The Province continues to expand forest opportunities for individuals, groups and First Nations with the offering of a new woodlot licence near Smithers.

The Ministry of Agriculture has offered two Mazzaella Japonica harvest licences for the upcoming 2013 season.

The Province recently launched iMapBC 2.0, an upgraded version of its popular online mapping toolkit that will provide improved access to thousands of geographical datasets.

The Northwest Fire Centre has responded to five new fires this week, as warm and dry weather continues throughout the region.

Residents and interested parties are invited to attend an open house on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, regarding the ongoing restoration project at Haynes Point Provincial Park.

As part of the long-term vision for the Kettle Valley Railway Trail to be a vibrant, world-class recreation destination, the Province is investing over $100,000 to upgrade the trail between Naramata and Little Tunnel.

People living and working near the Carrot Lake Experimental Burn Project southwest of Vanderhoof may notice smoke and flames at the site over the next week, due to a controlled fire that's being ignited to investigate wildfire behaviour.

Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister responsible for Core Review, toured the Mount Pleasant substation.

Travellers are advised the Scotch Creek Forest Service Road (FSR) will be temporarily closed at the 12.5-kilometre marker from Monday, Sept. 16 to Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013, due to a bridge upgrade.

The City of Port Alberni has become the province's fifth community to achieve Bear Smart status, an honour recognizing the community for their exceptional collaborative approach to reducing human-bear conflicts.