Alberni Valley Community Forest

The City of Port Alberni has been negotiating with the British Columbia Ministry of Forest and Range to obtain a Community Forest licence on Crown land. The Ministry of Forest and Range has proposed two areas north of Sproat Lake, and south of the Taylor River as shown on the map. A Community Forest for Port Alberni would put control of Crown land and resources in the hands of local people, and allow the Port Alberni and Sproat Lake communities to decide how to manage the forest, and how to use the proceeds from timber harvesting activities. A community forest could provide benefits to the community such as:

Long-term community economic development.
Small scale local employment.
Profits reinvested in community projects.
Local-level forest management decision leading to appropriate use of forest resources and protection of drinking water, viewscapes, and other values that are important to communities and to local and regional economic activity.
Resolution of conflicts over timber harvesting.
Enhanced opportunities for education and research. Community forests can be used for testing innovative forest practices.
Improved awareness of forest management among members of the public.

A successful community forest needs local participation. The process of building a community forest needs to include the full range of community perspectives. The community forest needs input from individuals or groups regarding forest management decisions. Please send your comments to us.

The community forest needs advice from skilled people with experience in the following areas:

forestry,
community organization,
biology, ecology, hydrology,
economic development,
business management,
recreation, and
environmental protection.

If you have questions about the Alberni Valley Community Forest; you’d like to participate in the management of the community forest, or you have a skill that could benefit the community, please send an email to communityforest@drhconsulting.ca or call 250-723-9466.

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BC Community Forest Association

2009 Annual Conference and AGM

May 28 - 31, 2009

Port Alberni Community Centre - Echo Centre

4255 Wallace Street (10th Ave and Wallace)

Tseshaht Artists and Friends Spring Market at the Tseshaht Band Office parking lot on the Tseshaht Indian Reserve on Saturday, May 9, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. (This is planned to be an outdoors market but will be moved indoors should that be needed due to weather)