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Getting Started

Navigating this Report

 

This report consists of two companion reports—one for the Northern Operating Area and one for the Southern Operating Area. All the features necessary to navigate within each report as well as switch between reports are included in the bookmark on the left of the screen. These features include:

Main Menu

The main menu is accessed through the hamburger menu in the "bookmark" on the left-hand side of the page. This report is divided into five chapters. From this menu, you can access each of the main chapters and their sections from anywhere in the report.

Tip: The down arrowhead expands when you are viewing a chapter within the hamburger menu. You can quickly navigate to any section within a chapter by making a selection from the expanded menu.

North and South Reports

Click these icons to navigate between the reports for the Northern Operating Area and Southern Operating Area. 

 

Information Guide

Click on the "information" icon in the left menu to access the report navigation guide. You can access this at any time without leaving the page you’re on.

The "page turner" arrows at the bottom left of your screen will sequentially take you through the report, page by page. For example, press the right arrow to move from Section 2.1 to Section 2.2.

Tip: If you’re interested in the full report, we encourage you to start with the Introduction found in Chapter 1, and use the page turner function (arrows on the bottom left of the page) to sequentially navigate through the report.

Jiri Rezac

Introduction

Tolko’s Southern Operating Area covers 13,890 km2 of north-central Alberta. This operating area is located within two of Alberta’s six natural regions—the Boreal Forest and Foothills natural regions—and is characterized by:

  • Vast forested areas of coniferous, mixedwood, and deciduous forests that support a wide range of plants and animals.
  • Rolling plateaus and a high diversity of forest types and animal species.
  • Proximity to larger urban areas, frequently visited protected areas, and travel corridors.
  • A natural disturbance regime that is dominated by wildfire, with insects and diseases also playing important roles[1].
  • Socially and economically valued activities including hunting, fishing, trapping, and other recreational pursuits.

Southern Operating Area

Click on a topic to find out more about Tolko’s Southern Operating Area:

Area of Analysis

Area of Analysis

This report describes the status of land cover and biodiversity in Tolko’s Southern Operating Area. 

  • The Southern Operating Area covers approximately 13,890 km2 of north-central Alberta, representing 25% of Tolko’s total operating area in Alberta.
  • Tolko shares management of this land base with West Fraser Mills Ltd. and Vanderwell Contractors (1971) Ltd.
  • In this region, Tolko predominately harvests deciduous species (Trembling Aspen, Balsam Poplar). Incidental harvest of coniferous trees is passed along to other permit holders.
  • The Southern Operating Area comprises a number of small, disjointed areas surrounded by White Area, making management more difficult.
Southern Operating Area
Area of Analysis. Results of this report focus on Tolko’s Southern Operating Area (shown in green). Findings for the Northern Operating Area (outlined in blue) are presented in the corresponding companion report.

Ecosystems

Ecosystems

Tolko’s Southern Operating Area overlaps a diversity of ecosystem types in north central Alberta, found within two natural regions.

  • The Boreal Forest Natural Region covers 76.7% of the Southern Operating Area, and includes the Central Mixedwood (71.0%) and Dry Mixedwood (5.7%) Natural Subregions.
  • The Foothills Natural Region covers the remaining 23.3% of the Southern Operating Area. The Lower Foothills Natural Subregion accounts for almost all of this area, while the Upper Foothills Natural Subregion covers less than 1% of the Southern Operating Area.

Tolko’s Southern Operating Area contains 7.2% of Alberta’s Lower Foothills Natural Subregion, which represents almost a quarter of the operating area. The Lower Foothills Natural Subregion is a climatic transition zone between the Upper Foothills Natural Subregion and the Boreal Forest Natural Region, and has the most diverse tree cover in Alberta. This subregion is underrepresented in protected areas (federal and provincial parks and protected areas), with only 0.8% protected, making responsibility for this subregion higher.

Use Ctrl + Scroll to zoom the map
Legend
Ecosystem Types. Distribution of natural subregions that overlap with Tolko’s Southern Operating Area.
Ecosystem Types. Area and per cent (%) area of the four natural subregions that overlap the Southern Operating Area, and the per cent of each subregion managed as a federal or provincial protected area in Alberta.
    Southern Operating Area Alberta
Natural Region Natural Subregion Area (km2) Area (%) % Managed as Protected Area
Boreal Forest Central Mixedwood 9,867 71.0 13.6
Dry Mixedwood 791 5.7 1.6
Foothills Lower Foothills 3,226 23.2 0.8
Upper Foothills 6 <0.5 2.8

Wetlands

Wetlands

Wetlands are an integral part of the landscape and provide a number of important benefits.

Ecologically intact wetlands, and their associated biodiversity, act as a catalyst for the physical, chemical, and biological processes that:

  • provide clean water;
  • mitigate flood and drought events;
  • recharge ground and surface water;
  • capture and store carbon;
  • recycle nutrients;
  • support a high level of primary productivity; and,
  • provide critical wildlife habitat.

Wetlands add habitat complexity at local and regional scales through the creation of micro-habitats, edge effects, and localized microclimates which support a high level of biodiversity, both in the wetland and the surrounding landscape.

Wetlands are common in the Southern Operating Area, covering 25.9% of the land base.

  • Fen (also known as muskeg) is the most common wetland class, covering 13.0% of the Southern Operating Area, followed by swamp (5.9%) and open water (4.9%) wetland classes. Bog and marsh classes each cover <1.5% of the area.
  • Ecologically significant wetlands in this area include sizeable Important Bird Areas (around Lesser Slave Lake, Utikuma and Utikumasis lakes, and Frank Lake), several water bodies/watercourses of importance to Trumpeter Swan, and several water bodies of importance to colonial nesting birds such as American White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, and Great Blue Heron.
Use Ctrl + Scroll to zoom the map
Legend
Wetland Types. Distribution of wetlands, by category, in Tolko’s Southern Operating Area.
 
 
Wetland Types. Area and per cent (%) area of five wetland land cover classes in Tolko’s Southern Operating Area. Note: wetlands cover less area than what is displayed in the map.
Wetland Class Area (km2) % area
Bog 168 1.2
Fen 1,808 13.0
Marsh 138 1.0
Open water 673 4.9
Swamp 813 5.9
All Wetlands Combined 3,601 25.9

References

1.

Tolko Industries Ltd., Vanderwell Contractors (1971) Ltd., and West Fraser Mills Ltd. 2021. Lesser Slave Lake regional forest management plan. Prepared by FORCORP Solutions Inc.

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