The restoration and protection of valuable habitat and a precious forest ecosystem
Download the project brief.
Borealis' McPhee Creek Project is an afforestation project located about 20 km northwest of the City of Prince George in Northern British Columbia. The project involves a change of land use from marginal agricultural and unused bare land (rough pasture) to a permanent, managed sub-Boreal forest ecosystem.
120,000 trees of mixed, native species have been planted on 75HA, which will result in an increase in permanent carbon stocks of approximately 50,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent over 80 years.
Phase One of the project involved spring and summer planting in 2008 of approximately 56,000 hybrid spruce, interior lodgepole pine, and interior Douglas fir trees. Phase Two was completed in June 2009, with the planting of approximately 64,000 trees of the same type.
Seedlings have been grown from seeds taken from local trees and have been selected based on their suitability for localized site ecology, elevation above sea level and latitude & longitude. The risk of natural disturbance, through insect, fire or disease, is minimized by the selection of a low-risk project area, planting mixed, native species and allowing the ingress of native deciduous trees.
Borealis self-insures the new forest against natural disturbance with a reserve fund capable of replanting 50% of the trees and by planting a 400 tree (25%) buffer on each hectare.
Besides protecting McPhee Creek itself, an important fish bearing stream, the project will provide valuable habitat for moose, bear, beaver, and numerous bird species.
The project will also create economic opportunity and diversification in northern communities outside traditional resource extraction industries, as well as provide opportunities for long term academic research on carbon behaviour in the Boreal forest.
Emissions removals from Phase One of the McPhee Creek Project were validated to the ISO14064-2 standard in December, 2008.
Phase Two of the project will be completed and validated to ISO 14064-2 in the fall of 2009.
Read more about Borealis' McPhee Creek Project at the Forest Carbon Portal and EcoSecurities' ProjectNet.