The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) announced 42 newly funded forest enhancement projects – a dozen of them in the Prince George and Cariboo region - to assist with the delivery of uneconomic forest fibre to pulp and pellet mills or green energy facilities or to help communities reduce their wildfire risk.
The 12 regional projects are:
- Canfor Pulp’s Incremental Haul Program for Pulplog: $3,000,000 to transport low value logs located outside of the current economic range to the Prince George Pulp and Paper Mill, rather than burned.
- Prince George Fibre Recovery 23/24: $281,250 to clear a stand that was damaged by mountain pine beetle and transport the low value fibre to pulp mills in Prince George. The stand will be replanted afterward.
- Northern Interior Grinding Fibre Utilization: $1,034,454 to transport fibre outside the economic radius to BioNorth Energy LP in Fort St. James.
- Northern Interior Grinding Fiber Utilization #2: $559,856 to grind wood waste piles to then be shipped to BioNorth Energy LP in Fort St. James.
- East Fraser Fibre-Increased Utilization of Uneconomical Fibre: $780,997 to ship low value fibre harvested under a mountain pine beetle salvage license to the chip plant in Mackenzie and then onto pulp mills in Prince George.
- SP22DPG-720-YR3: $96,190 to clear a stand that was damaged by mountain pine beetle and transport the low value fibre to pulp mills in Prince George. The stand will be replanted afterward.
- West Chilcotin Forest Products Ltd. Fibre Utilization 2023-25 Project: $1,354,929 to transport low value logs located outside of the current economic range to the pulp mill in Quesnel, rather than being burned.
- 2023 Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. Fibre Utilization Project: $3,218,240 to grind wood waste material in slash piles for transport to pellet and energy facilities as well as transport low-value logs located outside of the current economic range to the pulp mill in Quesnel.
- Pressy Lake CP394 Rehab/Fibre Utilization Project: $2,073,000 in FESBC funding, Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation will harvest and chip low value burned stands to be shipped to Kamloops. Ground material will be used for pellets.
- Williams Lake First Nation-150 Mile House Wildfire Risk Reduction Project: $494,802 in FESBC funding to thin forests in 150 Mile House that are adjacent to houses.
- Nazko First Nation-Wildfire Egress Routes: $676,297 in FESBC funding to thin forests adjacent to egress routes around the Nazko community.
- Cariboo Pulp & Paper-Fibre Recovery and Utilization 2023-2025 Project: $2,500,000 in FESBC funding to transport low value pulp logs to the Cariboo pulp mill rather than being burned.
These projects come as a result of the $50 million given to FESBC earlier this year by the Ministry of Forests to boost fibre supply by utilizing uneconomic fibre and reduce wildfire risk while also ]supporting workers and communities.
