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Vol. 89 Issue 12 • Wednesday, March 21, 2012 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 Includes HST
Community forestry breaks for springtime By Claire Paradis Arrow Lakes News
Wind and snow ushered in the ides of March around Nakusp. Although the thermometer read warm and warmer, the snow kept falling. On the last week before the loggers and school kids took their spring break, Jesper Nielsen, Nacfor manager, went to check out what was happening on the community forest blocks near McDonald Creek. “This area’s called Slewiskin or McDonald Creek,” Nielsen said, as the truck headed up the numbered forestry service road. Operations are scheduled to shut down soon for the “spring break” which allows the roads to remain undisturbed during the wet spring season, and ensures drainage patterns aren’t interfered with. As we start up the first fork in the road, mud changes to wet snow. Up above, it’s snowing on the mountainside. “Diversion of drainage, that’s when things go wrong,” said Nielsen, who has full confidence in the workers using the roads. “Experienced logging contractors are diligent and conscientious, partly because they’ve been scrutinized for around twenty years.” Slowing to take a hairpin turn, Nielsen explains a little more about the current project. “Our allowable cut is 20,000 cubic metres a year,” he detailed, “It sounds like a lot, but Interfor’s allowable cut is 400,000.” Because
cuts are averaged over five year spans, Nacfor is making up for being under cut for the past three and a half years with this year’s work. Nielsen, a long-time fan of community forests, was on the 2002 committee that brought Nacfor into being. “I like the concept of community forests,” said Nielsen, “It allows more community control and more opportunity for profits to be redistributed in the community.” In 2003, the provincial government thought so too, and introduced the Forestry Revitalization Plan. The Plan required B.C.’s largest tenure holders to return 20 per cent of their logging rights, which were then redistributed to increase diversity and competitiveness in the industry. Ten per cent of the timber tenures to First Nations small tenure holders like community forests and woodlots. Nacfor received its official license in 2008. As the truck wound its way up, Nielsen commented that although ploughing is an added expense, tree prices are better this time of year, making the cost worthwhile. We walked to the block, past wood piled up and ready to be hauled away. These trees are mostly firewood, Nielsen informed me. Larch, cedar and some scabby hemlock lurk at the bottom of the cut, a low priority for hauling. As we pulled up to the ridge, a truck passed us; a hand faller done for the day
Logging trucks bringing their final loads for the season to the Halfway log dump. CLAIRE PARADIS/ARROW LAKES NEWS making his way back down to town. In the cut block below, a few leap trees stood in a naked bunch. The prescription is to leave around 20 trees per hectare to mimic the effects of natural deforestation, like a forest fire. Next spring, the blocks will be replanted before the brush has a chance to grow. Nielsen rattled off timber prices, with cedar poles being the fattest find in this block:
cedar poles can sell for more than $130 a cubic meter. Estimating the wealth of a block is a tricky process, one that Nielsen said would benefit from getting more people on the ground. Judging the content of mixed forests in complex terrain like the area around Nakusp is extremely difficult to do using standard
See Nacfor page 3
Paul Peterson discusses Area K 2012 budget By Claire Paradis Arrow Lakes News
Paul Peterson, Director for Area K, presented the RDCK budget in Nakusp at a public meeting the first week of March. Unfortunately, no one showed up, something that isn’t all that unusual. “There were two people who used to come, but they moved out of town,” Paul Peterson told the Arrow Lakes News, halfjoking. In summary, Peterson said “taxes aren’t going to change a whole lot” for Area K. There were a couple notable changes, however. Significant amounts in grants were handed out this past year, with $10,000 going to
the Nakusp Public Library. “I don’t like to give out $10,000 grants, but they really needed $10,000,” Peterson noted. The Burton, Fauquier and Edgewood reading centres each received $500 from the RDCK, who picked up the slack once the $800 in funding they used to receive from the province was cut. Edgewood also got $10,000 this year to put a commercial kitchen in their community hall. “It’s a very nice experiment for economic development,” Peterson said, who sees farmers being able to take advantage of the kitchen to get more of their products to market. “I gave out $30,000 this month; it’s very unusual,” the Director told the Arrow Lakes
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News. The money being handed out comes from BC Hydro grants-in-lieu, and is dispensed by directors to the areas most affected. Gas tax grants were given to Edgewood to upgrade heating in the school and to Nakusp for repairs to the Arena. The grants are given for improvements to existing infrastructure that will make them save energy or water. At the RDCK offices, a consultant is being hired to examine how operations can be streamlined in terms of staffing, and will help formulate a new business plan for the Regional District. “We’ll be hiring a new CEO because the current one is retiring,” Peterson said. The RDCK wants to have the new business plan in place for the hiring process.
Dishing out the Affected Areas funding takes up a lot of the Area K Director’s time. “I find that keeps me pretty busy,” said Peterson, who sees part of his job to be a cheerleader and keep people working to get their applications for grants in on time. If they don’t put in enough applications, he said, the money doesn’t stay in the community, and will be given to applicants in other areas. Peterson is a very big fan of the community vote on which community project gets funded. “That’s a great thing about Nakusp. In every other community, there’s a committee that’s appointed, but in Nakusp the community votes on it. For a community, that’s pretty cool.”
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