No salaries over $75,000 at Chinook Community Forest

The board of directors of Burns Lake’s newest community forest – Chinook Community Forest – considered its first year of operations a “success.” From April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, Chinook generated a net profit of over $1.6 million. The Chinook board has decided to distribute 35 per cent of the net profit to its shareholders. “The company needs to retain earnings and liabilities that go along with holding a forest licence,” explained Ken Nielsen, Chinook’s interim general manager. This means that each of the six local First Nations received approximately $80,000, while the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako received about $50,000 and the Village of Burns Lake received roughly $33,000. No salaries exceeded $75,000 in the first year of Chinook’s operations.