Forest Renewal asks for help in dolin

REGIONAL ADVISORY groups will give . communities a say in how Forest Renewal BC programs are shaped and funds allocated, ac- cording 1o FRBC’s Workforce Director.

“We don't want to preach ‘this is good for you,” from a provincial perspective,” Kelly Nontell told a recent advisory group workshop in Smithers, “We want the region to tell us, ‘na, this is what we need, this is what's important and this is how we want it done.’ Our job is to

posed Regional Advisory Committee. But the final decision making authority, says Nontell, will be up to FRBC’s Board of Directors,

“The advisory groups will not have decision making power,”’ says Nontell. ‘‘That ultimately Will rest with the FRBC Board of Directors.

“But it will have considerable influence on what we look like, what we do, and how we do it in their region. Advice from people who live here and work here is what we're after.”’

g out the cash

find a way to respond to that.’”

For 1996, 11 per cent of FRBC’s $130 million

“budget — financed owt of sharply increased

stumpage fees paid by the forest industry — is earmarked for Skeena-Bulkley Region projects. The total sits at just under $40 million, to be distributed across five areas of concentration: Lands and Resources, Workforce, Value- Added, Community and Environment.

How that money is divvicd up and into which envelopes it falls will be influenced by the pro-

Renewal cash flowing slowly

FOREST RENEWAL B.C.’s five-year plan is behind schedule,

_ The funding body was expected to hand out $250 million

for FRBC projects at start of 1996, but Slaffing problems

slowed the application process to a near standstill,

‘We're only at $130 million in approved projects, when we expected to be much higher,” says Vice President of Policy and Planning, Dana Bunnieux. ‘We just didn’t have the qualified staff to review the applications and the resull was a backlog.’’

Those projecis that missed their seasonal window in 1995 will be carried over this spring,

. According to Bunnieux, it took up to February of this year to match staffing levels with the number of funding Tequests — particularly in the North.

“We had a hard time recruiting people to northern com- _Munities,” she says, ‘But by this time next year we _ Should be closer ta $300 million in approvals.’’

Funding for Forest Renewal B.C. is raised by the forest industry itself through increased stumpage fees and royalty

rates paid to harvest timber on publicly owned lands.

_ The money is then invested in a variety of portfolios and drawn on as project necds arise.

| In 1995, FRBC’s first operating year, $52 million was

- spread across the province. The Bulkley-Skeena Region’s

share was 34.5 million, most of which went to watershed

- testoralion projects like road deactivation and stream en-

. hancement.

Projects and Funding | Allocations at a Glance

. Enhanced Forestry: The fion’s share of funding — $8,184,593 — has gone towards 48 projects designed to . improve forest management. Work is focussed on increas- ing productivity and expanding the area of provincial forests by converting marginal agricultural lands to forest. Projects may include spacing, pruning, ferlilizing and pre- . paring sites for replanting, -Research: To date, there are 11 projects in total, with a funding amount of $1,314,430.

Resource Inventory: Ten projects, which include

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Funding for an arca is determined by its past stumpage revenue..The Prince Rupest forest region, which shares the same boundaries as FRBC’s Skeena-Bulkley Region, has con- Sistently contribuled 11 per cent to the pro- vince’s overall total.

Last year Skeena-Bulkley’s percentage share went largely towards watershed restoration pro- grams, including Pacific Inland Resources bid lo clean up the Telkwa River, In total 76 projects were approved at a cost of just over $7

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million,

“That could look very different once the ad- visory groups are in place,’” says Nontell. ‘It’s a bit awkward sctting up the committees a year and a half after FRBC was developed.

“Those were the applications proponents who were able to respond quickly.”

In ils rough form, Nontell thinks the advisory group will consist of appointed representatives from interest groups, such as municipalities, First Nations, industry and environmentalists, within the region. The chair will be elected by the advisory group.

“T don’t think we'll have a cookie cutter ap- proach to what those groups will look like, or how they function or even how they influence what we do in our program delivery,’” says Nontell. “That will be decided by the informa- tion gathered in our regional workshops.’?

The commiltees are expected to be in place by this fall.

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gathering information on timber and non-timber resources — including eco-system data — have been approved at $932,662,

Value Added: No projects have been approved as of yet, but Skeena-Bulkley Regional Director Alan Parkinson ex- pects several in FRBC’s second year of operation.

At present there are 500 value-added manufacturers in the province, which turn lumber into products with a high- er value. Finger joints are one example. The purpose of FRBC’'s program includes financing up-and-coming value- added firms, increasing their low lumber supply at an eco- nomical price and re-training,

Watershed Restoration: The biggest number of ap- proved projects falls under watershed restoration, Seventy- six programs are underway, with an emphasis on road deactivation and restoring streams and wildlife habitat damaged by past forest practices. The total cost comes to $7,118,578.

