February 2013 Newsletter
BCCFA 2013 Conference and AGM
Mark the dates and be sure to join us and our hosts, the Wetzin'Kwa Community Forest in Smithers. This year we are offering on-line registration and payment system available soon at www.bccfa.ca.However, we encourage you to book your accommodation now to avoid disappointment.
When: May 23-25, 2013
Where: Hudson Bay Lodge 3251 Yellowhead Highway 16 East Box 3636, Smithers, BC V0J 2N0
What: The conference will focus on practical and timely topics relevant to community forests with lots of time for networking and plenty of good food. Wetzin'Kwa Community Forest will offer a field tour on Thursday May 23rd. The welcome reception will be held that same evening. The next two days will be a combination of presentations, discussions and workshops. The AGM will be held on Friday May 24 and the Banquet on the night of the 25th.
Smithers Accommodation more information
Become a Sponsor more information
Join the Trade Show - With funding from the Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program, the trade show puts a focus on digital technology to streamline community forest administration and create efficiencies in the office and in the field.
more information
Aboriginal Business Match
The BCCFA participated in the annual Aboriginal Business Match held in Penticton Feb 19-21. This was an important event in that it addressed a number of the BCCFA strategic plan focus areas.. Staff met with over 30 First Nations leaders that included chiefs and economic development professionals. We were able to provide educational materials, promote the work of the BCCFA and learn a tremendous amount about First Nations needs and interests on the land base in a series of 20 minute “speed-dating” type sessions.
Cherryville Community Forest
President Hank Cameron reports on the efforts in 2012 to improve forest health, develop access, plant trees, survey the land base and make the Cherryville Forest more fire resistant.
more information
Book proposal: Bridging Practice, Research and Advocacy for Community Forests in Canada
The organizers of the January 2013 community forest conference in Sault St. Marie have put out a call for both chapters and "community vignettes" that relate to the themes of the book.They are looking for a variety of community vignettes throughout the book to tell the stories of communities involved in established community forests, or those working on implementation or development. They encourage submissions of vignettes from a wide range of initiatives. There are surely stories to be told from BC...
more information
More News
Forestry Town Hall Meeting March 6th from 1 pm - 3 pm
A non-partisan event is being co-hosted by the Southern Interior Silviculture Committee (SISCO) and the Canadian Institute of Forestry in a concentrated effort to get forestry issues on the public agenda in advance of the May provincial election. If you cannot attend in person, the forum will be live streamed from Thompson Rivers University
at this link The event will be held in conjunction with the SISCO Winter Workshop.
Forestry Town Hall Forum, including back ground reading more information
SISCO Winter Workshop March 4-6 more information
Final Workshop - Fostering Resilient Forests and Ecosystems Workshops
The final workshop will be held in Kamloops, March 7th. The MFLNRO workshop will help participants identify harvesting and silviculture practices that can be changed today to help address climate change, and where efforts should be focused as a priority. more information
Forest Practices Board February 13 Bulletin
This bulletin describes the need to manage the cumulative effects of natural resource development in British Columbia. It is one of a series of five Forest Practices Board bulletins describing important issues for forest management identified in recent Board work. more information
Conference - 2013 Western Wildfire Conference — Firestorm 2003 Ten Years After, Kelowna, B.C. April 10-13, 2013
Presented by the Western Silviculture Contractors Association. The conference will put a focus on the science, politics and operations of the increasingly critical interface between wild land fire and communities in the West more information
February Update from Minister Thomson more information
Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations - Summary of What's New Notices for February 2013 more information
From tree to table – B.C. maple and birch syrup ready to be enjoyed
The government of B.C. recently expanded its list of “Qualifying Agricultural Uses” to include broad leaf maple and birch sap or syrup. Considered a breakthrough for this emerging sector, the new status will provide more flexibility for producers to meet the requirements to maintain farm status. more information
FORREX Streamline Watershed Bulletin more information
Wood Waste 2 Rural Heat January Newsletter more information
Value to Wood Newsletter Issue 27 (February) more information
