Presented at the Annual General Meeting, April 10, 2018.
President’s Report
I am very pleased to present the 2016 Annual Report for Bella Coola Community Forest Ltd.
First off, I would like to acknowledge Oran Hoppe, who is retiring from the board and forestry contracting. For decades, Oran has worked tirelessly for economic development in the valley and he has been a driving force behind the Community Forest since the beginning. He will be missed but we wish him all the best for a happy, long lived and deserved retirement.
Despite some setbacks, 2017 was a financially successful year for the Community Forest. All of our timber inventory was sold by year end and the net income was $291,797. The majority of this profit resulted from the high quality timber from our logging in the Noosgulch valley.
We had planned to do more logging in East Salloompt but start of road building was delayed until fall due to an active northern goshawk nest located near the road right-of-way. To ensure adult goshawks don’t abandon their young, noise is restricted in the area and this delayed road construction until the fledgelings were old enough to leave the nest. Two goshawk chicks were successfully reared but it did affect local employment and reduced our production.
The extraordinary fire season also caused some operational delays, but compared to the rest of the Province we were very fortunate that our forest was left unscathed. We monitor fire hazard conditions closely and take a low risk approach to curtailing operations. We have made additional investment in fire fighting equipment which is available to help fight urban interface fires, should they occur in the Bella Coola valley.
Looking ahead, 2018 appears promising as wood markets remain strong and economic indicators are positive. The US housing market continues to improve and the demand for cedar remains strong. Likewise, Asian markets continue to grow. Accordingly, we have a busy year ahead of us and our crews will start work as soon as winter snow conditions allow.
On behalf of the Directors, thank you for your continued support as we work for economic development in Bella Coola.
Highlights
| Highlight | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment – md (local) | 1,037 (84%) | 2,488 (95%) | 1,725 (88%) |
| Harvest – m3 | 8,384 | 36,904 | 21,337 |
| Local sales – m3 | 760 | 954 | 1,708 |
| Area harvested – ha | 18.7 | 59.0 | 44.5 |
| Roads built – km | 1.4 | 4.3 | 3.7 |
| Roads maintained – km | 31 | 27.7 | 30 |
| Trees planted | 10,485 | 54,360 | 26,295 |
| Government Fees & tax – $ | $101,354 | $25,959 | $99,410 |
| Contractor Pay – $ (local) | 1.39 mil (69%) | 2.25 mil (85%) | 1.90 mil (71%) |
BCCFL Board of Directors
The Board is very much involved in directing the management of the Community Forest. The 2017/18 Board consisted of Rod Krimmer, President; Ed Willson, VP; Troy Gurr, Treasurer; Oran Hoppe, Barry Brekke, Wayne Bittner and the Bella Coola Resource Society designated Director was Neil Oborne.
Operations
Safety & Environment
2017 was another safe year for the Community Forest. Safe Certification was retained in 2017 and there were no significant environmental issues to report.
Operations
Logging operations started in the East Nusatsum where we finished the block we started in 2016. Then we moved to Noosgulch which was completed in July. In the fall, crews were busy building road in Salloompt. This is the most challenging road construction we have undertaken and it will be completed in spring, 2018.
The coming year’s operations will be at Glacierview, East Salloompt and south east Nusatsum. Beyond that, we will be focusing additional development in the West Nusatsum and Nookliklonic. Engineering will also take place in the Nosseseck Valley (Green Bay) in North Bentinck Arm.
Silviculture
Approximately 10,500 trees were planted using an outside professional contractor that teamed up with some local workers wanting to learn how to do it. To reduce slash fuel, roadside piles were burned in the fall and we are completely caught up with our required burning.
Community
We conducted a public survey and 130 people responded. It is clear that we need to communicate and engage the community more regarding forest management and our activities. We launched our websites : bccfl.com. Please check it out and provide comments.
Summarized Financial Statement
The following summary is from the year-end financial report prepared by PMT Chartered Accountants.
| Summarized Income and Retained Earnings, Dec 31 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,815,902 | $2,412,437 |
| Direct cost | $1,350,796 | $2,248,508 |
| Gross Profit | $465,106 | $163,929 |
| Gen Expense | $167,834 | $224,123 |
| Income from Ops | $297,272 | ($60,194) |
| Other Income | $34,640 | $8,707 |
| Income Before Tax | $331,912 | ($51,487) |
| Tax (Recovered) | $40,115 | ($16,127) |
| Net Income (loss) | $291,797 | ($35,360) |
| Earnings start of year | $171,432 | $258,634 |
| Net PD/Accrued Dividends | ($24,086) | ($41,912) |
| Retained earnings End of year | $439,143 | $171,432 |
| Summarized Balance Sheet, Dec 31 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Current Assets | $980,148 | $1,077,715 |
| Other Assets | $155,322 | $147,138 |
| Assets | $1,135,470 | $1,224,853 |
| Current Liabilities | $231,211 | $593,297 |
| LT debt & liability | $146,990 | $158,061 |
| Liability | $443,321 | $819,976 |
| Share capital | $253,006 | $253,006 |
| Retained Earnings | $439,143 | $151,871 |
| Shareholder Equity | $692,149 | $404,877 |
| $1,135,470 | $1,224,853 |
