Thank you. I have a few questions in the area of the definitive objectives to help clarify some of the items that are being undertaken. They are in no particular order, Mr. Chairman. For the reforestation program, recognizing we do not have forests similar to those of the provinces, we do have some commercial timber areas. For example, the Liard and the

Fort Smith area. I see in the reforestation section, they are only doing 50 hectares of harvested land in the Cameron Hills and Jean Marie River area. In the last few years, I understand that you did some reforestation as well. Is that correct?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There have been areas that have been logged for lumber and fire wood. In some areas of the territories, it takes a long time for trees to reach a mature stage. In Fort Smith, they were cutting fire wood back in the 1920s and 1930s, even in the 1940s, for supplying ships wood for their boilers. The recovery was all natural and it took quite awhile before the trees grew back again to a harvestable stage. If you let nature take its course it will eventually reforest itself, but when you reforest these areas what type of trees are being used? Areas as I mentioned along the Slave River have grown back naturally, but they follow a cycle. They go through a deciduous stage and then eventually the conifers will take over, pine and spruce, et cetera. It takes a long time to go through that cycle. I am wondering what kind of trees they are planting in the Cameron Hills, Jean Marie River and the Liard area.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are those species indigenous to that area? With a long-range look to that area, are white spruce and pine indigenous to those areas?

Thank you. One or two years is probably not long enough to do an assessment and 50 hectares seems fairly small with one hectare being close to an acre. It is something that a good tree planter can probably do in a matter of a few days. In addition to that, there are many areas that have been logged out and cut for fire wood, certainly south of the lake and in this area near Yellowknife you have to go a long way for fire wood. It is left to nature to take its course. It is going to be forever before we get trees there again. South of the lake trees grow a little bit faster. I am wondering if there was a reclamation program taking place to seed these areas to stimulate faster growth to help that area recover? I know jack pine is the predominant tree around Salt River area.

I guess that is something we have to become a little bit more involved with. On the west coast a tree can grow much faster because of the climate, but here it is somewhat slower. You plant these trees and I seriously doubt very much if I will be around by the time they reach maturity -- well, I hope I will. There has to be something done to assist nature on its way to reclaim areas. Look at parts of northern Alberta in Peace River country, where there is commercial use of timber there. It is very devastating to see some of these hills and sides of mountains that have been stripped bare of trees, with very little being done to reclaim them. I would not like to see the territories, knowing what the provinces are going through with the effects of logging, delay it too long.

I realize we do not have a large timber industry in the territories, but we have an excellent opportunity to set an example. The people who do harvest should be made to account for the trees that are taken out. I am glad to see that you are doing that now, because if we delay it too long, we are going to end up like British Columbia, where years after the scars are still there with no effort being made to reforest. It is good to see that is happening. There is still a bit more that can be done, certainly in the area of fire wood. Fire wood is important in some areas. It takes a long time before we get a tree to mature.

As well, in forest management, an inventory is going to take place, to complete the public consultation process in the Mackenzie Valley communities. I gather that is for the living trees and their commercial value. Would that include the fire kills and inventory that would include fire wood potential in some areas, so we know where it is and be able to make some effort to harvest that during its usefulness? If we have a fire, it takes a few years before you can get in there, but there is also a limited time period in which the trees standing, good fire wood, are commercially accessible. We do not have a good inventory of where these lots are or how to get to them. In some areas, including Yellowknife, fire wood is a premium and we have to travel a long way. Perhaps there are other areas that we can access, but we do not know where they are. Would this include fire wood inventory, Mr. Chairman?