News from Dunster Community Forest

Recently announced funding from the Province will help one Robson Valley community forest ramp up production of specialty products, extract more value from each log, and reduce the raw material sent out of the region to mills. “Our mandate is to be a part of developing the economy in our region,”  said Dunster Community Forest manager Ray Thiessen. “Selling raw logs down the highway to Prince George or Kamloops or whatever, that’s a limited value to our local economy.” Formed 16 years ago by local residents concerned about the effects of logging on nearby watersheds and habitat, Dunster Community Forest Society purchased a wood manufacturing facility in 2019 with the philosophy of creating value-added products from sustainable forestry. …“We are setting ourselves up to be a supplier of value-added material within the region,” Thiessen said. “We’re providing material that is not common in the marketplace and is hard to find.”