COMMUNITY TRUST IMPROVING KIMBERLEY TOURISM OPTIONS

KIMBERLEY – Funding from the Community Development Trust’s Job Opportunities Program is employing up to nine forest workers to improve Kimberley’s recreation and outdoor tourism attractions, Community Development Minister Blair Lekstrom and East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett announced today.

“The Community Development Trust is one of our key tools to assist communities and families through the downturn in the forest sector,” said Lekstrom. “We are pleased to help contribute $127,040 to assist forest workers, while also strengthening community and tourism infrastructure.”

The funds will be used to widen Kimberley’s Nordic trail network and increase residents’ and tourists’ year-round usage of it, offering hiking and cycling in the summer and skiing in the winter. The project involves the clearing and chipping of dead pine and woody debris within six metres of either side of the trail, and using the beetle-wood chips as a trail base. The wood-chip base improves the trail’s winter grooming qualities, which increases the possibilities of a longer ski season.

“This project maximizes use of forest resources, puts forest workers in the woods and offers long-term economic benefits to Kimberley,” said Bennett. “These efforts demonstrate how the Community Trust is helping the City of Kimberley use beetle-wood to improve recreation in their forests, employ their residents and support their tourism sector.”

“The Job Opportunities Program is employing and keeping skilled forest workers in the area,” said Minister of Forests and Range Pat Bell. “The project highlights how forest debris and dead pine can be used to the benefit of Kimberley’s workforce, parks and residents.”

The work follows up on the mountain pine beetle salvage thinning conducted in the area in 2006. The trails contribute to Kimberley’s reputation as a year-round destination for outdoor enthusiasts, attracting hikers, cyclists and skiers, and creating on-going economic benefits for the area’s businesses.

“The funding is providing direct support to some of our area’s forest workers and families, and offering something to all those in Kimberley with an active lifestyle,” said Kimberley Mayor Jim Ogilvie. “The improved trail network will further build on our reputation as an outdoor playground, and bring active people and tourist dollars to Kimberley.”

The $26.25-million Job Opportunities Program is helping to reduce 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 cooperation 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/

-30-


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
	Jim Ogilvie Mayor of Kimberley 250 353-2045
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.