The Fraser Basin Council is inviting the public to an open house on Monday to discuss the Williams Lake Community Forest plan.
The event takes place at the 150 Mile House Fire Hall at 3038 Pigeon Road from 6:45 to 9:15 p.m. on Monday, April 22.
The goal of the open house is to increase mutual understanding of the proposed Community Forest and key community issues by the Community Forest partners and rural community members.
The purpose is:
• To provide information on the proposed Williams Lake Community Forest developed jointly by the Williams Lake Indian Band and the City of Williams Lake.
• To recommend options or processes for building a stronger community forest to benefit rural residents
• To prepare a summary of input, recommendations and options on key concerns/issues related to the proposed Community Forest.
The objective is to compile a report reflecting recommendations to improve the proposed Williams Lake Community Forest to better reflect the interests of rural community members.
Background:
The first steps in the development of the joint Williams Lake Indian Band and the City of Williams Lake Community Forest Agreement began in 1998, states the Fraser Basin Council press release.
Originally working independently, the two proponents joined together to build a more effective application to meet the intent of a healthy and sustainable community forest and sustainable benefits to the community.
A draft community forest application has been reviewed by the Ministry of Forests Lands Natural Resource Operations.
Based on boundaries in the draft application, the Regional Executive Director directed major licensees to stop planning further harvesting in the proposed area.
The next step is the completion and submission of the application and management plan that reflects community input.
See Backgrounder for more details (projected available April 16th ).
The Fraser Basin Council, established in 1997, is a non-governmental, not for profit organization, focused on assisting communities define and work towards achieving sustainability.
For more information on the meeting and Fraser Basin Council contact Gail Wallin (meeting facilitator) or Gail Lucier (meeting logistics) at 250-392-1400.