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| Forest use in the Northwest
Territories has been ongoing for thousands of years, but it is only
within the last two hundred years that modern trade and commerce in
forest products has entered the picture. Prior to this Aboriginal
people engaged in more traditional forms of trade and barter for wood
and wood products.
With the onset of the fur trade in the north, York boats and smaller vessels like canoes were used to transport goods from southern points in Canada to trading posts along the great arctic watershed that was used as a trade route by the Hudson's Bay Company and other northern traders. Wood was harvested for building materials for the posts and dwellings. In the latter part of the 19th century, when river travellers used steam paddle wheelers to move goods on a larger scale, the forest along the routes were harvested for wood to propel the steam engines and for construction of the barges. Many Dene and Metis people along the Slave and Mackenzie rivers remember when their people were engaged in the cutting and piling of logs to fuel the engines during their stopovers in the small settlements. This harvest continued well into the early 20th century. Wood harvesting continued up to the present day; with wood being used as building products for homes, boats and barges, mine timbers, pipeline pads, fuel-wood and for other smaller products such as furniture and dog sleds. The level of harvesting that has gone on over the past, was significant for local areas, but was relatively small in relation to the total forest resources of the NWT. The forested area of the NWT is 33.3 million hectares according to a new National Forest Inventory Report (CanFI 2001). This represents 8% of all of Canada's forested lands. The forests of the NWT have provided and will continue to provide for the needs of northerners into the next millennium. Managing those resources wisely is fundamental to achieving this. This page has been designed to provide information on forest harvesting in the NWT. Go to the following links to get more information on firewood harvesting, forest industry and harvest of non-timber forest products.
For more information on forest harvesting, please contact please contact the Extension Forester at the Forest Resources office. |
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Government of the Northwest Territories |