Officials with Weyerhausuer were joined by local, provincial, and federal politicians as they celebrated the planting of the 250 millionth seedling in the Forest Management Agreement area by the timberland company.
Weyerhaeuser Forest Sustainably Director Wendy Crosina says sustainability is a vital factor in the operations of the company. She says the latest milestone rightfully shines the spotlight on the work done across the region and province.
“This means so much to us… we are a 120-year-old company, and our business is planting trees, so this is just a testament to our longevity and success. It’s amazing,” she says.
Timberlands Manager for Weyerhaeuser Grande Prairie Dana Quartly says at the current rate, the company plants two seedlings for every tree cut down in the 1.1 million hectare Forest Management area. He adds historically, they’ve probably undersold the sustainability aspect of the operation.
“We probably haven’t done a great job in telling the good news story, in how committed and responsible the province and the companies operating on provincial land are,” he says.
“It’s a tremendous carbon sink, which will continue contributing toward that issue.”
The company also planted a pair of new trees to commemorate the occasion at the Weyerhaeuser Tree Grove just south of Muskoseepi Park.
Weyerhaeuser owns and operates a sawmill just outside of the southern border of the City of Grande Prairie.