Council backs Burns Lake Community Forest Resolution for maintaining tabular rate stumpage

Village of Burns Lake council approved a motion during an April 5 meeting to submit a resolution to the North Central Local Government Association and Union of B.C. Municipalities to lobby the province to maintain the current tabular rate stumpage structure for community forests. This comes after the Burns Lake Community Forest sent an information package to council from the B.C. Community Forest Association containing reasons not to change the current structure. The package stated that tabular rates account for the added costs and objectives involved in the management of community forests and provide simplified administration and flexibility that enables innovative forest management that is responsive to community needs and priorities. …”The proposed policy change undermines the ability of community forests to achieve the very objectives and benefits that the government, communities, and First Nations partners seek and value,” said Burns Lake Community Forest General Manager Frank Varga.