Abstract
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The Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation (RCFC) was formed in April 1993 to manage and operate Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 56 which was purchased by the City of Revelstoke from Westar Timber Ltd. The City's primary reason for purchasing the Licence was to regain some control over the local forest resources for social and economic reasons, but also to improve the standard of forest management and environmental protection in the area.
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Joining
the 
TFL
56 is located in the rugged Columbia Mountains one hour north of the
City of Revelstoke in the Downie Creek and Goldstream River drainages.
The TFL consists of a gross land base of 120,000 hectares of which
59,000 ha. is forested. The Timber Harvesting Land Base is 33,700
hectares of which 12,000 hectares is reserved to meet wildlife and
biodiversity requirements. The present AAC is set at 100,000 m3/year,
including a partitioned cut of 10,000 m3/year for timber “above the
operability line”, less a Small Business Forest Enterprise Program of
12,000 m3/year. The climatic conditions in the interior wet belt are
very favourable for tree growth and have produced extensive stands of
large cedar, hemlock, spruce and balsam along with minor volumes of
Douglas fir and white pine. While some of the timber is of very high
quality, much is full of rot and decay and is suitable only for
pulpwood. The companies challenge is maximize its returns on the better
quality timber enough to pay for the removal of the poor quality timber
and still remain viable. Excellent restocking and growth on harvested
sites will ensure better returns from the forest in the future.|
The community has recently gone through a long and intensive land use planning process, known as the Minister’s Advisory Committee or MAC, which has delineated important areas and management goals for mountain caribou habitat, biodiversity corridors, winter ungulate range and other forest uses. The plan, which has been submitted to the Minister of Forests for approval, will provide a good starting point to guide forest management and development plans as well as other land use planning decisions in the area. RCFC is governed by a seven member Board of Directors composed of the Mayor, two City Councillors, the City Administrator and three appointees from the community. A staff of five employees manage the day to day business. The industry partners have input through a Management Advisory Committee. All forest management, construction, logging and silviculture activities are contracted out. The goal is to maximize local employment and economic benefit in the community. The Corporation is funded through the proceeds of log sales. A condition of the TFL agreement with the government is that 50% of the AAC from the licence must be sold on a competitive basis to the highest bidder. During the community referendum which was held to ratify purchasing the TFL, a commitment was made that tax payers would not be called upon to fund the venture. In its seven years of operation the company has continued to be a profitable business and has managed to meet the expectations of the majority of citizens of the community. |
Wildlife
is abundant on TFL 56, and includes populations of scarce animal species
such as mountain caribou, grizzly bears, wolverines and rare bats. It is
also home to many more common big game species such as moose, deer,
mountain goats, black bears and wolves which are hunted by big game
outfitters and residents. The mountainous terrain with its deep snow is
well suited to heli-skiing and two back country ski-lodges are located
adjacent to the TFL. Heli-hiking is also becoming a popular business
enterprise. Local residents use the area for a variety of outdoor
recreation pursuits from nature study through to snowmobiling and
mountain climbing. The wide variety of resources and resource users
requires a strong commitment from the corporation to manage the landbase
sensitively, taking into account all values.
