Sustainable Forestry in Canada

In Canada, Weyerhaeuser manages 15.3 million acres (6.2 million hectares) under long-term licenses from provincial governments, which own the land. The land is in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. We manage these forestlands through collaborative processes that involve provincial governments and local communities, including First Nations.

As with our forests in other parts of the world, some of this land is protected for biological diversity, recreation, and other social and environmental values. Because of differences in weather, soil conditions, and ownership, we manage land in Canada less intensively than we do land in the United States and Southern Hemisphere, working to maintain natural forest qualities and serve a wide range of community interests while still producing timber.

Government requirements prescribe many of our forest practices, including harvest rates and types of trees harvested. We fertilize less often and rely more on seed trees and natural root sprouting. These methods are better suited to local conditions and climate. Because trees in Canada grow more slowly due to climate, we harvest less frequently—an average of once every 80 to 100 years compared with once every 25 to 40 years in the United States.

Much of the land licensed to us lies in Canada's boreal forest. We have adapted our forestry practices to the unique environmental and cultural characteristics of this forest type. Learn more about how we operate in the boreal forest, our conservation partnerships, and our efforts to protect threatened and endangered species.

Timberlands we manage in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario have been independently certified as meeting the Canadian Standards Association's Sustainable Forest Management Standard. Timberlands we manage in New Brunswick are certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® standard. All have environmental management systems registered to the ISO 14001 standard.