This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• identify a variety of harvesting operations
• describe how safety and fire regulations influence harvesting operations
• explain the purpose of site preparation
• describe the impact of a variety of harvesting and site preparation methods on regeneration
• demonstrate awareness of the role of silvics in the selection of a silviculture system

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Challenge the class to brainstorm options for falling, yarding, loading, and transportation (e.g., falling-by hand, by machine; yarding-feller-buncher, high-lead, helicopter, horse). Have students, individually or in groups, research and report on specific operations, including reference to:
  • terrain and access
  • operational costs
  • post-harvesting requirements (e.g., regeneration, hazard abatement)
  • climate and season
  • social, political, and environmental conditions
  As a class, discuss appropriate applications for selected operations. Provide opportunities for students to observe these harvesting operations in the field.
• Divide students into groups. Provide each group with a location, and have each devise a plan that includes consideration of harvesting, site preparation, and regeneration (e.g., reduce operational costs, reduce impact on understorey or creeks, minimize soil compaction) and then determine the best harvesting strategies to meet the objective. Provide opportunities for groups to present their work.
• As a class, brainstorm methods of site preparation. Provide students with three different site preparation case studies that feature diverse ecosystems. Ask students to prepare presentations citing the pros and cons of applying various site preparation methods to each site (e.g., no treatment; mechanical, chemical, biological). After the presentations, compare the requirements of each ecosystem. As an extension, ask students to identify related safety hazards and potential forest fire concerns.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• Have each student research and present a selected harvesting or site preparation method to the class. Each presentation should include a basic description of the process, an analysis of the positive and negative features, and suggestions about the appropriate application of the method. When assessing student presentations, look for:
  • accuracy and completeness
  • awareness of the relationships among factors such as selected harvesting method; terrain; operational costs; and social, cultural, and political considerations
  • awareness of the impact of harvesting or site preparation methods on regeneration
• Invite students to view photos, slides, videos, or computer presentations of harvesting sites. (Ensure some presentations contain safety and fire hazards.) To probe their understanding of fire and safety regulations, ask questions such as:
  • What safety equipment is required by each harvester? Why?
  • What safety or fire regulation is being broken? What is the resulting hazard?
  • What would you do to improve the situation?
• Ask students to respond orally or in writing to questions such as:
  • What factors need to be considered when selecting a silviculture system?
  • What is the purpose of site preparation activities?
  As students respond, look for evidence that they:
  • use forestry terminology correctly
  • make specific reference to site preparation methods and silviculture systems and their long-term impact on production and the environment
  • address the cost-effectiveness of the methods
  • are aware of competing considerations inherent in planning for forest management

• Balancing Act: Environmental Issues in Forestry
• Forest Practices Code Guidebooks

• The Boreal Forest II
• Disc Trenching: A Site Preparation Technique in Review
• Excavators
• Is there a Swedish Solution?

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