The work to expand the region's Community Forest project is going ahead, despite the City of Prince George's formal withdrawal from the process
On Thursday, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George approved a letter of intent with the Prince George Cattlemen Association and Lheidli T'enneh to collaborate on a new agreement.
"I want to pass on kudos to the city of Prince George for getting the application to this stage," said board chair Art Kaehn.
The Community Forests project has addressed the mountain pine beetle infestation and wildfire hazards within the city limits by giving the city harvesting rights on forested Crown land since 2006. In 2009, an expansion was proposed to include the 38,000 hectares outside the city boundaries.
Last month, the city stepped back from the discussions after a lack of support from the agricultural community, who cited trust issues with the municipality over having an additional level of management and control over agricultural development areas.
With the city's withdrawal, the previously approved memorandum of understanding between the two local governments and the First Nations group was no longer effective.
"However, the P.G. Cattlemen have since recognized that the proposal has merit for the betterment and expansion of agriculture in the area and have expressed an interest in pursuing the proposal," said a report by development services general manager Terry McEachen.
