Features Forestry Management Harvesting
B.C. forms Forest Enhancement Society

“The new society allows us to make new investments in our forests and protect the investments that we have already made,” says Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson. “Altogether, we’re investing an additional $107 million to ensure healthy and resilient forests for future generations to enjoy.”

The new society will concentrate its activities on the following:

• Wildfire risk reduction: Fuel management activities such as thinning, pruning and removing woody debris from forests, especially those impacted by the mountain pine beetle infestation, to reduce wildfire risks in key areas. The recently updated Provincial Strategic Threat Analysis will provide guidance for potential treatments.
• Forest rehabilitation: Clearing stands damaged by wildfire, or at high risk from wildfire, and reforesting them.
• Wildlife habitat restoration: Designing fuel management and forest rehabilitation activities to promote desired wildlife habitat characteristics.
• FireSmart program: Raising awareness among local governments and rural property owners about steps they can take to protect their homes from wildfire.

The Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative, administered by the Union of BC Municipalities, focuses on reducing the wildfire risk in the two-kilometre wildland-urban interface surrounding communities. With its latest $10-million commitment, government has provided $78 million to this initiative since 2004. The Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. will complement the efforts of the Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative by supporting critical wildfire prevention work outside of interface areas and providing a landscape-level approach to wildfire risk reduction.

Local forest products businesses will have opportunities to purchase the timber, roadside debris and other forest fibre resulting from these activities, at market prices. This will, in turn, support rural employment.

The work of the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. will help meet the goal of a sustainable and reliable timber supply under the Forest Sector Competitiveness Strategy and aligns with the ministry’s other programs designed to enhance B.C.’s forests, most notably Forests for Tomorrow, Land Based Investment Strategy and integrated silviculture strategies.

“The forest industry contributes $12 billion to the provincial GDP and supports 145,000 direct and indirect jobs in B.C.,” Council of Forest Industries president and CEO Susan Yurkovich. “We are happy to see that the provincial government remains committed to ensuring a healthy, vibrant and sustainable natural resource sector.”

The inaugural board meeting of the society will take place in March. The society’s immediate goals will be to set short-term priorities and engage with stakeholders.