North Cowichan seeks feedback on future of municipal forests
A public engagement process is underway to determine what route North Cowichan, B.C., should take when it comes to managing its Municipal Forest Reserve (MFR).
There are four different scenarios the public can voice their opinion on. The scenarios are:
• Keep the status quo and continue harvesting at rate of 17,500 cubic metres per year.
• Reduce harvesting per year by 35 to 50 per cent.
• Active conservation which will drastically limit the amount of harvesting per year.
• Passive conservation which will move entirely away from harvesting.
For years, harvesting has brought in a revenue source for the municipality to lower taxes and fund certain projects. However, if a more conservative scenario is chosen, carbon credit offsets could be a revenue source instead.
People can voice their opinion during a series of public engagement processes taking place during December.
There will be an in-person session on Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Maple Bay Fire Hall.
Virtual engagement sessions are also scheduled for Dec. 6 and 12. There will also be telephone and an online surveys.
The review process began last year when the UBC Partnership Group, including the University of British Columbia and 3GreenTree Consulting, were hired to conduct a technical review of the forests, which resulted in the four scenarios put forward for consideration.
North Cowichan has managed it’s MFR since the 1940s, making it one of the oldest community forests in the province.
The MFR is made up of 5,000 hectares of woodlands, including Mount Prevost, Mount Sicker, Mount Tzouhalem, Stoney Hill, Mount Richards and Maple Mountain.
North Cowichan, B.C., is pictured. (CTV News)The public input will be gathered by staff and submitted to council in the new year, along with the consultant's final recommendations and input from local First Nations to determine a path going forward.
The last MFR review was done in the 1980s.
More information about the review process can be found on the North Cowichan website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.