The Ministry of Environment has contracted with a Saskatchewan nursery to grow and store 2.5 million tree seedlings, all destined for planting projects in the Provincial Forest.
The pine seedlings will be grown this year by PRT Growing Services, located north of Prince Albert, stored for the winter, and then planted in the spring of 2013 as part of the province's ongoing forest renewal program.
Under current agreements, forest companies must renew the areas they harvest. The provincial renewal program addresses harvested areas that are outside areas covered by these agreements or that predate them.
"These seedlings are an investment in the long-term sustainability of Saskatchewan's forests," Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said. "We are proud of our provincial forest renewal program and of our long-standing partnership with PRT."
Each year since 1997, the ministry has purchased seedlings from PRT under a long-term agreement. This year's contract is valued at $960,000.
Since 1939, the provincial government has planted about 166 million trees on Provincial Forest lands.
