Members of the Stellat’en First Nation now have an enhanced voice in local forest stewardship and greater opportunity for economic development through a forestry agreement signed with the Province, moving British Columbia and the Stellat’en further down the path of reconciliation.

The public is advised that the Exstew River recreation site, located 42 kilometres west of Terrace on Highway 16, will be closed to recreational users between Tuesday, May 15, and Wednesday, May 23, 2018.

The BC Wildfire Service is planning to conduct an 11-hectare prescribed burn in the Hope Creek area as early as Tuesday, May 8, 2018, to help reduce wildfire threats and prepare the area for replanting.

Bruce Larson, Tara Marsden and Rick Monchak have been appointed to the Forest Practices Board for two-year terms, Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, has announced.

The Government of British Columbia has contributed $500,000 to the Forestry Service Providers Compensation Fund to protect eligible forestry and silviculture contractors, and service providers, in the event of licensee insolvency.

Effective at noon on Saturday, May 5, 2018, Category 2 open fires and the use of fireworks will be prohibited within the Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Fort Nelson fire zones.

The impact that climate change is having on wildfire behaviour in B.C. will be a focus of the Wildfire and Climate Change Conference, taking place in Nelson from June 26-28, 2018, Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Minister Doug Donaldson announced today.

A 300-hectare prescribed burn is being planned on Crown land in the Hat Creek area, to promote ecosystem renewal, reduce accumulations of flammable material and provide important training opportunities for BC Wildfire Service crews in the region.

People living either upstream or downstream from the Nicola Lake Dam are being advised to take precautions and prepare for high water levels.