Work is ongoing at the Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation’s Palmer Lake Project site to reduce extreme fuel loading and spacing treatment for healthy forests. (Image Credit: Liam Hall/Kiwiman Creative)

By Andie Mollins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Williams Lake Tribune

Land Reclamation

Lands damaged by 2017 wildfires in B.C. are being rehabilitated

Dec 20, 2025 | 2:00 PM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation (CCR) is celebrating the environmental and economic success to-date of its Palmer Project which is rehabilitating forests devastated by the 2017 wildfires.

“This work is imperative if we want to have healthy forests in the future,” said Percy Guichon, the CEO of CCR.

The project targets lands near Palmer Lake in the Chilcotin, about one and a half hours west of Williams Lake, which were subject to catastrophic fires and left to recover on their own for almost a decade, considered too difficult of an area to address.

In November 2024, CCR stepped in to help rehabilitate the forest, using local Indigenous knowledge and expertise to help build healthy, resilient forests.

“CCR is proud to show what is possible when Indigenous communities can lead the work,” Guichon said.

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The Palmer Project involves recovering burnt wood and thinning out dense forest stands in areas previously described as being “like a lawn of trees” by Daniel Persson, registered professional forester and CCR’s forestry superintendent.

Doing so helps build forests which are more resilient to wildfire and reduces competition so that healthy trees can grow stronger. This work also supports wildlife and ensures future generations of Indigenous peoples have a place to continue hunting, gathering and foraging.

Despite being burnt, much of the wood recovered by CCR can often still be used by pulp mills and bioenergy companies.

In a previous release by CCR, Joe Webster, operations manager for Tsi Del Del Biomass, said trees which were killed by the fires but not completely burnt were being sent to Cariboo Pulp and Paper to be turned into pulp, while burnt material was sent to Drax which created pellets for bioenergy.

The recently announced closure of Drax will affect revenue to some degree, Persson told the Tribune, but the fibre can still be sold to Atlantic Power.

“The work we are doing is more important than ever with British Columbia’s forest sector facing uncertainty due to tariffs, limited wood fibre supply, and mills curtailing operations,” Persson said. “The Cariboo Chilcotin region has been a strategic place to extract natural resources, and we’re looking to help maintain balance by investing back in the land so that this natural resource is available for many generations to come.”

So far, the Palmer Project has treated roughly 1,000 hectares and recovered about 100,000 cubic metres of dead biomass and low-grade fibre, Persson said.

“We want to leave behind a legacy, a resilient forest that not only sustains our people but supports wildlife and future generations,” Guichon said in a previous press release about the project. “We’re helping Mother Nature recover, and that’s something we’re proud of.”

The project also provides stable job opportunities for workers in remote communities which often rely on forestry. Persson said the Palmer Project has supported roughly 81 jobs over two years, including harvesting, trucking, processing, supervision and forestry crews. He said every dollar invested in the project generates four dollars in return, money which goes back into local Indigenous communities.

The Palmer Project is supported by the Forest Enhancement Society of BC and Natural Resources Canada, and Persson said CCR would like to see more investment to help to continue their work.

CCR is a joint venture of the Tŝideldel First Nation, Tl’etinqox Government and the Yunesit’in Government, three Tŝilhqot’in communities which were impacted by the 2017 wildfires.

Approximately 761,000 hectares were touched by two wildfires in the area, accounting for about 63 per cent of the land in B.C. affected by widfires that year.