11 Wednesday.January 17.2018 | Powell River Peak » prpeak.com
2017 Annual Report to the Community
Community Forest Objectives • Maintain healthy and productive forest ecosystems • Deliver sustainable forest-management practices • Protect the water quality in the Haslam Lake and Lang Creek community watersheds • Provide opportunities for local contractors, mill owners and value-added manufacturers • Protect key forest recreation resources • Achieve clear business and financial performance targets • Use the profits as a foundation for investment in the community
Powell River Community Forest (PRCF) wishes everyone a great new year. We are pleased to provide some information about the community forest and to report on some of our 2017 forestry activities. 2017 was one of the driest summers on record and the province’s firefighting resources were fully committed elsewhere. As we moved into extreme fire danger locally, and our forestry operations were shut down, there was concern about the risk of fire from recreational use. PRCF wants to thank everyone for being extra careful. We had no fires. Our operations were conducted safely and in compliance with all environmental protection requirements. We put $1,671,246 back into the Powell River community through contracts and supply purchases from local companies. Those forestry contractors and their workers are a big part of delivering on our commitment to have the highest level of forest practices. During 2017 we scaled 28,469 cubic meters of timber, a little under our AAC. Despite US softwood lumber trade sanctions the log market has remained strong so we have used those revenues to invest in our road network including major culvert and bridge improvements on Haslam Main, Branch 200, L-48 and rebuild of part of Granet Main. We are projecting a 2017 year end profit from log sales of approximately $2,000,000. Another very strong year financially. This results from an increase to our Allowable Annual Cut which took effect in 2016 and the continued strong domestic log market. At this stage, this is an estimate only and our final year end financials are subject to audit and board approval at our Annual General Meeting in the spring. Our profits are reinvested into the community through grants for community projects. On May 16, 2017 we deposited our 2016 dividend in the amount of $1,975,639 into the Community Forest Reserve Fund (the fund). At that time we announced our recommendations for 16 grants for community projects totalling $1,613,964. Then with monies left in the fund, on November 7, 2017 we announced 7 more grants for the remaining monies in the fund, totalling $728,862.43. Since the fund was created 10 years ago PRCF has deposited an impressive $8,541,864 and a total of 98 grants have been approved. We have also committed operational monies to annual funding for the Powell River Salmon Society’s water quality and flow monitoring for the Haslam Lake and Lang Creek watersheds, the Powell River Wildsafe Program, Scholarships for Powell River students, the School District 47 Summer Forestry Student Program and to help volunteer groups with trail maintenance on the BC Bike Race route and other trails.
12 Wednesday.January 17.2018 | Powell River Peak » prpeak.com
13 Wednesday.January 17.2018 | Powell River Peak » prpeak.com
Investing in our community
What is a community forest agreement? A community forest agreement (CFA) is an area-based forest tenure issued by BC Ministry of Forests that allows harvest of timber on provincial forest land. CFAs were intended to provide communities with opportunities to have more control over how their local forests are managed and directly receive benefits from forest development occurring in their area. Powell River CFA was awarded in August 2006 and covers approximately 7,100 hectares of forest area. A sustainable allowable annual cut has been calculated at 35,000 cubic metres per year. Powell River Community Forest (PRCF) is responsible for all planning, development and reforestation activities of the CFA.
City of Powell River established the community forest reserve fund (bylaw 2012/08) to receive dividend deposits from Powell River Community Forest. Monies received will be used for special community projects that will benefit the community as a whole.
Who is Powell River Community Forest Ltd.?
