Plantation Management Operations

General plantation maintenance operations currently include implementing a modest plantation establishment program to consolidate previous planting areas and to ensure environmental management of these areas.

Establishment operations include;

• June 2009 - a planting program of 180,000 GF 19 open root Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata) seedlings. Many of these seedlings will be used to refill some areas from the 2007 pine planting area that have had poor survival (Uriarra Forest outside the LCC) and the remainder will be used to consolidate the pine areas in Uriarra. 
• July 2009 – fertilizing all the seedlings planted in 2009 
• April-Sept 2009 - some regeneration spacing may be conducted in Uriarra and Pierces Creek Forests.
• Sept 2009 – Post plant aerial spraying of areas planted in Winter 2009 to consolidate the seedling growth.
• Oct-Dec 2009 – site preparation ahead of the 2010 planting program. This involves ploughing the paddock with a large bulldozer and stump-jump plough
• Nov 2009 - aerial boron application in Uriarra Forests will be applied to the 2008 planting areas. 
• Winter 2009 -  regeneration spacing operations are being conducted where pine regen will be thinned to grow on to a final crop. This is done where regular site preparation is not appropriate for fire-degraded sites.
• April-May 2010 – pre-plant aerial spraying of areas ahead of the 2010 planting program
• A Forest Health program centred around Sirex Wasp control is also being implemented across Kowen, Miowera and some other non-commercial plantation areas. 
• Several areas in Kowen are ready for commercial thinning and clearfall operations, however harvesting has been suspended for the last 4 years. It is PCL’s intention top recommence harvesting trials in Kowen Forest in the later half of 2009. The Government is currently considering the future land use options and land management options is the commercial plantation estate.  
• June 2010 – recommence the planting program.

Operational Authority

All forest operations will be conducted in accordance with the provisions specified in the Code of Forest Practice (COFP) and its subsidiary operating manuals.  Additional authorisation will be sort from the relevant authorities (eg. Environment Protection, Research and Monitoring, ACT Planning and Land Authority, National Capital Authority etc).  A PCL Works Plans will be prepared by the Forestry Coordinator for each operation to articulate the objectives of operation, how they intend to be conducted and what conditions will be applied to the operation.