RESEARCH INVESTMENT ADVANCES FOREST MANAGEMENT

VICTORIA – The Province is investing $8.3 million in forestry research projects that will keep B.C. a world leader in sustainable forest management, Forests and Range Minister Rich Coleman announced today.

“We are committed to responsible forest stewardship in B.C.,” said Coleman. “These funds will enable researchers and scientists to work on 127 projects, so future generations can enjoy the benefits of our forests.”

Funds are being provided through the Forest Science Program of the Forest Investment Account (FIA), which has provided about $48 million in research funding since 2002.

This year, 21 different organizations – universities and research institutes, natural resource consultants, forest companies, and the provincial and federal governments – will use the funds to conduct 127 forest research projects across B.C. The projects include:

· Mountain pine beetle research, led by the Bulkley Valley Centre for Natural Resources Research and Management, to study how forests grow and develop following a beetle infestation.

· Wildfire research, conducted by UBC Okanagan, to look at methods to control erosion and rehabilitate sites affected by wildfire.

· Fish and wildlife habitat studies to better understand the needs of different species, including the woodland caribou and mountain goat (research conducted by Wildlife Infometrics Inc.), the juvenile northern goshawk (conducted by Thompson Rivers University), and the marbled murrelet (conducted by Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria).

· Studies carried out by the University of Northern British Columbia, the University of British Columbia, and the Ministry of Forests and Range with the goal of improving silvicultural strategies for better timber growth in mixed-wood forests.

FIA’s Forest Science Program is also providing $1.25 million to the Forest Research Extension Partnership (FORREX) to ensure the results of the work are made available to natural resource managers, including professional foresters and biologists.

“Research extension is a series of actions that keeps B.C.’s practising foresters and biologists aware of the most current knowledge related to sustainable forest management,” said Dr. Bill Bourgeois, chair of the Forest Science Program’s advisory board. “It’s also a process that bridges knowledge and information gaps by linking people with problems to people who can help work on solutions.”

The FIA provides funding for programs and activities that enhance the land base, forest science, small tenures, Crown land use planning, tree improvement, international marketing, and product development for the B.C. forest sector.

Visit www.cortex.ca/fia-fsp/index.html for a list of projects funded through the Forest Science Program.

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Media contact:	Don McDonald Communications Director Ministry of Forests and Range 250 387-8486

Visit the Province's website at www.gov.bc.ca for online information and services.