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Wetzin’kwa Community Forest looks at a reduction of over half of AAC for the next five years

The Wetzin’kwa Community Forest Corporation is looking at a reduction of over half their annual allowable cut for the next five years starting in the new year.

That’s a loss of potentially 1 million dollars in yearly revenue and a reduction of about 195 thousand cubic metres for the next cut control period.

General Manager Jay Baker says they were able to stow enough money away in several reserves during the three years of an annual allowable cut of 95 thousand cubic metres, and 30 thousand for the last two years.

One reserve of 3 million dollars will be used to maintain the community grant program.

“To date, Wetzin’kwa Community Forest has contributed well over one million dollars over an eight year period to various stakeholder groups in the Bulkley Valley. In the last year alone it was about 160 thousand dollars to 30 different groups,” says Baker.

It’s a valuable program that touches a lot of people. So the board wants to make sure that program is there for the long term.”

Baker says the reduced operations will mostly hurt local contractors and community stakeholders. In the last year, there were 2.4 million dollars worth of contracting opportunities through Wetzin’kwa for logging and construction. That’s now expected to be reduced by less than half.

Baker says they’ll be looking to diversify operations much like Seaton Forest Products that started up near Moricetown using the dry balsam the larger mills leave behind to make cant.

“If we can find places to add value that could bring more prosperity again in the future, that’ll be something we’ll continue to explore and work with entrepreneurs on.”

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