Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako joining fight to keep tabular timber rates

The Burns Lake Community Forests issued a letter to the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN), asking for their support in fighting against a potential change in forest timber pricing policy.

The government has expressed policy intention to change pricing system from tabular rates to a market-based timber pricing system, which could have major economic impacts on community forests.

The Modernizing Forest Policy in B.C. government document indicates that the motivation for changing the timber pricing is to strengthen the social contract by supporting local communities by ensuring the growth of good jobs, and ensuring that local communities including Indigenous communities have the opportunities to benefit from resources coming from their own backyards.

According to the letter from the Burns Lake Community Forests however, a change in the pricing system will cause negative impacts in several areas.

First Nations will see a dramatic decrease in dividends coming from community forests, First Nations with partnerships with forestry companies will be directly impacted, and education and training of First Nation groups will be harder to finance.

Furthermore, forest management and innovation will not be possible, as innovation is expensive in the short term, and donations available for non-profit groups throughout the region will also be impacted.

Though Burns Lake Community Forest General Manager Frank Varga wasn’t present for the RDBN natural resources committee meeting, Chinook Community Forest General Manager Ken Nielsen was available to provide the committee with explanation on what exactly the change from tabular rates to a market based pricing system entails.

“Community forests receive tabular rates which means they pay 15 per cent of the stumpage of whichever timber area they’re in. In Chinook’s case, we’re in the Lakes Timber Supply Area (TSA). If the provincial government approves a change to the market-based timber pricing system, community forests would have to pay 100 per cent of the stumpage,” he explained.

“If we lost that tabular rate, speaking for Chinook, donations would go away, the annual open house would go away, all the extra silviculture treatments we go would go away, essentially all the good things community forests do would go away,” he continued.

The RDBN natural resources committee approved the motion to back the Burns Lake Community Forest’s request, and will be writing a letter to Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Katrine Conroy to voice their concerns.

“We’ve been having these conversations within the Village of Burns Lake council for months now,” Burns Lake Mayor Dolores Funk said during the committee meeting.

“We’ve mentioned our concerns at every opportunity we’ve had to come into contact with anyone from the ministry. We are writing a letter from the village as well, and I’d encourage other communities to do the same.”