Prince George South Moose Habitat Enhancement Trial
Prince George South Moose Habitat Enhancement Trial
SERNbc is working with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations and Sai’kuz First Nation to deliver Prince George South Moose Habitat Enhancement Trial. The purpose of the intended treatment is to modify the structure of young lodgepole pine stands to support the development of habitat features important to moose. The intent is to increase future forage availability and improve the ability of some forested stands to serve as winter range.
Specific restoration actions include the use of variable-density thinning to alter stand structure and variable sized gaps to create small openings capable of supporting a diversity of shrub species. These activities will increase the structural diversity missing from the successional trajectory of young pine stands and support the provision of quality moose forage through the exclusion phases of stand development. This project has targeted over 300ha of variable stand modification treatments to improve over 5600ha of area in an effort to recruit moose habitat features in dense pine plantations.
Post treatment monitoring will be occurring from 2023 onward to determine the immediate to long-term effects of treatments and to inform future restoration practises, and mitigation measures to reduce further moose declines in central BC.
Moose Habitat Enhancement Trial
Application Criteria
SERNbc uses three general criteria to select specific ecosystems for restoration activities, which include:
- Ecosystem vulnerability,
- Functional importance of the ecosystem, and
- Existing management mechanisms and/or programs.
Vulnerable, degraded and damaged ecosystems are a high priority for ER activities if they have high functional importance in terms of providing important ecological services. This functional importance or management priority increases when the ER needs of a subject ecosystem is not being addressed by existing programming.
Potential ER projects must align with SERNbc’s objectives as identified in our strategic plan. All ER projects undertaken by SERNbc need to be supported by data and analysis that describes their current state, desired future condition, management objectives, and treatment rationale.
