Alberni Valley Community Forest puts the ‘community’ in its forest

The Alberni Valley Community Forest takes a community-based approach to management.  While the forest belongs to the City of Port Alberni and is managed by Chris Law and his company, the public has a say in how the forest is managed, says Law. Public input is considered in two different ways: through an annual open house and survey, and through meetings with user groups.  “We have a survey that we put out to the public (to discover) what their values are for the forest and we put that into our management plan.”  They meet with user groups at least once a year: hikers, all-terrain vehicle riders.  …User groups give forest managers suggestions on which features they would like to see opened up. For example, Law plans to harvest close to the forest fire lookout tower above Sproat Lake. It’s an area where hiking groups have indicated they would like closer access.