Manager is hired to run Alberni Valley Community Forest

The Alberni Valley Community Forest Corporation has announced the hiring of Shawn Flynn, of Greenmax Resources, as the manager for the new enterprise.

Alberni Valley Times

Published: Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Shawn Flynn will draw on his wealth of experience to transform paper agreement into a working forest company. Flynn, a registered professional forester, has worked in the Alberni Valley since 1995, in partnership with Dave McBride.

“Our focus is forest management,” Flynn said. “We’re managing a small woodlot, which includes planning, harvesting, regeneration and public participation.”

The Greenmax woodlot surrounds the Alberni Valley Regional Airport. Part of their mandate is to maintain the flight line. One of their solutions is to limit the height of the vegetation by planting and harvesting Christmas trees. But they’ve added an educational component by partnering with the Alberni school district to create the Project Based Learning class.

Flynn said the community forest concept came about by provincial legislation (Bill 28) in 2003.

“The community forest legislation was based, more or less, on the existing woodlot system that’s been in place for over 50 years,” he explained. “It just made sense that Port Alberni should have one.”

Flynn said he and McBride brought the idea to Mayor Ken McRae, and he embraced the concept immediately.

McRae said he remembers the exact moment when the plan became a reality.

“It was in October, 2004. Forest Minister Mike de Jong made the announcement at McLean Mill,” McRae said.

It was de Jong who brought in legislation to claw back 20% of the forest base from provincial Tree Farm Licenses, for reallocation to small forest companies including woodlots and the new community forests, but it was years before Port Alberni received an allocation for 18,000 cubic metres of timber per year, taken from the old Sproat Lake Division.

“It’s a relatively small amount at the industrial level, but it’s six times bigger than our woodlot,” Flynn said, adding that the goal is to partner with other small timber holders, including woodlot owners and First Nations with free-title forest tenure, to find the most effective way to market the available wood.

“We have a mixture of second-growth and old wood,” Flynn said.

Much of the second-growth Douglas fir is 50 to 70 years old, which is too small for mills to handle, he said.

“The market, for the moment, is not in Port Alberni,” Flynn said, adding that it makes local milling “challenging.”

Flynn said the community forest concept provides a lot of bonuses, like secondary harvesting of forest resources such as boughs and mushrooms, along with recreational enhancements such as trails.

“It’s not a cut-and-run thing. This is in the community interest,” he said, adding that the board hopes to begin harvesting by late spring.

Flynn said the manager’s job is considered roughly a half-time position.

SMorrow@avtimes.net