About 100 people from around the province attended the 2011 British Columbia Community Forest Association (BCCFA) Conference and annual general meeting at the 100 Mile Community Hall, June 9-11.
Hosted by the District of 100 Mile House and the Cariboo Regional District (CRD), which is the Forest Capital of Canada, the three-day event highlighted trade stories from community forest practitioners.
BCCFA president Robin Hood explained the biggest advantage of the annual conference is the important networking opportunity it provides.
"The biggest part of the feedback we're getting is to make sure there is lots of time for people to learn from other people's experiences, and interact and share.
"It's been a tough economy out there in the forest industry… the last couple of years especially, so some of the new community forests haven't really started harvesting yet."
Industry speakers talked about their experiences with community forest enterprises, working to diversify local economies and stewardship of local forests.
On the morning of June 10, Green Heat Initiative Project co-ordinator David Dubois provided an increased understanding of the terminology used in the fibre business, as well as how units are measured and converted on June 10.
All-Wood Fibre Supply Chain forester Toby Jefferies of Prince George spoke about managing fibre for bioenergy projects, efficient processing and how the material is effectively transported.
Visiting B.C. from Austria, Felix Montecuccoli of Community Energy Systems talked about the European philosophy of biomass energy and heating with wood, the economics of different heating systems and detailed the biomass harvesting systems.
Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Minister Steve Thomson also addressed the crowd.
"In the resource sector of the rural communities, the contribution they make to the province is something we tend to take a little bit for granted.
"We need to make sure we recognize it is the resource industries in this province that are providing the important revenues that contribute to our needs, health, education and social services."
Thomson announced his plans to move forward with three pilot projects for community forests, in consultation with the BCCFA, for potentially making regulation changes to the streamline the process for a one cutting permit (CP) approach.
The concept has been tested in woodlots, he said, adding his ministry believes it might work in community forests.
"Community forests are a very, very important initiative that we have underway in the province, and we'd be very pleased to see the initiative continue to build and grow in terms of the very significant contribution they make to the province and to local communities."
The conference also featured trade show exhibits, field tours, both plenary and workshop sessions, as well as various other events.
