2019 International Forest Industries Magazine December / January IFI Dec Jan 2019 Digital | Page 27

LYLE NEWTON & ISLAND PACIFIC GROUP ARE
HELPING TO REVOLUTIONIZE STEEP SLOPE LOGGING
IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
V
ancouver Island and New Zealand may be an ocean apart, but their logging
conditions are similar. Big wood is harvested in tough conditions that often
include steep slopes. Since 2013, New Zealand has been revolutionizing
steep-slope logging. Now loggers on Vancouver Island and elsewhere in the Pacific
Northwest are demonstrating how the technology can be successfully implemented
in North America.
Lyle Newton, owner of Island Pacific Group of Nanaimo, British Columbia,
is on the vanguard of this revolution. “The future is steep-slope logging,” says
Newton. “As logging sites get steeper and steeper, we’re going to stay out front and
demonstrate how to do things better and safer.”
“Lyle is one of the pioneers,” says Wes Lade, territory manager, Brandt Tractor,
Island Pacific Group’s John Deere dealer. “He’s changing how steep-slope logging is
done in the region.”
OVERCOMING STEEP ODDS
The forestry industry has dominated Vancouver Island’s economy since the
first sawmills appeared there during the 1860s. British Columbia produces the
most softwood timber in North America, and much of it goes through the Port of
Vancouver. In fact, 21 percent of all traffic through the Port of Vancouver is forest
products, which are shipped to more than 100 countries around the world.
Vancouver Island is home to some of the largest and oldest trees in the world,
including the majestic Douglas fir. Historically, old-growth fir was harvested in 80-
year rotations, but today 40-year cycles are more common.
Our crew visited Newton at a logging site on the south end of Vancouver Island
between the cities of Nanaimo and Victoria. Old-growth stumps were visible among
second growth, making it even more challenging to harvest on steep slopes. “It’s
tough ground,” Newton says of logging on Vancouver Island. “The ground was once
old-growth timber with big trees and good volume. Now you have smaller trees and
smaller volume.”
International Forest Industries | DECEMBER 2018 / JANUARY 2019 25