Understanding Restoration Thinning in the IDF

Project Title: Understanding Restoration Thinning in the IDF

Recipient: Williams Lake First Nation

Region: Cariboo

Theme(s): “Thin it to win it”

Awarded Amount: $49,840

Project Period: 2025-2027

Description: Williams Lake First Nation has been undertaking restoration thinning treatments in the Interior Douglas-fir (IDF) to improve the resilience of stands to wildfire, to promote cultural plants, and to improve tree growth. Quantitative measurements of pre-treatment stand structure, vegetation, fuels, and soil carbon are needed to test treatment effectiveness. This project includes two levels of basal area retention harvesting and an untreated control in a replicated research trial in collaboration with the Ministry of Forests. This project will help inform policy and advance practices regarding forestry in the IDF at multiple levels.