In order to make the new Babine Forest Products mill a go, the provincial government had to rework the forest licenses in the region. Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Minister Pat Bell said the province has promised to undertake four changes to provide an immediate increase to the timber supply for the new mill and six additional steps, which could have a positive impact on supply down the road.
Bell said he doesn’t expect the changes announced Monday will negatively impact any of the other sawmills in the region as much of the new supply comes from stands previously considered unsustainable.
“It will primarily come out of stands that were very low-value stands that were not included in inventory in the past,” Bell said, noting the supply became viable after it was examined by the special legislative committee led by Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad.
The four-pronged plan includes:
A new community forest tenure will be given to the Burns Lake Native Development Corp. in the amount of 150,000 cubic metres per year. The area-based tenure will be tied to the new mill.
A new First Nations partnership will be formed in the coming weeks and will be awarded a tenure of 380,000 cubic metres per year for 100 per cent saw log grade wood plus an incremental bio-engery volume. It will also be tied to the new mill.
September 18, 2012 Peter JAMES Citizen staff pjames@pgcitizen.ca read more
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