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PRINCE GEORGE – The Ministry of Forests is granting $1.2 million to the City of Prince George to help mitigate the effects of beetle infestation within the municipality, Minister of Forests Michael de Jong announced today.
“The
province is taking action against the mountain pine beetle on many fronts,
including the urban forests of Prince George,” said Forests Minister Michael de
Jong. “We’re contributing $1.2 million
to assist with forest rehabilitation and fuel management costs, as well as
inviting the city to apply for a community forest agreement to facilitate the
salvage of tens of thousands of beetle-attacked pine trees throughout the
city.”
The invitation to apply for a community forest agreement (five-year term, with a volume of 12,000 cubic metres per year) was a recommendation of the Prince George Mountain Pine Beetle Task Force appointed last fall. The task force is one part of a comprehensive beetle-timber salvage strategy being implemented by the municipality in cooperation with the Ministry of Forests and Canfor.
Canfor is lending its support by providing the city with woodlands operational planning and harvesting expertise in managing the community forest agreement. Canfor is also providing funding along with the Ministry of Forests to a crew of University of Northern British Columbia students to inventory pine trees on residential properties, and supplying seedlings to the city to help replant Prince George parks.
“Partnering
with the City of Prince George and the Ministry of Forests to carry out the
salvage strategy made perfect sense to Canfor,” said Jim Shepherd,
president and chief executive officer, Canfor. “Contributing in the communities where our employees work and live is a
priority for us, and we are very happy to be a part of the team effort.”
Planning requirements for the community forest agreement will be completed this summer, with the first harvesting activities and revenues collected under the licence expected next winter. The ministry will continue to issue forestry licences to cut as an interim measure for addressing high-priority salvage activities until the community forest agreement is officially in place.
“The
City of Prince George is unique in the province in that it contains 7,000
hectares of forested Crown land within its municipal boundaries,” said Prince
George-Mount Robson MLA Shirley Bond. “This is by far the largest area of
forested Crown land within a municipality in British Columbia, contributing to
the magnitude of the challenge caused by the mountain pine beetle.”
“The mountain pine beetle has pushed its way into the
municipality with devastating effect, killing the majority of our pine trees
and creating a major forest-health issue for our community,” said Prince George
North MLA Pat Bell. “The community forest agreement and $1.2 million
contribution, combined with the other elements of our salvage strategy, will
help Prince George resolve some of the difficult problems posed by the beetle
locally.”
The
beetle-timber salvage strategy for the City of Prince George, first announced
Oct. 1, 2004, also includes funding from the ministry’s protection program and
the Union of British Columbia Municipalities for projects to reduce interface fire
risks.
“The
severe level of beetle-kill within forested areas of the city makes Prince
George prone to the possibility of being struck by a large-scale interface
fire,” said Prince George Mayor Colin Kinsley.
“The Ministry of Forests, UBCM and the City of Prince George are all now
working to put together an appropriate fuel management program that will raise
the community’s standard for protection against forest fire.”
Timberline
Forest Inventory Consultants has been
contracted to complete fire hazard mapping and an urban-wildland interface fire
management plan for the City of Prince George. Information from this plan will
be used to prioritize sites that require harvesting for fire risk reduction.
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contact: |
Communications Director Ministry of Forests 250 387-8486 |
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