forestry

New wildfire salvage agreements to link with First Nations

Nov 17, 2022 | 4:14 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — The BC Ministry of Forests announced that New Wildfire Salvage Opportunity Agreements will provide forestry licenses to First Nations for salvaging timber damaged by wildfires.

Through this process, the government says that there will be enhanced forest regrowth throughout BC and the ability to salvage more hectares of forests damaged by wildfire.

Joe Nemeth from the BC Pulp and Paper Coalition says that these agreements will benefit both environment and industry, calling it a win-win for both.

Kelly Johnson, president of Public and Private Workers of Canada says that is showing that when different sides come together, action can come a lot quicker.

The government says that “recent record-breaking wildfires have created a significant volume of fire-damaged timber, far outstripping the ability of forest companies to harvest the areas in a timely manner. Wildfires affected more than 864,000 hectares of forests in 2021 with only approximately 5% of the area expected to be salvaged this year.”