COMMUNITY FOREST SUPPORTS EMPLOYMENT AND RECREATION
PORT ALBERNI - A community forest agreement issued to the Alberni Valley Community
Forest Corporation will support forestry employment and operations while protecting cultural,
recreation, wildlife, and visual qualities around Sproat Lake, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell
announced today.
"The agreement creates long-term opportunities for silviculture, harvesting and the value
added sector in and around Port Alberni while ensuring careful stewardship of the area," said
Bell. "The community forest will generate the same kind of pride and excitement residents felt
and displayed when welcoming the Olympic torch to Port Alberni."
The community forest agreement is for a 25-year term and grants the right to harvest more
than 18,000 cubic metres of timber per year from about 6,400 hectares of Crown land near Sproat
Lake. The Alberni Valley Community Forest Corporation is owned by the City of Port Alberni.
"We are very pleased to now have the opportunity to move ahead with this significant
initiative in our community which will help rejuvenate the forest industry in our area as well as
provide employment and other economic benefits," said Port Alberni mayor Ken McRae. "The
expertise and professional advice provided by our Community Forest Advisory Committee
members has been invaluable throughout this process and I would like to recognize their efforts
as we begin this new venture."
"This community forest agreement signals an exciting new chapter for forestry in Port
Alberni and we congratulate them on this milestone," said B.C. Community Forest Association
executive director Jennifer Gunter. "The Alberni Valley Community Forest Corporation is
already an active member of the Association, and we look forward to working with them as they
implement their management vision."
Community forest agreements are a form of legal tenure that enable communities to more
fully participate in the stewardship of local Crown forest resources. They are area-based, and give
communities exclusive rights to harvest timber, as well as the opportunity to manage other forest
resources such as botanical products, recreation, wildlife, water and scenic view scapes. There are
more than 50 community forests operating or in the planning stages in British Columbia.
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Contact:
Cheekwan Ho
Public Affairs Officer
Ministry of Forests and Range
250 387-8482
Mayor Ken McRae
City of Port Alberni
250 720-2822
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