Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) has been operating in the Bow River watershed since it acquired the Eau Claire Lumber Company timber quota in 1953. Back in those days, SLS operated near Spray Lake reservoir above the current day Town of Canmore4. Overtime, through the development of Alberta government, Integrated Resource Plans and the adoption of

On May 1st, 2014 Spray Lake Sawmills held a Collaborative Planning Session to develop preliminary harvest designs for the B-9 compartment. 13 people participated primarily landowners and residents from the rural residential area surrounding Benchlands, the Richards Road, the Jamieson Road and the village of Waiparous. SLS explained the planning and permit regulatory requirements administered

Utilization, sustainability, site productivity, balancing of resource values and managing for a healthy forest are all concepts which have been combined to help define Spray Lake Sawmills’ management philosophy. Forest management is a long term proposition.  It takes years, decades and even centuries to fully appreciate the implications and rewards of management practices employed today. 

Spray Lake Sawmills would like your feedback and will be hosting annual open houses on May 7, 2014 from 3:00 pm till 7:00 pm at the Frank Wills Memorial Hall in Cochrane, and on May 8, 2014 from 3:00 pm till 7:00 pm at the Hillcrest Fish and Game Hall in Crowsnest Pass. The purpose

On March 10, 2014 Spray Lake Sawmills held a Protected Areas Design Workshop. Four participants were present including a representative from Sundre Forest Products, Nature Alberta, The Ghost Watershed Alliance and a FMA neighboring landowner. SLS provided an overview of the process identified in the July 2013 Protected Areas Gap Analysis Report.  A workshop plan

Spray Lake Sawmills recently gave a presentation to the Bow River Basin Council at their Quarterly Information Forum.  The focus of the presentation was to provide some perspective on timber harvesting in the headwaters and its potential impacts on flooding.  Please see the following as the set of notes from the presentation. Spray Lake Sawmills (1980)

In an effort to provide opportunities for meaningful participation, early in the operational planning process, SLS is offering a collaborative stakeholder planning session. SLS values stakeholder input and wants to provide opportunities for collaboration to improve operational plans. There will be 2 sessions, one for each compartment. The Grease Creek planning session will be held

Our next protected areas workshop is scheduled for March 10, 2014 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at our Cochrane office. Spray Lake Sawmills is currently identifying interested parties to begin the process of creating a protected areas network within the geographical context of its FMA. On November 14, 2013 we hosted a Protected Areas

On October 25, 2013 the Rain Forest Alliance’s SmartWood™ forest certification program awarded Spray Lakes Sawmills (SLS), Forest Management Agreement Area (FMA), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) certification.   SLS has been in pursuit of attaining FSC® certification since 2010.  The Forest Management Agreement area and northern timber quota consists of approximately 300,000 hectares of Crown

  We have had several blog comments with respect to our log haul operations to the west of Bragg Creek.  Rather than responding individually to each comment I will consolidate my response to address the collection of comments as one.  Spray Lake Sawmills also posted a blog notice to address some of these same issues.