Photo: FESBC Nelson

Six Kootenay-Boundary communities and workers throughout British Columbia are benefiting from Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC) funding.

Nine projects worth $1.9 million to reduce wildfire risk, enhance forest health and get more fibre into the hands of mills and energy producers have been approved for the Kootenay-Boundary region.

Six Kootenay-Boundary communities and workers throughout British Columbia are benefiting from Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC) funding.

“The projects … will remove almost 11,000 truckloads of flammable waste fibre from our forests,” said Ravi Parmar, B.C. minister of Forests. “We all have a role to play in reducing wildfire risk in B.C. This fibre that once would have been burned in slash piles will instead support workers and help keep communities safe.”

The projects will build on ongoing wildfire reduction, streamlining permitting, investing in innovation and advocating for fairness in international trade, especially in the face of U.S. softwood lumber duties and tariff threats.

“Many rural British Columbians know the risk of wildfires well, and many have been in frightening situations,” said Steve Morissette, parliamentary secretary for rural development and Kootenay-Monashee MLA. “This funding will help support forestry projects in rural, remote and First Nations communities with a focus on sustainability and fire prevention.”

Wildfire-mitigation projects remove excess wood and flammable undergrowth from areas around rural centres and have proven effective during previous wildfire seasons. The BC Wildfire Service is planning to treat 9,600 hectares in 2025-26, with more than an additional 2,100 hectares planned under FESBC.

Fibre-recovery projects take wood fibre that would otherwise be burned or abandoned and put it in the hands of mills and forestry companies that can use it, helping keep forestry workers on the job.

FESBC-funded wildfire-risk reduction will take place in the Kaslo Community Forest; Creston Valley Forest Corporation; Nakusp and Area Community Forest; Harrop-Procter Community Co-operative; Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative; and the City of Kimberley.