Silvatech developed a Total Chance Harvest Plan (TCHP) on the Ducette operating area, Prince George Business Unit, British Columbia, Canada for British Columbia Timber Sales (BCTS). The plan is one of thirteen carried out by Silvatech over a 3 year period. It encompassed over 17,000 ha that had only seen limited historic harvest related activity.
Using soft copy stereo technology, Silvatech identified all harvesting opportunities and identified the optimal location of all transportation infrastructure requirements for the entire operating area. This plan was verified and /or modified with supplemental, targeted field reconnaissance providing additional validity to the plan.
The plan afforded BCTS the flexibility to accommodate for other non-timber resource values by having complete knowledge of the operating area and the relative merchantability of respective harvest areas. It entailed carrying out a merchantability analysis for the Ducette area incorporating the costs and values associated with each harvest unit. Road construction, silviculture, harvesting, log transport, manufacturing, overhead, and road maintenance costs were all incorporated into the cost structure of each individual harvest unit. These costs were offset by the stand value extrapolated from stand composition and site characteristics. The resulting merchantability value, combined with the TCHP product, provided planners a detailed information matrix in which to base future land base management decision.