100% of PRCF profits are invested in the community through grants for community projects The fund has supported a wide variety of projects of different themes and sizes throughout the broader Powell River community. We welcome submission of new applications and updates to existing applications at any time. More information the process to apply and our evaluation criteria can be found on our website. If you have any questions about the process or wish to discuss a potential project feel free to contact Greg Hemphill
PRCF is an independent corporation set up by City of Powell River. It holds the CFA on behalf of the entire community. We are a for-profit forest company, however, what sets us apart is that 100 per cent of profits are returned to community. PRCF is directed by a nine-person volunteer board of directors, blending forestry and business experience. Current directors are:
BILL BIRD
LORI BROWN
RON FULLER
MARK HASSETT
GREG HEMPHILL
JANET MAY
HOWIE MCKAMEY
ROB STEWART
ROD TYSDAL
CHUCK MACBEY (A)
Our forest manager PRCF has a forest management contract with Results Based Forest Management (RBFM), a local forestry consulting company which does a range of forestry work for a number of companies. Chris Laing, the owner of RBFM works closely with the PRCF board to ensure PRCF is not only a successful business but also delivers the highest standard of forest practices. Chris is our main contact for the public, user groups and contractors wanting information about what is happening on the ground.
Contact Us
Powell River Community Forest Ltd. 4760 Joyce Avenue Powell River, BC, V8A 3B6 www.prcommunityforest.ca Instagram @forestsforfuture Chris Laing, manager office: 604.487.9540 • mobile: 604.414.5650 email: chrislaing@shaw.ca Greg Hemphill, board president mobile: 604.223.4887 • email: greghemphill@telus.net
Scholarships Each year Powell River Community Forest Ltd. offers scholarships to Powell River students entering (or already enrolled in) a forestry or natural resource management university program or in a wide range of other forestry related occupational trades or training programs. More information can be found on our website. We welcome applications at anytime. For students graduating from Brooks in 2018 we will also advertise an invitation to apply later this spring”.
14 Wednesday.January 17.2018 | Powell River Peak » prpeak.com
Thank you
to the following local companies that worked with Powell River Community Forest to make 2017 a successful year:
Log sales PRCF gives preference to local manufacturers first, then the majority of other logs are sold through our broker; Canadian Overseas Log and Lumber into the broader domestic log market. We don’t rule out export if it helps ensure utilization of our low value timber. Historically that has involved very minor volumes. Most of our local demand is for Red Cedar to help supply our largest sawmill Lois Lumber. We are please to have some of our timber milled locally, providing employment and creating natural, long lasting building products. Cedar is a minor component of the second growth Douglas Fir leading stands covering most of the CFA, so supply is limited. Our logs are distributed to many different buyers, our largest single customer is Richmond Plywood which buys our peeler grade Fir (and currently our Western Hemlock). The current log market for all species is strong so we plan to use this opportunity to shift our harvesting into stands with a higher component of Hemlock which normally drag down profitability.
Get out and enjoy your community forest Please be careful on our forest roads. There may be active operations even on weekends. You will be within the Haslam Lake and Lang Creek community watersheds. Please ensure your activities do not impact the water quality of any streams or lakes. Pack out all garbage. As we approach summer, help us prevent forest fires. Don’t know the back country roads and trails? Get the Avenza (or similar) app on your smartphone. The app uses the phones GPS locator so you don’t need cell service to track your location. For the CFA area, download our detailed development plan map from our website. To download the popular Duck Lake trails area map, checkout Powell River Cycling Association’s website. Photo credits: Anji Smith Fotos
• Ace Traffic Control • Allan Barker Project Management • Anji Smith Fotos • Bob Marquis Contracting • Boulder Creek Contracting • Cedar Spring Brush Cutting • Cindy Ling Scaling • Coast West Measure • Del Mistro Dunn Chartered Accountants • Eagle Locksmithing • Ekoorb Enterprise • Full Scope Falling • Granet Lake Logging • KR Logging • Lamont & Company • Lois Lumber • Marta Trucking • Mill Town Transport • Mr Green-Up • Oceanview Helicopters • Olympic Log Sort • Pa’aje Silviculture Services • Peak Publishing • Pence Services • Pilldolla Creek Contracting • Powell River Living • Powell River Salmon Society • Powell River Taxi • Relay Rentals • Results Based Forest Management • Robin Murray • Select Sand & Gravel • Shaun Gloslee Excavating • Staples • Swanson Trucking • T&R Contracting • Taw’s • Thunder Bay Sawshop • Tilt Contracting • Timberline Resources • Tla’amin Lake Contracting • Tourism Powell River • Underwriters Insurance • Villani and Company • WD Mobile Services