BURSTSurrounded by hundreds of thousands of saplings at Western Forest Products in Central Saanich, the Ministry of Forests announced the provincial and federal governments will be investing more than $355 million towards reforestation programs that will plant more than 125 million trees.
Reforestation is crucial to B.C. forestry, says Western Forest Products CEO Steven Hofer, with their saplings not only replacing harvested trees, but also donated to habitat restoration and wildfire recovery.
“Since 1964, we have grown over 130 million seedlings from this facility,” said Hofer, speaking on the one-of-a-kind facility on Tuesday, June 2. “This is where the circle of life starts, and it ends with us replanting up to 7 million seedlings a year here on the B.C. coast. Reforestation is fundamental to what we do.”
Of the province’s investment, more than $56 million will go to reforestation that supports habitat restoration through the BC Aggregation 2 Billion Trees Project, more than $1 million will go to B.C.’s Riparian Recovery Project, and more than $99 million will be used for large-scale reforestation through the BC Forest Investment Program. The funding builds on a $95 million annual provincial investment through the Forest Investment Program.
Additionally, B.C. secured more than $200 million from the federal government, with $97.6 million going to the 2 Billion Trees Project and over $99 million going to the Forest Investment Program.
“In order for us to be able to make the necessary investments to restore confidence in this sector, we have to get the basics right,” said Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar. “And it is so important that if we talk about forestry, we also talk about reforestation, as well as long-term sustainability for British Columbia’s forest sector.”
Under the 2 Billion Trees funding stream, partners will be planting as many as 20 million trees throughout the province, targeting projects that replant trees and native vegetation with a focus on areas that will support species that are at risk or of interest.
Through the wildfire restoration stream, the federal government and B.C. will be working to support the planting of 53.8 million trees on public land throughout B.C. by 2027, enabling the province to undertake large-scale reforestation in areas that have been damaged by wildfire.
“Our member nurseries stand ready to contribute to resources, expertise and capacity needed to help achieve these objectives for British Columbia,” said Christina Lavoie, president of the Forestry Nursery Association of BC.
Later this week, Parmar will be hosting the Council of Canadian Forest Ministers Conference in Langford, allowing an opportunity for the province to advocate to the federal government for continued investments into forest-sector transformation and international trade diversification.
“Tomorrow I hope that we will be able to secure more funding from the federal government, where we will ensure that we get here in British Columbia our fair share, not only to restore confidence in this sector, but to be able to stand up and fight like hell for workers in every corner of this province, every corner of this country,” said Parmar.