Logging with Responsibility: How Sustainable Practices Can Shape the Future of Forests

Forests are vital to Haida Gwaii, providing cultural and ecological benefits beyond any measurable medium. Past logging practices overlooked the values of culture and ecology for the value of the dollar. At Taan Forest, culture and ecology take precedence while still maintaining a safe and sustainable harvest level for the Haida Gwaii Economy. While logging has historically been associated with negative environmental impacts, when approached responsibly and sustainably, forestry can play a crucial role in securing a brighter future for all Haida Gwaii.

For most forestry companies the return on investment is measured in dollars. Taan Forest’s return on investment is measured in benefits. Haida Gwaii's people, culture, and ecology all benefit from carefully managed forests. Taan Forest adheres to the Haida Gwaii Land Use Objectives Order created by the Council of the Haida Nation, and through the direction of our ownership, our professionals and our team we carefully manage our forest tenures so that these benefits will be realized forever.

Much of our investment back to Haida Gwaii contributes towards the restoration of damaged ecological areas from past logging practices. Our focus is typically on restoring areas along streams and rivers but also across the previously harvested landscape. This is to restore diversity and create connectivity in the forest.

Full restoration and healing of the forest takes time. With enhanced silviculture techniques at Taan Forest, we can expedite healing by managing for Old Growth characteristics. We are beginning to restore the forest to its natural state before logging. Where time is of the essence, we can create artificial features as a “stop-gap” while natural features develop. A prime example of a stop-gap feature are the bear dens Taan Forest constructs in our enhanced areas where we find poor or no natural dens due to past logging practices. Previous articles and blogs documented our construction of these dens with RPBio and bear den specialist Helen Davis at Artemis Wildlife #savebcbeardens. We are now excited to highlight some of the uses the dens have had over the last few months. Please enjoy this video as much as we have.