Funding for a forestry project near Vernon is a positive step towards reducing wildfire risk, according to local MLA Harwinder Sandhu.

鈥淭his innovative project led by the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) not only helped salvage a wildfire-affected area for safe replanting of trees but also reduced the carbon footprint of the cleanup,鈥� said Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Lumby. 鈥淲e know that in the summer, the Okanagan gets hot, and it gets dry, so whether it's reducing wildfire risk ahead of time or reducing risk as we rebuild, projects like this are significant here to ensure the safety of people and our communities.鈥�

The OKIB received $89,795 for a fibre recovery project that supported the removal of burned fibre from the first approved Wildfire Salvage Opportunity Agreement in B.C.

Fibre recovery is the process of extracting as much valuable fibre as possible from logs, branches, and other residual materials to ensure sustainable and economical use of forest resources.

The project is one of 14 from the provincial government in the Thompson-Okanagan region, where $6.5 million was invested from the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC). Enderby also has a fibre reduction project by the Yucwmenl煤cwu (Caretakes of the Land) that the FESBC is funding.

Since 2016, $79.6 million has been invested in 201 community wildfire risk-reduction projects through FESBC.