BCCF Newsletter – Issue 1

Issue #1 July 2011

Inaugural Newsletter

In an effort to be more open and provide more information to the community, we are launching a Newsletter that we hope to circulate quarterly. The intent is to provide timely updates on our operations, future plans and activities. We will also include interesting and pertinent forestry information that we hope people will find useful. We welcome your input and suggestions on the type of information to include and how we can make the newsletter the most effective.

To save costs, the intent is to do the main distribution electronically via email and we are asking people to let us know if they would like to be on the email list by sending a quick note to :

Barry Brekke signing the 25 year long term licence with BCRS and BCCFL Directors (l-r) Roger Brandt, Ed Willson, Carl Siwallace, Chris Mathews, Oran Hoppe, Troy Gurr and Hans Granander looking on.

Long Term Licence Awarded

The first big news that we would like to announce is that our 5 year probationary licence has been converted to a 25 year, long term renewable licence! This is a very important step, as the long standing goal of local management of surrounding forest resources has now been secured. The extension of the licence also gives some comfort to the 65 local shareholders that their investments will be recovered.

The community forest movement is growing and there are over 58 other communities in the province that either have, or are working to acquire, their own community forest. Bella Coola is now the 24th community in the Province to be awarded a long term licence.

The long term licence also provides business security for our investors and it makes it possible to look at development projects that have a longer pay-off term. For example, to access the timber volume in the upper Salloompt a large bridge will need to be installed. Similarly, opening access to the Nooseseck valley (Green
Bay) will require a multi-year logging plan in order to cover the upfront development costs.

The Community Forest

The Bella Coola Community Forest encompasses 128,660 ha; but due to the extremely mountainous topography, only 7.2% or 9,270 ha comprise the timber harvesting landbase. The licence lands are primarily located in the Bella Coola valley and includes the Saloompt, Nusatsum, Noosgulch, Noomst and part of the Talchacko tributaries. West of Bella Coola, along North Bentinck Arm and Burke Channel are three additional parcels at Clayton Falls, Nooseseck River and Kwatna.

The community forest tenure is held by the Bella Coola Resource Society (BCRS), a non-profit entity made up of residents and property owners in the Bella Coola Valley. All aspects of management, administration and execution of operations on the tenure are exclusively contracted to Bella Coola Community Forest Ltd (BCCFL), which is made up of 65 investors that are local residents and/or property owners. Profits from the enterprise are distributed to the local shareholders which includes the BCRS. The BCRS will then allocate its earnings to community projects, charities or improvements. An advisory board also provides input to the management of forest resources.

The vision for the community forest :

The Community Forest contributes significantly to achieving a self reliant and sustainable community through a locally controlled, financially sound and responsible community forest business that operates within the sustainable capacity of a healthy environment to enhance the quality of life for all valley residents.

2010 Highlights

• 15,367 m3 of logs produced / ~370 truck loads
• 1098 mandays of employment, 88% local
• 1.4 km new road built, 1.2 km rehabilitated
• 24 km roads maintained
• 18 ha harvested in Nusatsum Valley
• 36,000 Douglas-fir & red cedar trees planted
• $1.5 million in economic activity
• 310 m3 milled locally
• Sponsored Fall Fair Logger Sports
• Donated wood for Olympic podium at Whistler

“LOCALLY OWNED, LOCALLY MANAGED FOR LOCAL BENEFIT”