PAGE 16 —- NORTHWEST FORESTRY DIGEST - JANUARY 1997

Forest Renewal BC plans to

Forest Renewal BC plans
to increase its investment in
the. Skeena Bulkley Region
for the coming year, above
and beyond last year's total of
$35 million.

"Last year we more than
doubled our investment over
the previous year, and this
year, we plan a further
increase," said Skeena
Bulkley Regional Director
Alan Parkinson.

Parkinson crediis the
annual increases to excellent
cooperation from — forest
sector partners including
forest companies, First
Nations, government, labar,
communities and
environmental groups.

“Our partner groups have
taken the initialive and

developed projects that meet
Forest Renewal's criteria. In
cooperation with the people

of the Skeena Bulkley, we are
working toward our mandate
of creating a sustainable
forest sector and stable forest

communities," said
Parkinson.

in 1996/97, the Skeena
Bulkley Region (which

stretches from Burns Lake to
Prince Rupert and north to
the Yukon border) allocated a
total af $35 million to
landbased programs such as

enhanced silviculture ($16.7
million); watershed
restoration ($8.2 million);
inventory ($9.8 million); and
recreation ($800,000).
"That's approximately L1
per cent of Forest Renewal
BC's total expenditure across
the province," said
Parkinson.
"We're happy to report that
the northwest is gelting back
in proportion to whal it

MORE THAN 500 jobs have been created in 1996/97 by Forest Renewal BC projects in the Skeena Bulkley Re-
gion, Here, an employee of Copper Bay Contracting works ata gully cleaning as part of a watershed restoration
project outside Terrace.

We are the cabinet arogessionals
NORTHWEST

| KITCHEN CENTRE

In the Tatlow Industrial Complex - Smithers 847-5472

Computerized Custom Design

’ Kitchen
and vanity
cabinets
‘Countertops
- Design and
installation
‘Kitchen
Accessories

Zz

produces in
revenue.”
LANDBASED
PROGRAMS
bulk — of

slumpage

The Forest

. Renewal funding goes to

land-based programs such as
those outlined below.
Enhanced forestry

Enhanced forestry is the
single largest investment area
in the Skeena Bulkley
Region, and for good reason.
Silviculture means extra care
and attention over the
lifetime of a tree, in the form
of brushing, spacing and
pruning, which eventually
results in straighter, stronger
and more valuable timber
when harvested. Silviculture
is also labour intensive and
results in many job
opportunities in the
northwest.

More than 37 enhanced
silviculture projects are
currently underway including
district-wide projects in the
Kalum, led by the District
Forest Service; and in ‘the
Morice, led by Northwood
Pulp and Timber of Houston.
Watershed Restoration

Watershed restoration
involves rehabilitation of
damaged or non-productive
forest lands, includes road
deactivation to prevent

erosion; stabilization . of
hillsides and gullies;
restoration of fish habitat’;
and in some cases re-seeding
and replanting. Watershed
restoration projects usually.
require three to five years to
complete, due to the need for
detailed assessments of the
damape and the work
required to restore the area.

"Many of the projects
we've funded over the past
two years are now entering
the works phase with
significant employment
opportunities,” said Regional
Director Alan Parkinson.
"We look forward to
significant job creation and
opportunities for local
contractors in the upcoming
field season."

Major watershed
restoration projects entering
the works phase in the
coming field season include
the Telkwa River watershed
led by PIR of Smithers; the
Nass watershed, led by the
Nisga'a Tribal Council in
cooperation with Repap BC -
Terrace and Skeena
Sawmills; and the Morice
River watershed, led by the
Wel'suwet'en in cooperation
with Norhwood Pulp &
Timber and Houston Forest
Products.