community forests Archives

Framework for Creating a Smart Growth Economic Development Strategy

A Tool for Small Cities and Towns Many small and mid-sized cities around the United States are struggling because their economies were built largely on a single economic sector that has changed significantly. For example, jobs might once have been heavily concentrated in industries like logging, mining, or manufacturing, but technology and market forces have…

Cowichan Lake Community Forest Co-op and Pacheedaht First Nation

People in the Cowichan Lake communities and Pacheedaht First Nation will benefit from a unique community forest agreement for the Qala:yit [Kwah-LIE-it] Community Forest, reached in partnership with the provincial government in September 2018. “This is the latest stride that our nation has taken towards creating our own economic destiny, including a new sawmill and…

Valemount Sawmiller Expands

Perseverance has paid off for sawmiller Jason Alexander, with his cedar operation in Valemount, BC. A new wood supply agreement allows him to expands his operation and employ more local people. For more on this topic, visit our Forestry page. The BC Community Forest Association is also an excellent source of information.

Sustainable Forestry: the Swedish Model

Are there lessons to be learned from the Swedish approach to sustainable forestry?

Deep Roots 2 — the Harrop-Procter Community Forest Story

Of the over 50 community forests in British Columbia, only one — in tiny Harrop-Procter, located on the rugged eastern shore of Kootenay Lake’s West Arm — has its own mill. With its emphasis on creating local employment and its commitment to ecosystem-based forestry, Harrop-Procter Community Forest stands as one of Canada’s most interesting —…

Deep Roots 1 — the Harrop-Procter Community Forest story

Harrop-Procter Community Forest, located on the rugged eastern shore of Kootenay Lake’s West Arm, is one of Canada’s most innovative — and intriguing — community forest operations. Harrop-Procter Community Forest’s 11,300 ha community forest tenure comprises 100-year-old mixed forests, domestic watersheds, and steep, sensitive terrain. The HPCF takes an ecosystem-based approach to management which is based…

Contractor Sustainability: A Personal Perspective

By the time you read this our family business of three generations— and ninety years—will have left the forest industry. So begins a powerful personal story, penned by Graham Lasure in Truck Logger BC (click on the cover below), the final owner of W.D. Moore Logging, a family business founded in Winter Harbour on Vancouver…

BC Forestry Trade Mission to Asia Launches

BC Government Forestry trade mission to Asia

The BC Forestry trade mission to Asia is British Columbia’s largest-ever forest sector delegation to China and Japan, according to Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Minister Doug Donaldson. The mission, from Nov. 12 to 17, sees Minister Donaldson joined by over 30 senior executives from B.C. forest companies and associations. “We need to…

BC Community Forests Make a Difference

A report entitled Community Forests — Community Benefits: The Economic Contributions of Community Forests to Rural BC Communities, recently released by the Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition (SIBAC), in cooperation with the BC Community Forests Association (BCCFA), underscores the fact BC community forests are playing a very significant — often critical — role in the…

Community Forests Important Says Report

An important report, Community Forests — Community Benefits: The Economic Contributions of Community Forest to Rural Communities, on the significant value of our province’s community forests, was released today. This timely effort is an economic analysis that quantifies the cumulative, historical economic contributions of community forests to rural communities in BC. The report was commissioned by the Southern Interior…