Bill Bourgeois, PhD RPF – Comments on Report from Special Committee on Timber Supply

Excerpt:

In review of the Committee report, Growing Fibre – Growing Value, the following key comments are
provided for consideration by interested parties.

Overall perspectives

• There are no surprises regarding the issues identified through the consultation process as they
  are consistent with those heard during the 2011 HFHC Community Dialogue Sessions and those
  from forest management experts.
• The recommendations are:
• Helpful in raising the profile of forest management
• Not outlandish but do not push the envelope
• Nothing new as they were generally known within Government or the bureaucracy for
  some time
• Unfortunately focused on short-term economic actions and include only a minor
  amount of long-term sustainability needs
• Report is disappointing as the Committee chose to only comment on the issues specific to their
  narrow Terms of Reference while ignoring other key issues related to the overall management
  of BC’s forests (e.g., need for an updated SFM framework, need for a comprehensive community
  diversification action plan, need for enhanced forest research, environmental protection and
  forest health, need for actions regarding reduction of the NSR lands). The Committee had the
  opportunity to use the initiative to bring leadership to the issue of BC forest management and
  be innovative in forwarding recommendations on priority provincial forest management issues
  to the Legislature. This is an opportunity lost!