Abstract

Forestry presents unique challenges to the field of cultural resource management, because the scale of impact is huge and the range of potential disturbances are highly variable. Consequently, most foresters have not been willing to consider heritage impacts within their management planning. With funding from Weyerhaeuser Canada, Mistik Management Ltd., Forestry Canada, and the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation, a three years research project to integrate heritage into forestry management has been initiated. The objectives of this program are to classify forestry impacts, to produce a regional model to aid in predicting where archaeological sites are located, and to provide a management systern that is able to integrate site sensitivity with potential forestry impacts. The result will be a GIS-based system that will allow Saskatchewan forestry companies to use the least damaging harvesting and reforestation techniques in areas with the highest site potential, or to avoid these areas completely. The first year of this project has been completed and this paper will report on the result.