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Province of British Columbia
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
2019FLNR0269-002168
Nov. 13, 2019
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
Over $27 million to help more wood fibre use

PRINCE GEORGE – More than $27 million in project grants that will help create jobs throughout British Columbia will also help increase the use of wood fibre that otherwise would have been burned as slash.

This was done by the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC), which distributes the grants, in partnership with the B.C. government and the Government of Canada.

“Nothing frustrates people more than seeing piles of slash go to waste rather than be used to help create jobs,” said Ravi Kahlon, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.

Kahlon made the announcement at the Pacific BioEnergy plant in Prince George and was joined by industry and FESBC representatives, and Mackenzie Mayor Joan Atkinson.

These projects will employ forestry contractors, some of whom might otherwise be unemployed. In addition, it will help to employ mill workers who produce electricity, wood pellets and pulp at mills that produce these products specifically. As result, more wood waste will be turned into electricity, heat energy and pulp products to help achieve B.C.’s and Canada’s climate change targets.

This latest round of grants by the society cover 38 different projects in British Columbia, with individual grant amounts ranging from $16,980 to $1.5 million (see backgrounder for details about the projects). As of Nov. 13, 2019, about $230 million have been provided by the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. to support 251 approved projects.

Projects funded by the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. help minimize wildfire risks, enhance wildlife habitat, improve low-value and damaged forests, re-plant damaged forests and use fibre for green energy production. Many of these projects also result in carbon benefits and contribute to climate change mitigation.

“Supporting greater utilization of fibre and improving greenhouse gas management are two of our key objectives,” said Wayne Clogg, board chair of the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. “These 38 projects will help achieve these objectives while supporting rural communities. We are very pleased to work with the provincial government on projects that support important climate action goals.”

Learn More:

Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.: http://www.fesbc.ca

Two backgrounders follow.

 
Contacts:
 
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Media Relations
250 356-7506
 
Aleece Laird
Communications Liaison
Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
communications@fesbc.ca
250 574-0221
 
Province of British Columbia
BACKGROUNDER 1
For Immediate Release
2019FLNR0269-002168
Nov. 13, 2019
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
Facts about the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
  • The Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. is a Crown agency. It was established in 2016 to advance the environmental and resource stewardship of the province’s forests by:
    • preventing wildfires and mitigating wildfire impacts
    • improving damaged or low-value forests
    • improving wildlife habitat
    • supporting the use of fibre from damaged or low-value forests
    • treating forests to improve the management of greenhouse gases
  • The B.C. government has invested $235 million in the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C., with about $230 million allocated to 251 projects since the society’s inception for wildfire risk reduction, reforestation, forest rehabilitation, wildlife habitat restoration and raising awareness of the FireSmart program.
  • The Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. is a partner in the Forest Carbon Initiative, which is funded in part through the federal government’s Low Carbon Economy Fund. This initiative assists with B.C. government priorities such as:
    • revitalizing the forest sector
    • partnering with First Nations
    • supporting the Province’s CleanBC commitment to transition to a low-carbon economy
    • providing economic benefits for rural communities
  • Pacific BioEnergy has received several grants from the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. in recent years. A fibre utilization project that started in 2017 was supported by a grant of $1,456,758, while another fibre utilization project that started in 2018 was supported by a $726,000 grant. Pacific BioEnergy also received a grant of $1,036,152 in 2017 for a wildfire risk reduction project around the community of Nazko.
 
Contacts:
 
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Media Relations
250 356-7506
 
Aleece Laird
Communications Liaison
Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
communications@fesbc.ca
250 574-0221
 
Province of British Columbia
BACKGROUNDER 2
For Immediate Release
2019FLNR0269-002168
Nov. 13, 2019
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
Communities that will benefit from grants

The Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia has allocated $27,682,301 to support 38 projects that will help increase the use of wood fibre that otherwise would have been burned as slash.

