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TUESDAY MAY 22, 2012
Local gov’t displays set up To celebrate Local Government Awareness Week May 20-26, Williams Lake City Council and staff will set up around the city to inform residents about the role of local governments play and to answer questions from residents. A large display with information on council’s draft strategic initiatives, highlights of the 2012 budget, and other information will be at Canadian Tire on Wednesday, May 23; at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex Thursday, May 24; and at Save-On-Foods Friday, May 25, from 1 to 5 p.m. each day. Council and staff members will be on hand at the displays. Residents will be encouraged to complete a survey on the city’s secondary suites policy, which is relevant even to those who do not have a secondary suite in their home.
Inside the Tribune NEWS A3 Justice meeting held in Anaham. SPORTS A8 Lakers Show and Shine this weekend. COMMUNITY A11 Royalty contestants model. Weather outlook: Cloudy/ chance of showers today, high of 17 C. Mix of sun, cloud Wednesday, high of 14 C.
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Collision sends two to hospital
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Emergency crews attend the scene of a collision involving a pick-up truck and a car at the South Lakeside Drive and Highway 20 intersection Friday afternoon. Two people in the car were sent to hospital with minor injuries.
Area-based tenures among considerations Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer Cariboo Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett is pleased she’s been assigned to the special committee to examine the mid-term timber supply. “I was the vice-chair and became the chair of Cariboo Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition and was with the coalition from day one. I understand the issue, I have lots of background and I have also worked with all the other coalitions over the past many years,” Barnett says. She has seen many timber supplies and adds the declining numbers are not something new. “We knew this was coming.” The numbers have been there for a few years. It’s time to go back to the communities, to give them an update and hear their concerns over forestry issues and ask for their input on how to improve forestry on the landscape, she says. “Is there a possibility we can increase the timber supply or do things differently? We’re out there to lis-
ten, we have a mandate, terms of reference, and we will be out there meeting with every stakeholder we possibly can over the summer.” The terms of reference outlined for the committee are to specifically consider recommendations that could increase timber supply, including direction on the potential scope of changes to land-use objectives, rate of harvest and conversion of volume-based tenures to areabased tenures. Bob Simpson, Independent MLA for Cariboo North, says he’s nervous about those terms. “I don’t think they should be considering an increase in the timber supply. I had extensive dialogue with the ministers before the terms were drawn up and have told them we need to focus on the transition to a smaller, traditional forest industry.” Simpson believes the province cannot avoid a downsizing in the traditional forest sector, so instead of propping up the industry by starting a fight over land-use plans and area based tenures, the committee
should be going out to communities and asking what options exist to mitigate the “inevitable falldown in the cut levels.” Weighing in, the Association of BC Forest Professionals is expressing optimism because the government is doing what it was asked by undertaking consultations in communities. “We asked the focus to be on sustainability and from our look at the terms of reference it looks like that’s what they are going to do,” says ABCFP chief executive officer Sharon Glover. Aside from appointing the special committee on timber supply, the Legislative Assembly has also appointed a technical advisory committee that will include former chief foresters Larry Pedersen and Jim Snetsinger. “I know both of them personally as do most of our membership. They are both held in very high regard among forest professionals,” Glover says of Pedersen and Snetsinger. When it comes to potentially changing the land-use objectives,
Glover warns those plans were made with trade-offs by various people who worked on them many years ago. She says the committee will have to be careful if it thinks of overriding those plans because people agreed to them in good faith. They weren’t negotiated easily, she explains. While some area-based tenures already exist in some tree farm, community forest and woodlot licences within the province, the ABCFP membership is divided on whether there should be more of them. From a stewardship perspective, the members are split on the issue of tenure reform because it’s very prickly, Glover says. “If you know that you’re the only one getting the timber off the land then you will invest money in fertilization, thinning and all kinds of treatment to get the trees as healthy as possible.” See MLA Page A2