest, along with the 10,000-hectare Alex Fraser Research Forest near Williams Lake in the interior dry-belt of BC.