Features Forestry Management Harvesting
Cascade Lower Canyon Community Forest yearly report

Included in the year’s busy schedule was: the naming of well-regarded forester Matt Wealick as the organizations’ general manager following the retirement of the organization’s founding GM Kim Allan; the year one undertaking of the organization’s harvest plan which saw strong financial gains; the employment of 11 local residents across operations; undertaking marketing and forestry development contracts related to the current operations and future forest planning, timber evaluation and sales with leading B.C., forest sector contractors Probyn Log Ltd and Cascadia Environmental Group.

“The CLCCF had the strongest year in the seven-year history of the organization,” reported board chair Steven Patterson. “Not only did we achieve strong financial success, we undertook a number of important community initiatives including a local high school wildlife project where we built Marten nesting boxes with students in a Hope area high school, investments in recreational upgrades for the benefit of local forest recreational users and a significant planting program of 127,680 seedlings planted in 2017/18 fiscal.”

The highlight of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) was the announcement by the Board of Directors of the decision to disburse $100,000 to each of the three partner organizations (District of Hope, Yale First Nation and the Fraser Valley Regional District). The disbursement is the result of the successful harvest and sale of 27,000 cubic meters of logs in 2017. 

Key initiatives outside of planned logging operations for the CLCCF for the 2018/2019 fiscal year include: increasing the log inventory across the CLCCF’s tenure area; focus on increasing dialogue with local First Nations; and increasing recreational investment and infrastructure within logging operations areas as well as functional projects such as updating the organizations’ website with the inclusion of the CLCCF’s newly acquired LiDar mapping inventory.

Started in 2011 and located around Hope, British Columbia, the Cascade Lower Canyon Community Forest is a three-way partnership between the District of Hope, the Yale First Nation and the Fraser Valley Regional District. The operation is based on a 25-year replaceable Community Forest Agreement, whereby the CLCCF manages timber and non-timber values on the land base. This includes consideration for values such as logging, revenue, employment, First Nations, forest recreation, visual resources, fish and wildlife and water quality as well as archaeological, historical and spiritual values.