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CRANBROOK –
Forty-six forest
workers will continue restoring natural grasslands in the Kootenays and reduce
the risk of forest fires in Kimberly thanks to an additional $810,000 from the Community Development Trust’s Job
Opportunities Program, Minister of Community Development Kevin Krueger and
East-Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett announced today.
“The Job Opportunities
Program is creating vital employment and income opportunities for Cranbrook
area forest workers while utilizing their skills to restore important natural
grasslands,” said Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts Bill Bennett. “It’s a
win-win situation when we can put people to work on projects that will help
ensure our ecosystem flourishes.”
The
funding supports the extension of projects operated by Galloway Lumber. The
$440,000 project involves 29 forest workers continuing ecosystem restoration
projects at two sites south of Cranbrook until the end of June. The first phase
of the project employed 12 forest workers on a six-month project at the same
sites and received $510,000 from the Community Development Trust.
“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 the environment and fire safety in the Kootenays.”
Another
project is being managed by the Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society
and involves $200,000 to extend the employment of 12 workers up to six months
restoring grasslands near Lake Koocanusa and Jaffray. The funding allows the
project to continue until the end of July and increases project funding
provided by the Community Development Trust to $408,000. The workers will
hand-cut and pile small trees in the area, which encourages the regeneration
and growth of native grasses and shrubs that provide food for elk, deer,
bighorn sheep and domestic cattle and create habitat for many other species.
“The
additional funding will result in greater employment for forest workers, a
larger area of grasslands being restored and healthier forest conditions
overall,” said Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell. “The thinning of these
areas also removes combustible wood and reduces the risk of forest fires in the
area this summer, something everyone should start thinking about.”
The Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society is
a coalition of nine hunting, ranching, environmental and wildlife organizations
dedicated to restoration and conservation of grassland and open forest
ecosystems in the East Kootenay and Upper Columbia Valley.
“The Trench Society members appreciate the provincial
government’s continued support for grassland ecosystem restoration and the
environmental and economic benefits that have been created in the
region because of the Job Opportunities Program,” said Rocky Mountain Natural
Resources Society co-ordinator Dan Murphy.
The
Society is also employing 12 forest workers to restore about 750 hectares of
grasslands near Invermere through a separate $400,000 Job Opportunities Project
announced in March.
The
City of Kimberley has also received $170,000 so five forest workers can conduct
fuel management work in and around Kimberley. The workers will remove easily
combustible material from sites that have been identified in the City’s
Community Wildfire Protection Plan. This is the second Job Opportunities
Project to receive funding in Kimberley. Last year, $127,000 supported a
nine-worker project that began the fuel reduction project on the city’s Nordic
trails.
“The City of Kimberley
is very fortunate to receive funding through the Job Opportunities Program,”
said Jim Ogilvie, Mayor of Kimberley. “The monies received through the program
will allow the City to employ six additional forestry workers while advancing
our fuel reduction goals in high hazard areas.”
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 cooperation
with a forest-dependent community are eligible to submit a project proposal to
the Job Opportunities Program. To date, the program has approved over $16
million to support 93 projects which will employ more than 750 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 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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contact: |
Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Forests and Range 250 387-4592
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Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Community Development 250 387-4089
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Mayor of Kimberley 250 353-2045
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Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society 250 421-9320
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