Cheslatta Community Forest

…In August 2018 — the worst fire season on record … three-quarters of the Cheslatta Community Forest was lost….with a $1.25-million grant from B.C.’s Forest Enhancement Society to log and rehabilitate burned forests, the Cheslatta Carrier Nation hopes that some of the timber and economic opportunities damaged by the fires can be salvaged. Already, logging is underway in burned areas of the Cheslatta Community Forest, where timber harvest wouldn’t otherwise have been economically feasible, creating jobs for the community and spinoffs across the region. The work is being done with a view to creating healthy forests, speeding up regeneration and reducing carbon emissions by ensuring waste wood is used rather than burned. It’s also reducing the risk that fire could consume more of Southside’s forests. The partnership is a step toward correcting a history of mistrusting the provincial government by local residents.