The City of Quesnel will be able to co-ordinate forest management and landscape level planning, and develop business cases to build upon the manufacturing sector in the region, thanks to a $367,000 grant from the Province.

“The special circumstances provision of the Rural Dividend was specifically designed to assist communities undergoing economic hardship, such as those impacted by wildfire,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “This project is a good example of a community coming together to plan locally for economic and ecological resilience into the future.”

The funds will be used to implement the recommendations of the Quesnel Future of Forestry Think Tank, which was held in Quesnel in March 2018, to investigate new opportunities for forest management and forest products manufacturing.

“The City of Quesnel is very appreciative of the Province’s commitment to and financial support for our Future of Forestry Think Tank initiative,” said Mayor Bob Simpson. “We want to remain a vibrant forest-dependent community. This funding will assist us in the reinvention of our traditional forest sector so it will continue to sustain family-supporting jobs and provide community benefits for many generations into the future.”

This fall, $3,281,179 in special circumstance funding has been awarded to eligible B.C. communities and organizations undergoing economic hardship.

As part of Budget 2018, the Government of British Columbia committed to extending the $25-million per year Rural Dividend to 2020-21. The Rural Dividend is one aspect of government’s rural development mandate, which is committed to making rural communities more resilient.

Learn More:

City of Quesnel: www.quesnel.ca/

Forestry Think Tank: www.quesnel.ca/city-hall/major-initiatives/forestry-think-tank

Rural Dividend: www.gov.bc.ca/ruraldividend