Workforce; Four projects are approved at $253,014. Training programs, job crcation and linking displaced forest workers to employment opportunities created by FRBC are three project priorities.

Communities: So far the only project has been approved at $26,000, The primary focus of community projects is ensuring economic diversification within the forest sector and creating new jobs,

That brings the total number of approvals for 1995 to 150 across the seven districis that make-up the Bulkley Skeena Region.

The North Coast sits at 24; Kalum, 38; Kispiox, 13: Bulkley, 15; Morice, 8; Lakes, 22; Cassiar, 1.

The total cost comes in just under $18 million.

For 1996, 174 project applications have been received,

PR RENEWAL

lion.

projects under way in that region.

demand,

Cyber-loggers trade wood on Net

LOGGING CONTINUES while Forest Renewal B.C. falls further behind in return- ing the hiked stumpage fees that were to bankroll forestry projects.

Advertising budget is . green as the forests

A 12-week province-wide television and radio ad campaign now underway is costing Forest Renewal BC a sliver under $1 mil-

Six different TV ads have been produced featuring children of forest sector workers telling upbeat tales of what their parents do,

And, tailored to the specific region they’re being aired in, the half dozen radio ads will explain the FRBC and highlight

For those who might question why the crown corporation was spending that kind of money on a publicity campaign rather than in the forests, FRBC spokesman Ernic Fraser said it was simply meeting public

FRBC research had found people sup- ported the organization “‘but are crying out for more information,'’ he explained. The campaign would give them that and outline

exactly what FRBC did,

Fraser said it would also clear up public confusion about the role of FREC vis-a-vis the Forest ministry and confusion between FRBC and the Forest Alliance (an industry- financed lobbing organizalion independent of government). '

While conceding some people might speculate about the timing of the publicity blitz, given talk of an imminent provincial ekcction, he maintained the content of the TV spots would clearly show there was no connection,

The FRBC campaign was not political “in any way, shape or form,”’ be said.

“The board and senior management wanted to get on with getting information out,” Fraser said, adding the decision to undertake the campaign had been made more than two months ago,

“These things take time,’’ he added.

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 6, 1996 - A5

cemempeuupmpemmmimme mene ce] CORHESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

By JENNIFER McLARTY The future of logging is now. Through Internet technology, cyberculture and forestry have morphed into a hybrid that will send B.C.’s number one industry rocketing into the 21st century. The Wood Fibre Network — cre- ated by stakeholders, the Ministry - of Employment and Investment, * B.C. information companies and “ funded by FRBC — is a user- > friendly program that links buyers » and sellers of logs and lumber via + the virtual airways. ' “Our major objective,” says Dan - Needham, one of the designers, ‘‘is * to help meet the continued demand : for available lumber." “Opening up the communication + Hines will link a varicty of woodlot “owners with mills and vice-versa, ? rather than having to stick with tra- « ditional sources.” ' After logging on to the system, a

user can input a supply offer with tailored information like region, specics, board size, volume and price. At midnight the offer runs through a matching program that connects the supply offer with a demand request,

“The demand inquiries are some- thing like a personal ad,” says Needham, “‘It says, ‘I’m looking for this supply, can you help me out.’”?

Private woodlot owners have the.

option of scanning demand notices, adds Necdham, which helps them decide what to harvest and to what specifications,

Eventually the network will in- clude more specialized sectors like fruitwood for furniture or smoking woodchips.

One of the most exciting aspects of the fibre network is the potential for digital partnerships,

Independent woodlot owners can

now reach olher members of the B.C. Woodlot Association or value- added operations via the super- highway and pool their resources.

By doing so they are able to create a wider range of marketable products through joint ventures or make bids on contracts that were too big to fill in the past,

Olber menu options include an industry information bulletin board that lists technological develop- ments, training sessions and sign- up forms, equipment buy and sell -— complete with graphics for downloading, and value-added in- formation.

The subscription cast for the Wood Fibre network is $300 per year, which breaks down to roughly $6 per day or as litde as $1.50 per day if a user is in and out of the system quickly.

Access is available through a va- riety of industry associations who

t

have already purchased on-line time for its members, the Shared Provincial Area Network nin by the B.C, government, or through orga- nizations like Compu-Serve.

Ta its first year, systems analysts hope to have 150 on-line subscrip- tions by the end of March and 500 by next April,

“We need a critical mass of users on-line quickly to make the project work,” says Needham.

If the network takes off, adds Needham, an internet website is in the works that will break down in- tentational borders and give B,C, users the opportunity to market globally.

As it stands, the system is only available in B.C, but electronic connections into Alberta, Sas- katchewan, Ontarlo and the U.S, should be ready to go by the end of the year.

