New Apportionment for Quesnel Means New Opportunities for FNWL and CFAs

Ravi Kahlon, Parliamentary Secretary for Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) announced a new apportionment for the Quesnel TSA.

“We know that we need to change our forest sector to managing forest communities, Indigenous Nations, make them more resilient when faced with challenges we’re currently seeing,” said Kahlon. “For years, local governments and First Nations have been asking for a different approach to how we manage our forests. So we are choosing to do things a little differently. Our approach aims to support Indigenous reconciliation, recognize the value of increased community involvement in local resource management, and diversify the forest sector in and around forest communities to enhance local economic stability.”

The announcement includes an increase in available First Nations Woodland tenure from 42,650 cubic metres to 162,500 cubic metres.

As well, 77,000 cubic metres have been earmarked for new Community Forest Agreement opportunities.

“What we’ve heard from communities throughout the Interior is when we went through the crisis in 2008, we should have learned some lessons and done things differently, and now here we are going through similar challenges where communities are affected, workers are affected, and people feel we didn’t learn any lessons,” Kahlon said following the announcement. “One of the lessons that was made clear by First Nations and community leaders and experts is we need to give communities more access to how their forests are managed in their communities. So what we are announcing today is not the particular details of who gets what but generically that the community here, the local First Nations and the local community of Quesnel and the Cariboo Regional District, are going to have more access to fibre so they can decide how to manage the forests, they will be able to build partnerships and generate potential revenues from those partnerships. I think this is an excellent step in the way it should be.”

From left, C&C Wood Products fibre manager Tai Krahn; Southern Dakelh Nation Alliance executive director and chief negotiator Shawn Holte; Nazko Chief Stuart Alec; Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson; Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Parliamentary Secretary Ravi Kahlon; Lhtako Dené Chief Clifford Lebrun; ?Esdilagh Chief Roy Stump and ?Esdilagh Councillor Chad Stump gather following the announcement of the Quesnel Timber Supply Area apportionment Wednesday, Nov. 13 at the Quesnel Forestry Innovation Centre. Lindsay Chung photo

Read more