COMMUNITY FOREST TO BENEFIT SIMILKAMEEN VALLEY

KEREMEOS – Yale-Lillooet MLA Dave Chutter and Penticton-Okanagan Valley MLA Bill Barisoff announced today, on behalf of the minister of forests, a community forest opportunity for a group of proponents from the Similkameen Valley, providing new economic opportunities and local control of forest resources.

“This unique partnership will allow aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities to create a forestry business that works for the South Similkameen,” said Chutter. “This will create stability, jobs and revenues that can be used to support community-based projects and other new business strategies.”

“This government has followed through in its commitment to create new forestry opportunities for communities,” said Barisoff. “The Okanagan-Shuswap Land and Resource Management Plan recommended a community forest opportunity for the Similkameen Valley. The framework for this opportunity preserves the LRMP’s consensus-based approach to local resource management.”

The proponents include representatives from the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, the Lower Similkameen and Upper Similkameen Indian Bands and the Village of Keremeos. The proponents will be invited to apply for a probationary community forest agreement, providing up to 20,000 cubic metres of timber annually in the Okanagan timber supply area. Before a formal invitation can be extended, the Ministry of Forests must complete consultation with area First Nations.

“I’d like to thank the government for this opportunity and my fellow community members for forging a partnership that reflects our shared goals and values,” said Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Area ‘G’ director Roger Mayer. “If awarded, this will represent a tremendous opportunity to create a made-in-the-Similkameen solution that will support our economic and social needs.”

“We are looking forward to working with the Province and our neighbours in this venture,” said Lower Similkameen Chief Barbara Allison. “For us, this represents an important step toward creating sustainable employment and a better quality of life for our community members.”

“Through our shared vision for this community forest tenure, it is our intent to create a forestry business that will bring income and employment to our community members, while respecting the forest resource through an ecosystem-based management approach,” said Upper Similkameen Chief Rick Holmes.

“The Village of Keremeos is very pleased to be part of this government’s small tenures expansion program,” said Keremeos Mayor Walter Despot. “If awarded, it is our hope that this agreement will provide a small secure source of employment for our young adults. The revenue is needed by the village to grow and survive; however, the recreational and educational values for current and future generations living in the South Similkameen cannot be measured in dollars.”

The timber volume will be available once the provincewide timber reallocation process is complete. Under the Forestry Revitalization Plan, government committed to reallocate timber to communities, woodlot operators and First Nations to diversify the forest economy.

Community forest agreements are a mechanism by which the province transfers decision-making to communities that wish to more fully participate in the stewardship of their local forest resources. Community forest tenures are area-based, giving the agreement-holders exclusive stewardship of an area of forest land over the term of the agreement.

The probationary agreements are initially for five years, at which time they may be extended for another five years or replaced with a long-term agreement of 25 to 99 years. Since August 2004, government has provided community forest opportunities for 20 communities across the Province.

For more information on this community forest agreement opportunity and other ministry programs, visit http://www.gov.bc.ca/for/.

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1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:	Don McDonald Communications Director Ministry of Forests 250 387-8486

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