The Mail Bag

Let’s all help teens

Dear Sir:

We read your article in the Terrace Standard Feb. 21/96, ‘Rowdy teens a Problem’’.

We have resided in Terrace for a long time (since 1983) and we have seen it grow from a desolate little town in the 80’s to a bigger city today,

Although we feel proud of al the economic develop- ments and opportunities ctc. that are available now, it saddens and worries us when we hear of the problems that are occurring to the teens in our lille community.

Our eldest child just tumed ten years old and while he seems to be a responsible child, we cannot close our eyes to those troubled children in our community who need the support and help from us.

We seem to rank among the highest in the province for teen pregnancies, youth violence, teen gangs, vandalism and the recent alcohol-and drug related youth deaths. :

This saddens us deeply .

In the article, what impressed us the most was Mr. McQuarrie’s statement, “There needs to be a commit- meat among the various agencies in town to work to- gether, It’s not so much a question of dollars as itis time.’’ How very true.

Life in the nineties scems to have become so fast and we secm to have became so self-indulged in our tiny family structure that we have no time and scem to be forgetting the bigger family structure we have in the residents of our still not so big Terrace.

Of course there are a lot of people who are doing their share of helping and reaching out to dis- advantaged, sickly, ect. in our community.

Obviously that number is not enough.

50, Ict’s all go out and be prepared to volunteer a little of our community.

Lei’s all show them we care. Let's make Terrace a safe and happy place once again.

If counsellors and people who are good organizers can organize such programs for teens, our family would certainly be the first to volunteer our time and we know of a number of people wha would probably do the same.

Let’s all do it and make it happen, Terrace is beauti- ful and Ict’s keep it that way.

Kanwal and Bhupinder Gill Terrace, B.C.

Boatman Bob was lucky

Dear Sir: ] have to comment on your birthday notice of Bob Reeds in The Terrace Standard, Feb.14.

If it were not for the intervention of the Terrace Res- cue Team, Bob Reeds would be crab food by now. J followed the write-ups in the papers too, but did noth- ing to restrain him from going on a very foolish voy- age.

It is a wonder he survived the rapids before Shames with his Mimsy creation. However, at least, somebody had the foresight to pull him then from the Skcena.

In the 60s I worked on deep sea tugs and as a boom- man at Little Windsor Point and fell many times into the cold river. A visitor not familiar with the firm his- tory of the Skeena river gels carried away looking al the beautiful landscape.

Bob Reeds can call himself very lucky, because he cerlainly would have never made. it past the mouth of the Skeena river between Smith and Kennedy Island. Somebody from Prince Rupert who kept records told me in 1975 his missing people count sload by then at 48.

The men who pulled Reeds under protest from the river should be put up for an award. They risked their lives ta save an old fool like that, Please don’t magnify a fool’s idea of a voyage — it may motivate other people to try it also.

M. Bader Terrace B.C.

Enough welfare myths

Dear Sir:

A few weeks ago I read a comment about people who ‘were tuming down $10 per hour jobs so that they could stay on welfare.’’ This opinion seems to be shared by many. I don’t understand why, during times of economic hardship, a lot of people scem to go on the offensive.

Iam no shrink, but I suspect their anger stems from their own fears about what would happen should they ever be in the same position. Their anger and frustra- tion is directed towards the people they fear becoming. This lack of compassion is troubling.

Where this notion that welfare recipients are ‘‘vacationing’’ at the expense of the taxpayer came from J] have no idea, but the concept is ludicrous. So is the concept that most recipients don’t want to work. Let’s do the math... let’s say there are 100 people look- ing for work but only 90 jobs obviously no matter how experienced those olher 10 people are, if there is no job, then they cannot get work. We can't keep pretend- ing it isu’tso.

Recently I received a diploma from the local college (I was sponsored by UIC). It has been very difficult to find a job. I was in school two years and the rules gave me three weeks to find work. Of course I don’t believe I should have stayed on UI indefinitely, but any sane person knows that three weeks is not adequate to secure employment.

Afler this ] had two options: starve or go on welfare. It may come as a surprise to the hard-liners but J chose the latter, Welfare is there for a purpose, as long as | am nol abusing it, I feel no shame in seeking as- sistance.

As to the question of ‘welfare riches’ | can quickly dispel thal myth, [ am a single male, with no children. My monthly income is $481.50. Hmmm...$265 for shared rent, $30 for hydro, $25 for phone, $35 for my student loan. This leaves $126.50 for gas, money, clo- thing, and groceries etc.

Iam grateful for the assistance, but how can anyone say that this is too generous? I have been very active in my job search, but with no real clothing allowance, how am J to look presentable for job interviews?

At this level of income it’s not hard to understand how people get tapped into a cycle — there comes a time when you simply won’t have the taoncy to dig out of poverty.

Peter Randrup Terrace, B.C,