We are very pleased to report that Bill 13, Forest Amendment Act, 2009 was passed in the BC Legislature March 26th. This removes the mandatory 5 year probationary period for Community Forest Agreements.
The legislation will transition all existing Probationary Community Forest Agreements into 25 year Agreements. Communities with a probationary agreement must signal their intention to transition to a long term agreement to the Ministry of Forests and complete any updates to their management plan that are required to qualify for the 25 year term.
The transcripts of the debate in the legislature are available online, and everyone is encouraged to take a look. There is enthusiasm expressing strong support for community forestry from both sides of the legislature.
Hansard http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/8-8.htm
Noteworthy excerpts of the debate
Congratulations to each and every community forest. This is a major milestone in the development of community forestry in our province.
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