The GACFT has been advocating for a Community Forest Agreement (CFA) in the Golden area for over 20 years.

Image by Robin Munshaw, Tourism Golden

There is a long history of engagement and information sharing with Indigenous communities, interest groups, the BC provincial government, local forest companies, funding agencies and the media. See the timeline below for details on GACFT’s advocation efforts for a Community Forest Agreement (CFA) in the Golden area over the last 20+ years.

1999-2000

  • Several initial meetings are held between three Professional Foresters/woodlot licensees in the Golden area, the Town of Golden, Pacific Woodtech (Louisiana Pacific’s Golden Division at that time), and the provincial Ministry of Forests to discuss a prospective community forest in the Golden, BC area.

  • The Annual Allowable Cut (AAC), which is a metric set by the Province to regulate the amount of timber harvested within a given Timber Supply Area (TSA), is reduced from 650,000 cubic meters per year to 540,000 cubic meters per year for the Golden TSA.

  • At this time, Community Forests are a new type of forest tenure in BC. The few that have been established are part of a pilot program being run by the Ministry of Forests.

  • Much of the initial discussions were met with resistance based on a shrinking timber supply and challenges with the new Community Forest Pilot program.

2015

  • The Columbia Woodlot Association sends a letter to the District Manager of the Selkirk Natural Resource District requesting an invite to apply for a CFA license in the Golden area.

2018

  • The Columbia Woodlot Association presents an information session “Different Forest Tenure Options: what that means to our community” to over 20 community members.

  • The information is well received and an informal group was formed to drive the process of developing a community forest in the Golden area. This was the creation of the Golden & Area A Community Forestry Team (GACFT)

  • The GACFT set up a meeting with the Minister of Forests, to discuss a potential CFA. The idea is well received but no firm commitment to grant a license was given by the Minister.

  • The GACFT set forward to apply for funds to develop a CFA. Applications to both the Rural Dividend Fund and Forest Enhancement Society of BC were first attempted but were not successful.

2006-2010

  • The AAC within the Golden TSA is further reduced from 540,000 cubic meters per year to 485,000 cubic meters per year. The timber supply is expected to continue to decrease over time.

  • The Chief Forester states in their determination of the AAC for the Golden TSA that more area-based tenures, including community forests, is of concern given limited area of productive forest land base.

2011

  • Healthy Forests-Healthy Communities in conjunction with Golden Vital Signs Project hold a Community Dialogue Session in Golden. Community forestry is once again discussed.

2019

  • BC Government announced the ‘Interior Forest Sector Renewal-Forest Policy Initiative’

  • Interior communities are invited to facilitated sessions to comment and make suggestions on forest policy. As well, engagement is encouraged through feedback forms and written ideas. Denise English attends the Revelstoke session and explains a session in Golden would be of benefit.

  • Both Regional Executive Director, CSRD Area A and District Manager with the Ministry of Forests offer to come to Golden for a local perspective. A session with the GACFT is then held in September.

2017

  • Columbia Woodlot Association commits to fund a tenures diversification discussion for Golden and Area A.

2020

  • The GACFT continues to plan and develop the concept of the community forest.

  • Contact is made with various First Nations with traditional territory in the Golden area to discuss a partnership

  • The GACFT is successful in securing a grant for a community forest feasibility study from the Columbia Basin Trust and the Town of Golden’s Economic Opportunity Fund.

2021

  • The GACFT completes a ‘visioning’ workshop facilitated by the BC Community Forest Association to set preliminary values and objectives for a prospective community forest. From this, an ‘Interim Vision’ document is adopted by the GACFT.

  • Another set of funding applications is submitted to the Columbia Basin Trust and the Town of Golden’s Economic Opportunity Fund for 2022. These applications are approved to continue the process of developing a community forest.

  • The GACFT initiates discussions with the Shuswap Band about entering into a potential partnership to start a joint community forest with the Town of Golden and Columbia Shuswap Regional District Area A. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is developed and signed by the Shuswap Band, Town of Golden, and Columbia Shuswap Regional District

  • The GACFT completes a preliminary feasibility assessment of secondary fibre/biomass utilization opportunities in the Golden Area to better understand potential ways to reduce open burning related to commercial logging practices.

2022

  • The funding applications to Columbia Basin Trust and the Town of Golden’s Economic Opportunity Fund submitted in fall 2021 are both approved. This will allow for further development of the community forest structure and relationship between the partnering communities.

  • The GACFT begins a preliminary timber supply analysis to understand what sort of sustainable timber harvest levels could be applied to various Crown land forest parcels in the Golden area.

  • The GACFT begins work on a community engagement process to educate the communities about a potential community forest and to seek their input on the community forest’s objectives and structure.

  • Pacific Woodtech officially completes the purchase of Louisiana-Pacific’s mill in Golden. This has substantial impacts on the development of a community forest in Golden given the importance of a positive relationship between the mill and the community. The GACFT is committed to fostering a collaborative relationship with Pacific Woodtech to ensure that their interests are considered in the development of a community forest.

  • As the relationship between the Shuswap Band, Town of Golden, and Columbia Shuswap Regional District deepens, a new MOU (version 2) is in developed. This new MOU is signed in November 2022 and celebrated with a meeting of partner representatives at the Shuswap Band office near Invermere, BC.