COMMUNITY TRUST WORKERS IMPROVE PRINCETON TRAIL AREAS

PRINCETON – Campsites, trails and recreation areas east of Princeton are being upgraded by five forest workers employed by the Upper Similkameen Indian Band, as a result of $61,397 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 one of our key tools to assist families and workers through this difficult economic time,” said Krueger. “By participating in the Job Opportunities Program, the Upper Similkameen Indian Band is keeping forest workers in the woods while improving outdoor recreation facilities for everyone in the region.”

New picnic tables, fire rings and other infrastructure will be installed at the Dewdney Forest Service Recreation site and at the Old Hedley Road East and West sites. The project will also include silviculture work, such as the removal of noxious weeds and brush that compete with seedlings for sunlight and nutrients.

“The Job Opportunities Program helps communities by creating employment, improving public facilities and preserving a skilled workforce,” said Bell. “The program is using the experience and expertise of forest workers to upgrade the recreation infrastructure and improve the health of the surrounding forests.”

The trail maintenance includes tree-pruning, clearing and cutting fallen trees and creating a smoother trail surface for both hikers and horseback riders, as well as outhouse and fire ring cleaning, minor sign improvements and the removal of old and damaged picnic tables.

“This funding will help improve recreation sites and trails that are already used by a wide variety of British Columbians and visitors,” said Bill Bennett, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. “These sites and trails are important to the social and economic well-being of the local communities and contribute to the diversity of our Province’s tourism offerings.”

“The Upper Similkameen Indian Band’s forest workers find it satisfying that their knowledge and hard work will lead to improved outdoor facilities and memories for residents and visitors,” said Chief Richard Holmes. “We have been building a diverse and well-trained forestry operation over the years, and the Job Opportunities Program is helping us keep people at work in the woods.”

The Upper Similkameen Indian Band signed two forest and range agreements in 2007, with the right to harvest about 288,000 cubic metres over five years. The band also operates a woodlot and is a partner of the Nicola-Similkameen Innovative Forest Society. The band’s forestry department produces forest stewardship plans, conducts harvesting and silviculture projects, and owns and operates heavy equipment and a log-sort yard.

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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Media contact:	Robert Boelens Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Forests and Range 250 953-3142	Leanne Ritchie Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Community Development 250 387-4089
	Phillippe Batini Band Manager Upper Similkameen Indian Band 250 499-2221
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