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GRAND FORKS – Forest workers will be treating invasive plants on Crown forest land and in provincial parks as part of ongoing ecosystem restoration projects that will benefit wildlife and cattle, thanks to $212,247 from the Community Development Trust’s Job Opportunities Program, Community Development Minister Kevin Krueger and Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell announced.
“The Community Development Trust is assisting forest workers, their families and communities across this province. During a time when every job counts, we are providing stability,” said Krueger. “We are pleased to be able to support this project, while at the same time improving forest health in our provincial parks.”
The project will involve a three-person crew’s targeting invasive species, beginning in May. Part of the project will involve the crew’s controlling hoary alyssum and other invasive plants in ecosystem restoration blocks in and around Gilpin Grasslands and Johnstone Creek Provincial Parks. Weed removal is the first step in grasslands restoration and will be followed by prescribed burns, which encourage the growth and restoration of natural grasses that elk, deer, bighorn sheep and cattle graze on.
“Invasive species removal and management is an important part of maximizing the use, value and health of our forest resources,” said Bell. “The Job Opportunities Program is creating employment for Kootenay forest workers that will result in restoring range lands to the benefit of the environment, wildlife and ranchers.”
The project will also target invasive plant species such as hoary alyssum and blueweed in Gladstone Provincial Park, and invasive hawkweeds along forest service roads in the Granby and Kettle drainages. Treatment methods will include hand-pulling, weed-whacking and the selective, spot, manual application of herbicides. By removing invasive plants, native grasses and plants can be restored, which increases wildlife habitat and food supply.
The project will also include treatments along the side of highways, which due to the regular disturbance and flow of vehicles from different parts of the province, are often the first place in a region that invasive plants are introduced. The project is being managed by the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary.
“We’ve always wanted to increase the level of invasive plant control in these areas, and this is a great opportunity to get a lot of new work done and provide benefits to residents and businesses across the region,” said Bill Baird, chair of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary Weed Management Committee. “We are pleased that the Province is helping protect our outstanding shared environmental resources while at the same time reducing the spread of invasive plants onto private land.”
The $26.25-million Job Opportunities Program is 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.
Forest-dependent communities or organizations, licensees and contractors working in co-operation with a forest-dependent community are eligible to submit a project proposal to the Job Opportunities Program. To date, the program has approved over $13 million to support 79 projects, which will employ more than 620 forest workers in communities across the province.
The Job Opportunities Program is one component of the Community Development Trust, which was announced last spring. B.C.’s share of the federal trust is $129 million over three years, with funds also directed to a tuition assistance program and the Transition Assistance for Older Workers Program.
In the 2009-2010 budget, the Province committed an additional $30 million for further programs similar to those offered under the Community Development Trust.
For more information about the Community Development Trust and Job Opportunities Program, go to: www.cd.gov.bc.ca/cdt/
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Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Forests and Range 250 953-3142
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Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Community Development 250 387-4089
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Weed Management Coordinator Regional District of Kootenay Boundary 250 446-2232
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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. |
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