Burns Lake is getting some funding to help with addressing forest damage after a particularly bad wildfire season last year.
The Cheslatta Carrier Nation in Burns Lake will receive $1.25 million from the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C..
Forests Minister Doug Donaldson made the announcement earlier today.
Executive director with the society Steve Kozuki says the money will go towards rehabilitation of forests in the area.
“It will primarily be used to re-forest areas that were destroyed [in 2018],” he said, adding that many of these locations would likely not be re-forested if not for the funding.
According to Kozuki, however, the initiative also offers another benefit.
“Those trees that are planted will … sequester carbon, which is a greenhouse gas,” he explains.
“So by planting these areas, it’s helping B.C. and Canada meet our Paris climate change targets.”
The 2018 wildfire season burned approximately 225,000 hectares of forest in Burns Lake and the surrounding area.