The Regional District of Bulkley Nechako (RDBN) summarized timber supply area apportionment decisions from the Ministry of Forests at their meeting on Nov. 9.

The summary indicated that the ministry has allocated 400,000 additional cubic metres of harvest in the Lakes Timber Supply Area (TSA) on top of the 970,000 cubic metres listed in the apportionment from Community Forest Agreements, Woodlots and First Nations Woodland Tenures.

Director of RDBN from Electoral Area B [亚洲天堂 Lake] Michael Riis-Christianson pointed out that more than 400,000 cubic metres for Lakes TSA are needed to harvest two sawmills within the area.

Director of RDBN from Electoral Area E [Francois/Ootsa Lake] Clint Lambert said Cheslatta Carrier Nation lost $3.8 billion in timber this summer because of Lucas Lake, Wells Creek and East Ootsa Lake wildfires.

He said these timber feed the sawmills and the town鈥檚 economy.

鈥淲e will be hurting for the rest of our lifetime for this.鈥�

Lambert sympathized over people losing their houses, jobs, logging trees, and none of them were insured.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough one, and I think more resources should be allocated to these timbers.鈥�

Lambert added 633,425 hectares in Electoral Area E [Francois/Ootsa Lake], 256,169 hectares in Electoral Area C [Fort St. James], and 168,572 hectares in Electoral Area D [Fraser Lake] were burnt in the last 10 years.

He said over a million hectares were burned within those three electoral areas.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not talking peanuts here. We鈥檙e talking decades of logging,鈥� Lambert said.

Mayor of Granisle Linda McGuire said that Granisle鈥檚 community forest report indicated that they have lost 80 per cent of their planted seedlings due to wildfire and drought.

鈥淚t鈥檚 impacting everywhere. If you don鈥檛 have trees to grow, you will not have anything for harvest.鈥�

Mayor of Vanderhoof Kevin Moutray asked how soon these burnt areas can be replanted.

Chief Financial Officer of RDBN John Illes said they can be replanted as soon as the burnt trees are removed.

He said the trees must be over a certain height, and the areas must be logged before replanting due to a work safe requirement.

Mayor of Houston Shane Brienen was concerned about the utilization of dead, dried, burnt, and rotten woods.

He said sawmills are hesitant to consider them since they need more value.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just off the table and not attractive anymore.鈥�

He said many of them are converted into pallets, but it鈥檚 not great for chips due to their lack of carbon.

Mayor Brienen wants to know what incentive ideas can be managed for this issue.

Director of RDBN from Electoral Area C [Fort St. James] Judy Greenaway said that Fort St. James managed to sell their burnt woods to their biomass power plant and managed to make a profit from it.

鈥淭here is a way of dealing with it, but you have to be fairly aggressive.鈥�

The Chairperson of RDBN, Mark Parker, expects to receive the board鈥檚 concerns regarding the new Lakes TSA apportionment decision from the Ministry, and pass it onto the Union of B.C. Municipalities, and obtain their approval.

The board has already agreed to it.