FERIC studied manual and mechanized felling operations with extraction by cable skidder within the Turkey Lakes Watershed in central Ontario. The study compared manual and mechanized clearcutting and partial-cutting operations (shelterwood and selection cuts) and found that felling and extraction productivities were greatest in clearcutting. However, site disturbance depended as much on how the operation was conducted as on the harvesting system used. From the perspective of riparian-zone management, each cut intensity and harvest system offers different advantages with respect to slash distribution and mineral-soil exposure, and their respective merits must be considered in light of the silvicultural objectives.