Cheslatta Carrier Issued Long-Term
Forest Agreement
The
Province
has issued a long-term community forest agreement to the Cheslatta
Carrier
First Nation so it can continue building on its forestry successes of
the past
five years, announced Dennis MacKAY, MLA for Bulkley Valley-Stikine.
“Our
goal
for every community forest is that they create benefits and new
opportunities
for the entire community – and that’s exactly what has happened here on
the
Southside,” said MacKAY. “This new agreement provides the Cheslatta
Carrier
First Nation with long-term certainty and the ability to plan forestry
operations up until 2032.”
The
licence
is for a term of 25 years and allows the harvest of 16,313 cubic metres
of
timber per year within the Lakes timber supply area. Currently, the
licence
also carries a temporary additional allocation of 200,000 cubic metres
a year
to harvest timber attacked by the mountain pine beetle.
“The
community forest has played a big role in our local and regional
economic
development strategy by creating skilled jobs and training
opportunities,” said
Cheslatta Carrier Nation Chief Corrina Leween. “It has also allowed us
to fund
many community projects, including a community bus, a public dock on
Francois
Lake and the hot lunch program at the Grassy Plains School.”
Since
receiving an initial five-year community forest agreement in 2002, the
Cheslatta Carrier First Nation has harvested about one million cubic
metres of
timber. Most of the timber was processed at the Cheslatta Forest
Products sawmill
at nearby Ootsa Lake, jointly owned by the Cheslatta Carrier Nation
(Nootsenay
Enterprises Ltd.), local residents (Ootsa Resources Ltd.) and Carrier
Forest
Products Ltd.
The
sawmill
employs 140 people, has invigorated the local economy and encouraged
youth to
seek higher education and training in forestry trades. The Cheslatta
Carrier
Nation promotes the use of local businesses and contractors in its
operations.
Community forest agreements are a form of legal tenure by which the Province transfers decision-making to communities that wish to more fully participate in the stewardship of local forest resources. Community forest tenures are area-based, and give communities exclusive rights to harvest timber within the area of the licence.
