Sask. sawmilling operation fined for illegally importing pine logs

Landrider Trux was fined $9,700 after it was found to be importing pine logs from Alberta earlier this year. (Courtesy: Government of Saskatchewan)

A sawmilling operation based in southwestern Saskatchewan has been fined for illegally importing pine logs from Alberta.

A release from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment said Landrider Trux Ltd. is a logging and sawmilling operation based in Maple Creek, Sask.

According to the province, Landrider Trux was fined $9,700 after it was found to be importing pine logs from Alberta earlier this year.

Transporting pine logs with bark attached into Saskatchewan from jurisdictions with established mountain pine beetle populations is prohibited.

“The movement of wood with bark is one of the main ways that forest pests, including mountain pine beetle, are spread,” the news release read.

The province explained that an investigation began after a caller contacted the Turn in Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) line to report the company was bringing pine logs from Sundre, Alta. to the business's property near Maple Creek.

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The action was done without authorization.

In May, a conservation officer visited Landrider Trux and discovered a truck containing logs that had just been unloaded.

The two log piles were identified by the Ministry of Environment and their place of origin was found. The wood was sorted and the pine logs with bark were burned.

“The mountain pine beetle has killed large swaths of forest in B.C. and Alberta, and is also established in the Cypress Hills area, putting all of Saskatchewan's pine forests at significant risk,” the province added.

A Minister’s Order concerning the movement of pine logs has been in place since 2008. The order prohibits the import of pine logs with bark into Saskatchewan from B.C., Alberta and the U.S. as well as their movement outside the Cypress Hills region.

The Ministry of Environment continues to monitor pine beetle and other forest pests. To date, no mountain pine beetles have been found in Saskatchewan’s north.