North Island Community Forest Progresses

Rural communities in British Columbia have been looking for ways to derive benefits from the forests that surround the communities they live in. The North Island has an opportunity to obtain long term benefits from the neighbouring forest through a Community Forest Licence.

To realize these benefits the communities of Port Hardy, Port Alice and Port McNeill are applying for a Community Forest Licence. Aptly named The North Island Community Forest Association, this licence is located in the vicinity of Port Hardy, Port Alice and Port McNeill and has been created to encourage long term economic development opportunities on the North Island. The North Island Community Forest Agreement is a renewable forest licence with an initial term of 25 years and has an annual allowable harvesting rate of 10,000 cubic metres per year. This is a sustainable licence that will provide jobs and benefits to the North Island for years to come.

As stated in the Community Forestry Guidebook for BC, “community forestry is about local control over and enjoyment of the monetary and non-monetary benefits offered by local forest resources. On the monetary side, benefits include local employment and economic development. Non-monetary benefits are derived from the many values associated with the forests, including recreational, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values.”

There are many steps required to establish a Community Forest. They include developing community support, forming relationships with First Nations and others in the community, setting up an administrative authority to manage the licence and securing forest tenure and financing. All these steps must be taken before the real work begins.

Once the North Island CFA has successfully developed a proposal and draft plans, the group will go through steps similar to that of any other tenure holder in the forest industry. This process can take many months. The North Island CFA initiative has been on going for the last two years. Some of the work needed to set up an administrative authority and to secure forest tenure and financing has been done in that time.

There are still many steps left to take in the process including ongoing input from First Nations and local residents of the three communities involved. This valuable input is required to ensure the full range of community perspectives are heard and considered in the development process.

Look for more information on the community forest in the coming months. Your input is needed to shape the future of our community forest.
Tim Chester, RFT is an Operations Manager with the Ministry of Forests and Range in Port McNeill.

North Island Gazette

Vancouver Island North

Published: November 04, 2010 1:00 AM