NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release 2008FOR0094-000852 June 6, 2008	Ministry of Forests and Range
CHERRYVILLE RECEIVES FORESTRY INVITATION

CHERRYVILLE – The Province’s invitation to the Cherry Ridge Management Committee to apply for a Probationary Community Forest Agreement will enhance long-term stewardship in the area, Okanagan-Vernon MLA Tom Christensen announced today on behalf of Forests and Range Minister Rich Coleman.

 

“This agreement would allow the management decisions of the forest on two Cherryville mountain sides to be made in Cherryville,” said Christensen. “The committee will be able to make decisions that affect the forest and the community’s environment, water and recreation options as well as pursuing the economic and employment opportunities a community forest provides.”

            The agreement would allow the committee to manage areas on Cherry Ridge and Heckman Ridge that the community of Cherryville uses as water sources, and also highly regards for recreation values and wildlife habitat. The agreement would carry an initial five-year term, and also grant the committee the right to harvest a total of up to 1,500 cubic metres of timber per year from the two areas.

 

The Cherry Ridge Management Committee has operated small-scale salvage licences over the years to log beetle-killed and other dead timber and voluntarily replanted areas.

 

“The agreement would lead to forestry and ecosystem management techniques and priorities that are favoured and selected by area residents,” said Cherry Ridge Management Committee president Wayne Cunneyworth. “The committee looks forward to the long-term stability and stewardship a community forest will bring to Cherry Ridge.”

 

Community forest tenures are area-based, and give communities exclusive rights to harvest timber, as well as the opportunity to manage forest resources such as timber and plant products, recreation, wildlife, water and scenic viewscapes.

 

Probationary community forest agreements are a form of legal tenure by which the Province grants the rights to manage the forest resources within a specified area to communities that wish to more fully participate in the stewardship of local Crown forest resources. They are intended to stimulate long-term employment, forest-related education and skills training as well as other social, environmental and economic benefits while meeting environmental stewardship standards. After an initial term of five years, the agreements may be replaced with a long-term agreement of not less than 25 years. 

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Media contact:	Sophia Proctor Public Affairs Bureau 250 387-4592	Wayne Cunneyworth President Cherry Ridge Management Committee 250 547-9300
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