NAKUSP RECEIVES $349,000 FOR LOCAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

VICTORIA – The Village of Nakusp will be replacing a walking bridge, reducing interface fire risk, lessening the spread of invasive plants, and expanding two trail systems, thanks to funds from the Community Development Trust’s Job Opportunities Program, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell and Community Development Minister Blair Lekstrom announced today.

“The Community Development Trust is one of our key tools to assist forest families during these difficult times,” said Lekstrom. “We are pleased to be able to provide short-term employment for up to 13 forest workers, while assisting the community to build infrastructure.”

“Nakusp was very proactive, and quickly responded to the call for proposals with several practical and creative short term job solutions,” said Bell. “This program is designed to bridge the employment gap until the sector turns around, and this is beginning of that positive turnaround.”

One of the largest allocations of funds, approximately $200,000, will be used to complete fuel management work, which has started on over 40 hectares of land within the Nakusp Village limits and at the Nakusp Hot Springs. Other projects include replacing the walking bridge at Nakusp Hot Springs, a popular spot for tourists and locals, and a trail management project. In mid-2009, an invasive plant management project will be undertaken within the village. Nakusp has also leveraged these funds to access additional funding from the UBCM and the Columbia Basin Trust.

“I am excited to see some of the funding we applied for come to Nakusp,” said Nakusp Mayor Karen Hamling. “The community has been devastated by the downturn in the industry, and this will be a venue to bring some of our workers and families back home. We look forward to the fund supporting us with jobs over the next couple of years until the industry turns around. This is an important initiative for our community.”

The objectives of the $26.25-million Job Opportunities Program are directed at reducing the impact of current layoffs on workers employed in the forest industry, retaining skilled forest workers for the anticipated future upturn, and preserving the characteristics of the labour force in forest-dependent communities.

A forest-dependent community or organization and forest licensees or forest contractors, working in co-operation with a forest-dependent community, are eligible to submit a project proposal to the Job Opportunities Program. So far, 103 submissions have been received, and 51 projects totalling over $8 million from across the province have been approved.

The Job Opportunities Program is one component of the Community Development Trust, which was announced in May. B.C.’s share of the federal trust is $129 million over three years, with funds also directed to programs for tuition assistance and transition assistance for older workers.

For more information about the Community Development Trust and Job Opportunities Program, go to: http://www.cd.gov.bc.ca/cdt/

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Media contact:	Jennifer McLarty Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Forests and Range 250 387-4592	Leanne Ritchie Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Community Development 250 356-0979
	Karen Hamling Mayor of Nakusp 250 265-3689
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