The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) announced 42 newly funded forest enhancement projects – a dozen of them in the Prince George and Cariboo region – to assist with the delivery of uneconomic forest fibre to pulp and pellet mills or green energy facilities or to help communities reduce their wildfire risk.

The 12 regional projects are:

Canfor Pulp’s Incremental Haul Program for Pulplog: $3,000,000 to transport low value logs located outside of the current economic range to the Prince George Pulp and Paper Mill, rather than burned.
Prince George Fibre Recovery 23/24: $281,250 to clear a stand that was damaged by mountain pine beetle and transport the low value fibre to pulp mills in Prince George. The stand will be replanted afterward.
Northern Interior Grinding Fibre Utilization: $1,034,454 to transport fibre outside the economic radius to BioNorthEnergy LP in Fort St. James.
Northern Interior Grinding Fiber Utilization #2: $559,856 to grind wood waste piles to then be shipped to BioNorthEnergy LP in Fort St. James.
East Fraser Fibre-Increased Utilization of Uneconomical Fibre: $780,997 to ship low value fibre harvested under a mountain pine beetle salvage license to the chip plant in Mackenzie and then onto pulp mills in Prince George.
SP22DPG-720-YR3: $96,190 to clear a stand that was damaged by mountain pine beetle and transport the low value fibre to pulp mills in Prince George. The stand will be replanted afterward.
West Chilcotin Forest Products Ltd. Fibre Utilization 2023-25 Project: $1,354,929 to transport low value logs located outside of the current economic range to the pulp mill in Quesnel, rather than being burned.
2023 Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. Fibre Utilization Project: $3,218,240 to grind wood waste material in slash piles for transport to pellet and energy facilities as well as transport low-value logs located outside of the current economic range to the pulp mill in Quesnel.
Pressy Lake CP394 Rehab/Fibre Utilization Project: $2,073,000 in FESBC funding, Central ChilcotinRehabilitation will harvest and chip low value burned stands to be shipped to Kamloops. Ground material will be used for pellets.
Williams Lake First Nation-150 Mile House Wildfire Risk Reduction Project: $494,802 in FESBC funding to thin forests in 150 Mile House that are adjacent to houses.
Nazko First Nation-Wildfire Egress Routes: $676,297 in FESBC funding to thin forests adjacent to egress routes around the Nazko community.
Cariboo Pulp & Paper-Fibre Recovery and Utilization 2023-2025 Project: $2,500,000 in FESBC funding to transport low value pulp logs to the Cariboo pulp mill rather than being burned.

These projects come as a result of the $50 million given to FESBC earlier this year by the Ministry of Forests to boost fibre supply by utilizing uneconomic fibre and reduce wildfire risk while also ]supporting workers and communities.