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Monday, December 1, 2008
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1°C
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Feels like:
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-2°C
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Humidity:
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52%
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More woodlots on the way |
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Written by GORDON HOEKSTRA
Citizen staff
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Monday, 06 October 2008 |
Related Items
FIRST NATIONSFORESTS MINISTER PAT BELLDAWSON CREEK
The number of woodlots will be expanded in the province by about 10 per cent in the next three years, Forests Minister Pat Bell announced Monday.
The expansion by 60 to 75 woodlots will be open to individuals, small businesses and First Nations.
“Woodlot operators have a long-term relationship with the forest they manage, which can often lead to innovations in silviculture and help us maximize the growth potential of our forests,” said Bell.
Bell also announced the start of a forests minister’s award for excellence in woodlot management, which will be first presented next year.
The new licences are being offered throughout the province and all woodlot opportunities will be advertised on BC Bid at www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca . Bids have been received on three advertised tenures, one north of Campbell River, one north of Fort St. James and the third, southwest of Dawson Creek.
“Expansion of the woodlot licence program is good news,” said Federation of B.C. Woodlot Associations’ general manager Brian McNaughton.
“It’s gratifying that the province realizes how important it is to create opportunities for continued local investment in new, community-based, forestry businesses," said McNaughton. "Many of the Federation’s members plan on leaving their woodlot to their children and they manage it accordingly, using light-touch forestry techniques to the benefit of their families and the forest’s future.”
Woodlot licences are small, area-based tenures that combine private land with up to 800 hectares of Crown land on the Coast and 1,200 hectares of Crown land in the Interior. They are replaceable tenures, awarded for 20 years.
There are currently 828 active woodlots that include about 546,000 hectares in British Columbia. In 2005, woodlot licensees harvested just over three million cubic metres of timber, a small portion of the annual cut in B.C.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 06 October 2008 )
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