Our Guiding Principles

The Community Forest will be guided by the following statements of goals and principles in the stewardship and management objectives for the Community Forest:

• Respect First Nations’ access to their traditional lands;
• Preservation of, and improvement to, the quality of life enjoyed by residents. The Community Forest tenure will allow forest-based decisions to be made putting equal weight on the social, economical and ecological factors specific to the region;
• Good forestry practices to ensure long term availability of raw material for all local users of the resource;
• Comply with all Acts and Regulations that govern forest management;
• Planning and decision making will utilize all available “best practices”;
• Reduce dependency on volatile commodity markets for residents, by implementing a sound management plan geared to the needs of local forest users, creating a more stable local economy;
• Ensure profits generated stay in the community for the benefit of all citizens in the area. A successful Community Forest tenure should relieve some of the tax burden experienced by the rural community serving a large trading area, and will generate capital for recreation, arts and culture;
• A multi-use approach will be taken to respect recreational and other existing uses of Crown Land;
• The CFA will allow exposure to the local youth to education aspects of forestry via improved employment opportunities;
• Objectives and strategies will be consistent with the Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan and other higher level plans;
• All other users within the tenure will be encouraged to participate in an effective manner;
• Applicable fees payable to the Crown will be managed in a fiscally responsible fashion and submitted as required. The administration and management of business will be done professionally and efficiently;
• The management principles will respect social and environmental values; and
• Appropriate conflict resolution measures will be used when conflict arises.