A multi-government effort that includes the District of Sicamous continues to move towards the acquisition of a community forest.
Councillor Jeff Mallmes, who is handling the initiative for the District of Sicamous, said a meeting was recently held with local government partners from Splatsin and Enderby to provide an update on the quest to get an invitation from Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson to apply for a community forest.
Mallmes said the three governments have hired someone to work at getting to that point.
“He is making good strides… in the hope of us getting a letter of invitation sometime next year, early in the year,” said Mallmes. “But it’s a process. That’s the unfortunate part. You have to exhaust certain avenues before you can entertain new avenues. But it is being worked on and it is moving forward.”
The district is pursuing a community forest as a potential alternative revenue stream.
The B.C. Community Forest Association describes a community forest as a forestry operation managed by a community group, local government, First Nation or community-held corporation for the benefit of the entire community and, at its core, is “about local control over, and enjoyment of, the benefits offered by local forest resources.”