Over the last couple weeks, you have seen some high-intensity storm events and climate scientists are telling us that these rainfall events will become intense in the years to come. How this affects our Community Forest is that our logging roads needs to be more resilient to these rainfall events. Deactivation to restore and enhance hydrological function is key to this resiliency.
What is road deactivation? Why do we deactivate roads?
Forest road deactivation places a road in a stable state to prevent erosion and contain sediment, thus protecting adjacent resources such as aquatic habitats and water quality. Deactivation for water management is critical for maintaining surface drainage patterns so they are consistent with natural drainage patterns. A forest road may need to be temporarily deactivated before a period of inactivity, or permanently deactivated when work in the area is finished so that adjacent resources are indefinitely protected
What type of road deactivation can we expect in our Community Forest?
During the fall months, SCCF will be actively deactivating roads within our cutblocks in the Halfmoon Bay, Wilson and Angus Creek operating areas. You will see the construction of cross-ditches, waterbars, and dirt berms/barricades for controlling vehicle access on roads that have no further long-term harvesting plans. Our main logging roads used frequently by the community to get to the backcountry will still be maintained as 4×2 access, however some branch roads will have measures to control water including kickers and shallow waterbars able to be travelled by 4-wheel drive vehicles.