The province has changed the way it does business to help First Nations and community forest tenure holders sell their timber at fair market price and add to the data that supports timber pricing, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson announced today.

The Province is increasing the area covered by the Creston community forest agreement.

The Province is significantly increasing the area covered by the Babine Lake community forest agreement.

The Province is enhancing economic opportunities and forest stewardship on Cortes Island by granting a local group a community forest agreement.

The ministry's South Island Natural Resource District and the Pacific Rim Forest Professional Network are inviting the public to celebrate National Forest Week.

A new partnership is assisting community forests and small woodlot licence holders in the Kaslo area to identify new business opportunities.

To increase harvesting activity on the coast, government is exploring the use of new scanner technology for scaling logs, accelerating the auction of an additional 500,000 cubic metres by BC Timber Sales, improving the log-export system and exploring ways to better harvest the timber profile.

The B.C. government welcomed the news that Hampton Affiliates Ltd. is committed to rebuilding its Babine Forest Products mill in Burns Lake.