Chainsaw Ringbarking
NRW Shared Learning
Key learning following a Serious Incident Review.
What happened?
During a site familiarisation walkover by NRW Forest Operations, a number of dead Western Hemlock trees were found within the crop. Some of these dead trees were adjacent to a public right of way.
The subsequent review established that the trees had been ringbarked by a chainsaw contractor approximately 5 years earlier. The ringbarking had been undertaken to kill the Western Hemlock trees to enable adjacent broadleaf species to thrive. Harvesting was planned to be carried out within 12 months of the ringbarking.
The planned harvesting did not happen and the subsequent hazard was not identified until the crop came back into the felling programme 5 years later.
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