The Bella Coola Community Forest Agreement (CFA) was awarded to the Bella Coola Resource Society in 2007 (CFA K3K). The licence has an annual allowable cut (AAC) of 30,000 m3 of timber per year which equates to approximately 850 logging trucks. The licence is area based and includes most of the tributary watersheds in the Bella Coola valley, including the Nusatsum, Salloompt, Noosgulch, Noomst and portions of the Talchacko. The licence area also includes lands west of Bella Coola at Clayton Falls, Nooseseck (Green Bay) and portions of the Kwatna peninsula.
The 25 year licence is renewable every 10 years and is therefore considered an ‘evergreen’ type of tenure. The licence is authorized by the Forest Act and managed in accordance with the Forest and Range Practices Act. Specifically, the Forest Management and Forest Stewardship Plans guide how the Bella Coola Community Forest is managed and how operations are conducted on a day to day basis.
The vision for the Bella Coola Community Forest is that:
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.
This vision is backed up by a set of Stewardship and Operating Principles. These principles guide how the Community Forest conduct its activities.
Stewardship Principles
- Forest resources are managed in a manner that assures environmental sustainability.
- Timber resources are managed on a sustainable basis in accordance with optimal capacity of environmental recovery.
- The multitude of forest resources are managed in a collaborative, integrated and respectful manner.
- Bella Coola community is involved in forest development planning and participates in the monitoring of activities.
- First Nation rights and title are recognized and accommodated.
- Operations are conducted in a financially sound and fiscally responsible manner.
- The local community benefits through employment, access to timber and revenue.
- Opportunitiesy to benefit from the community forest is equally open to Nuxalk and non-Nuxalk people.
- Operations are conducted in a safe manner and workers are treated with respect.
- Management is conducted in an open and honest manner with respectful consideration of varying community perspectives.
- External politics do not interfere with decision making.
- Local processing of timber resources is promoted at fair market value for the logs.
- Local log needs are incorporated into timber harvesting plans.
- Logs are processed to achieve the best quality standards possible.
