2024 Somerville Forest Tract Red Pine Harvesting is underway!

Kawartha Lakes – Red Pine Harvesting is underway and will continue through December 2024. The selective harvest is taking place within the Somerville Forest Tract and along the Victoria Rail Trail’s North Corridor.

As a natural successional pathway, selective harvesting of red pine plantations promotes growth and regeneration of native hardwoods. This approach is cost effective and a widely accepted management option. Allowing change in our tree cover type can also be used to breakdown disease and pest cycles that are driving the decline in Red Pine populations.

Tree harvesting operations are the reason for trails throughout our forest tracts. Routine harvesting creates a means of maintaining access to forested areas, that would otherwise be void of trails. Without harvesting operations, most forest tracts would not have formal trail systems.

Selective harvesting of Red Pine plantations will allow Kawartha Lakes to generate revenue, that can in return, be utilized for the betterment of our trail systems, along with other municipal projects to further benefit our residents and visitors.

We encourage residents to seek additional information if they still have questions or want to know more about this process. Many resources are available regarding plantation harvesting. To learn more please visit our Parks and Forest Tracts webpage. You can also view the Conifer Plantation Management put out by the Eastern Ontario Model Forest (EOMF) that is easy to understand and a helpful starting point to better understand the importance of plantation harvesting.