Province wants feedback for Sunshine Coast Forest Landscape Plan

The province says people in B.C. are invited to provide input to help inform the next stage of the Sunshine Coast Forest Landscape Plan.

According to the government, these plans help create clear outcomes for forest management in the defined areas.

They add the plans have the following goals:

• To identify where and how forest management activities can occur  
• To provide clarity on overlapping direction from strategic plans and land use objectives including wildfire risk reduction plans 
• To efficiently address changing conditions 
• To address the potential environmental impacts of timber harvesting 
• To consider cumulative effects to prepare for possible future forest conditions

Being developed in collaboration with First Nations with input from communities, subject-matter experts and forest licensees, the province says the FLPs are a new approach to forest stewardship.

The area includes the Sunshine Coast Timber Supply Area and portions of the Pacific Timber Supply Area, which is around 1.25 million hectares of land from Howe Sound in the south to the summit of Mount Waddington in the north.

The province adds it overlaps with the territories of 15 First Nations.

In-person open-house sessions are also planned for the region to share information about forest landscape planning. Sessions are scheduled for:

• Campbell River: Thursday, Nov. 30 at the Maritime Heritage Centre, 621 Island Hwy. from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
• qathet – Powell River: Tuesday, Dec. 5 at The ARC, 7055 Alberni St. from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
• Sechelt: Wednesday, Dec. 6 at Foyer-Chatelech Secondary School at 5904 Cowrie St. from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

An online questionnaire on the FLP development can be found here.