The Province is accepting bids on a new woodlot licence 50 km north of Hazelton, in a move that will eventually generate new job opportunities across the region, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson announced today.

The woodlot (W2114) includes two separate but adjacent blocks that cover a total of 1,096 hectares of Crown land off Kuldo Forest Service Road, just north of Skeena-Carrigan Forest Service Road. The area contains primarily hemlock with a mix of balsam and spruce and has an allowable annual cut of 2,299 cubic metres.

The deadline for submission is Dec. 12, 2013. Applications and details are available online; see Notice 8203 at: http://www23.for.gov.bc.ca/notices/init.do

Woodlot licences are small, area-based tenures that combine private land with up to 800 hectares of Crown land on the Coast and 1,200 hectares of Crown land in the Interior. The Province's 860 woodlot licences generate local jobs in planning, harvesting, road construction and maintenance, reforestation, silviculture and small-scale timber processing.

Over the past two weeks, the Province has announced that it was accepting bids on woodlot licences in 100 Mile House, Skookumchuk and Edgewood. These new woodlot licence opportunities support Our Natural Advantage: Forest Sector Strategy for British Columbia, which outlines a number of priorities to help grow the forestry sector sustainably, including continuing the expansion of the woodlot program.

Quote:

Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson -

"Woodlot licences like the one in the Skeena region are an effective way to support prosperous rural forest economies by improving access to forest tenures. These small-tenure opportunities bring increased economic activity to the local area and allow British Columbians to directly manage forest land."

Learn More:

Forest Sector Strategy for B.C.: https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/mof/forestsectorstrategy/

Woodlot licences: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hth/timber-tenures/woodlots/index.htm

Federation of B.C. Woodlot Associations: http://www.woodlot.bc.ca

Media Contact:

Kim O'Hare
Media Relations
Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
250 356-5261