Lower North Thompson CF Reports at AGM

The Lower North Thompson Community Forest Society had a lot to report on at their recent Annual General Meeting.

A regional policy change has resulted in an increase in the annual rent that will be charged to the non-replaceable forest license A73247 for extensions.  As a result of this policy, the Society’s current plan is to complete all remaining harvesting under this license by July 31, 2011.  Of this remaining volume (37,000m3), approximately 23,000m3 is allocated to the Simpcw First Nation and 14,000m3 to the Society.

Tree planting on Cutting Permit 9, 1 and 4 is scheduled for the Spring of 2011 (200,500 seedlings in all).

Harvesting on Cutting Permit 3 (Haggard Creek) commenced in October and will be completed by Christmas.  Harvesting on Cutting Permit 2 (Blomley Creek) commenced in September and will also be completed by Christmas.  Harvesting on Cutting Permit 4 (Haggard Creek) will commence in the Spring.  All three of these cutting permits target pine salvage.

The Society was pleased to announce that they have how achieved SAFE certification under the SEBASE category, which is now required for all contractors.

They are also sponsoring a Job Creation Partnership program through the  Ministry of Housing and Social Development to provide training and work experience for EI funded participants.  Susan Bondar has been hired as a supervisor for this project, which runs from June to November.

And finally, a call for increased community control of local forest resources was endorsed by the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) at their recent convention in Whistler.  The resolution supports the expansion of the Community Forest Agreement Program.  It asks the province to take immediate measures to allocate sufficient timber volume to address issues of economies of scale and viability for existing and new agreements.

The number of Community Forest Agreements has increased in the last decade to represent 1.5 per cent of the provincial annual harvest.  However, the size and area of many existing community forests are not economically viable and many other communities have expressed an interest to participate in the program.

If you would like more information about the Lower North Thompson Community Forest Society contact Mike Francis, RPF, at the LNTCFS office: 250-672-1941or email: LNTCFSociety@telus.net

Barriere Star Journal

Published: November 29, 2010 5:00 AM