A Maple Creek company was fined nearly $10,000 earlier this year after being caught illegally importing pine logs from Alberta, risking the spread of destructive mountain pine beetles.
According to a provincial release issued this morning, firewood, logging and sawmilling operation Landrider Trux Ltd., was reported to the Turn in Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) line in May.
A conservation officer visited the business and identified and seized two piles of logs on the property and the Ministry of Environment's Forest Service Branch confirmed the wood's origin as Sundre, Alta. The company was fined $9,700.
The log piles with bark were eventually sorted and the pine logs with bark were burned.
The mountain pine beetle has killed large swaths of forest in BC and Alberta, and is also established in the Cypress Hills area, putting all of Saskatchewan's pine forests at significant risk. To help contain the threat of mountain pine beetles, a Minister's Order restricting the movement of pine logs with bark has been in place since 2008, prohibiting import to Saskatchewan from British Columbia, Alberta, and the United States.
The Ministry of Environment's forest insect and disease program monitors for mountain pine beetle and other forest pests. To date, no mountain pine beetles have been detected in Saskatchewan's northern forests.
If you suspect wildlife, fisheries, forestry or environmental violations, please call Saskatchewan's toll-free Turn in Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) line at 1-800-667-7561 or report violations online at saskatchewan.ca/tipp. You may be eligible for cash rewards from the SaskTIP Reward Program and don't have to give your name.