Logging in progress on Rio Tinto land in Arvida

Logging has been taking place since December on Rio Tinto land near the Golf Saguenay Arvida.

Forest maintenance is carried out in an area where there are running trails, particularly in winter.

There are lots of streams and wetlands, so in the winter it allows us to run. We were surprised to see that the cut is quite intense and that no longer allows us to run in that sectorsaid a trail user, Bernard Ferland, in an interview on the show It’s never the same.

A vast path of approximately 500 meters had to be built for moving the machinery and transporting the wood.

Rio Tinto indicates that the work is necessary due to numerous fallen trees, notably during a storm that occurred in the winter of 2022. This windthrow had become dangerous and the company claims to have received complaints on this subject.

Spruce budworm damage has also been detected. There has been defoliation for several years, the severity is relatively severe in this area which was affected by the latest spruce budworm epidemic.confirms the professor specializing in forest dynamics at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC), Yan Boucher.

The work is not linked to our operations, assures the senior advisor, community and social performance, Marie-Kim Bouchard. We have refined our territory to limit impacts to 1.5 km on the 58 km of listed trails.

The affected sector includes trails outside the official Sentiers du Saguenay hiking trails, according to the company.

Rio Tinto nevertheless says it is sensitive to the civic activities that take place there despite everything and made sure to collaborate with the Arvida Neighborhood Committee before the start of the work.

We used less heavy machinery and we protected certain species such as the white pine which is quite present. We are committed to rehabilitating trails that we could damage or perhaps obstruct.mentioned Marie-Kim Bouchard.

The work takes place in winter to limit the impact on the ground. According to the company, the aim of deforestation is to protect and regenerate the soil.

In the meantime, the advisor invites people to be patient.

We realize that people are seeing the work, but it’s not finished, we still have a few weeks left.

The project should be completed by mid-February. Rio Tinto will assess at this time what mitigation measures could be put in place.

According to Professor Yan Boucher, reforestation strategies should be considered to ensure the renewal of the woodland.

That is to say, perhaps maintaining snags of dead trees in places which are not dangerous for the population, but which will allow certain species to occupy this territory.indicates the specialist in forest ecology.

In particular, there could be reforestation on the forest road and the parking lot will be gravelled to facilitate access for trail users.

With information from Laura-Jessica Boudreault