Funding for these projects has been distributed as follows:

November 2018 intake:

  • $3.86 million to Ledcor Forest Products Partnership (about 350,000 cubic metres in the Kamloops area)
  • $3 million to Zellstoff Celgar LP (about 600,000 cubic metres in the Castlegar area)
  • $484,000 to Alkali Resource Management Ltd. (about 24,000 cubic metres in the Williams Lake area)
  • $536,100 to Skookumchuck Pulp Inc. (about 51,000 cubic metres in the Kimberley area)
  • $1.44 million to Arrow Transportation Systems Inc. (about 140,000 cubic metres in the Kamloops area)
  • $1.5 million to Fort St James Fuel Co. Limited Partnership (about 175,000 cubic metres in the Fort St. James area)
  • $618,000 to Arrow Transportation Systems Inc. (about 120,000 cubic metres in the Kamloops area)
  • $511,500 to Ledcor Forest Products Partnership (about 160,000 cubic metres in the Chilliwack area)
  • $555,255 to K&D Logging Ltd. (about 50,000 cubic metres in the Mackenzie area)
  • $500,000 to Valley Carriers Ltd. (about 37,000 cubic metres in the Merritt area)
  • $1.03 million to Arrow Transportation Systems Inc. (about 100,000 cubic metres in the Kamloops area)
  • $887,304 to West Chilcotin Forest Products Ltd. (about 62,000 cubic metres in the Anahim Lake area)

September 2019 intake:

  • $488,958 to Alkali Resource Management Ltd. (about 52,000 cubic metres west of Williams Lake)
  • $25,354 to the Bella Coola Community Forest (about 4,000 cubic metres in the Bella Coola area)
  • $929,314 to Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. (about 87,000 cubic metres south of Burns Lake)
  • $435,235 to Sasuchan Development Corporation (about 59,000 cubic metres near Fort St. James)
  • $707,540 to Cariboo Pulp and Paper (about 74,000 cubic metres near 100 Mile House)
  • $1.5 million to Canfor Prince George Pulp and Paper (about 143,000 cubic metres from Prince George area)
  • $1 million to Mackenzie Pulp Mill Corporation (about 133,000 cubic metres in the Mackenzie area)
  • $1 million to Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. (about 90,000 cubic metres in the Williams Lake area)
  • $584,138 to Cariboo Pulp and Paper (about 98,000 cubic metres in the Quesnel area)
  • $40,000 to Harrop-Proctor Community Cooperative (about 4,000 cubic metres near Harrop)
  • $160,000 to Barkerville Historic Town & Park (about 9,000 cubic metres near Barkerville)
  • $278,938 to Strategic Natural Resource Consultants Inc. (about 19,000 cubic metres near Port McNeill)
  • $21,284 to Hillcore Lakeside Pacific Forest Products Ltd. (about 1,700 cubic metres near Chilliwack, at Harrison Lake)
  • $443,400 to Terrace Community Forest (about 30,000 cubic metres south of Terrace)
  • $500,000 to Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. (about 31,000 cubic metres near Vernon)
  • $500,000 to Fort St. James Fuel Co. Limited Partnership (about 52,000 cubic metres near Fort St. James)
  • $150,000 to Probyn Log Ltd. (about 6,600 cubic metres near Bella Bella)
  • $874,562 to Coast Tsimshian Resources LP (about 94,000 cubic metres near Terrace)
  • $1.25 million to Domtar (about 105,000 cubic metres in Kamloops area)
  • $85,000 to Lions Gate Forest Products Limited (about 4,000 cubic metres near Port Hardy)
  • $750,000 to Williams Lake Indian Band (about 30,000 cubic metres near Williams Lake)
  • $16,980 to Stella-Jones Inc. (about 1,900 cubic metres near Revelstoke)
  • $150,069 to Logan Lake Community Forest Corporation (about 12,000 cubic metres near Logan Lake)
  • $750,000 to Atlantic Power (about 75,000 cubic metres in Williams Lake area)
  • $97,460 to Stella-Jones Inc. (about 12,000 cubic metres near Revelstoke)
  • $19,909 to Nakusp and Area Community Forest (about 1,600 cubic metres near Nakusp)
 
Contacts:
 
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Media Relations
250 356-7506
 
Aleece Laird
Communications Liaison
Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
communications@fesbc.ca
250 574-0221
 
Connect with the Province of B.C. at: news.gov.bc.ca/connect