Forest land use planning workshop prioritizes cultural values
Gitxsan set to acquire large forest license
NDP Opposition in BC says Harper making mess of pine beetle initiative
Forest land use planning workshop prioritizes cultural values
Aboriginal people throughout Canada are engaging in planning to guide and govern the use of forests and other resources in their traditional territories. Cortex Consultants is working with First Nations forestry professionals and educational institutions to develop a workshop in timber supply and forest ecosystem analysis that will offer First Nations tools to more effectively participate in provincial timber supply review processes and plan for sustainable forest management in their territories.
After receiving input from advisors, we are now finalizing content for the two-day workshop. Our intent is to offer a conceptual workshop that is highly interactive, with discussion sessions between presentations of workshop materials. We start from the premise that First Nation’s cultural values must be identified at the outset and accommodated in forest planning. Participants will identify values in their territory, we will explain some key forest planning and ecological concepts, and together we will apply the cultural and other values and concepts to a generic landbase using computer models. The ideas and tools can be used in developing community land use plans or in consultations to provide input for provincial processes.
Participants could include community councilors, land and resource technicians, political leaders, and other parties that hosting organizations choose to invite. Taking the course will help leaders and technicians understand provincial land and resource planning processes and the assumptions that go into models that support these processes. This understanding will help participants to think critically and communicate effectively with licensees and ministry staff about managing lands and resources in the context of their community goals.
Starting in November 2006 we will offer the course regionally to interested Nations, treaty councils, and other alliances organized by First Nations.
Registration will be limited to 20 to enable effective participation. For more information contact Laurie Flahr at Cortex (see advertisement below).
Gitxsan set to acquire large forest license
By Rudy Kelly
Northwest B.C.’s Gitxsan nation may soon own the forest license in its territory, a move that could create as many as 300 forestry jobs for its people.
Negotiations are underway between the Gitxsan and Sun Wave Forest Products in a deal that would see the 400,000 cubic metre Kispiox license purchased by the Gitxsan, allowing them to expand their silviculture operations as well as, hopefully, provide chips for pulp.
“The estimate of 300 jobs is a minimum, I believe,” said Gitxsan Chiefs’ Office Executive Director, Gordon Sebastian. “There should be quite a lot of work, just in silviculture. There will be jobs in harvesting, logging, it will look to be on a very large scale.”
Gitxsan Chiefs’ Office Executive Director Gordon Sebastian.
The Gitxsan are also banking on Sun Wave, which is the B.C. arm of the massive China Paper Group, re-opening the Watson Island pulp mill near Prince Rupert, which it bought earlier this year. The mill has been dormant for four years.
While not being interested in the harvesting side of forestry, Sun Wave is interested in the pulp industry and already has agreements with the City of Prince Rupert, the mill’s union and Coast Tsimshian, the Lax Kw’Alaams company that owns the biggest portion of the former Skeena Cellulose tenure.
“The re-opening of the pulp mill is very important in that most of our chips would be going there,” said Sebastian.
Since the closure of the mill, northwest B.C. communities have hit hard economic times, particularly the mill communities of Prince Rupert, Terrace and Hazelton, which were all part of the Skeena empire that was responsible for thousands of jobs in the area.
And, while many non-First Nations people have been leaving the area to find work elsewhere, that is not typically the way of First Nations people.
“First Nations are not very mobile, especially those that live on reserves,” explained Sebastian. “They prefer to stay home, in their territory, so this deal will certainly have an affect on local employment.”
Besides the license itself, the Gitxsan-Sun Wave deal also involves the former Carnaby mill, the chipper and a transportation agreement with Canadian National Railways.
And its not only direct jobs that will be created, said Sebastian. There will be the retraining that is part and parcel of the acquisition, as well as possibilities for other small business economic ventures.
No timeline has been set on the agreement but it is expected to be concluded before year’s end.
NDP Opposition in BC says Harper making mess of pine beetle initiative
B.C.'s opposition forests critic is accusing the federal Conservative government of fumbling the ball on funding to combat the mountain pine beetle.
New Democrat MLA Bob Simpson says the Tories made a mess of the September 25th announcement that $11.7 million of unused pine beetle funding had been recovered by the federal treasury.
He says it may have been merely a ``fiscal tidy up,'' but it sent a signal to many B.C. communities that Ottawa isn't taking the beetle threat seriously.
Simpson calls that a ``major faux pas'' on the part of the Harper government.
Simpson is also chiding the Tories for their failure to provide details for a $200 million beetle fund that was promised in May.
He says if the lion's share of that money goes to Alberta and Saskatchewan, as he's heard, it will signal a significant failure on the part of the B.C. Liberal government to make its case in Ottawa.