Notice to Intending Applicants
for Community Forest Pilot Project

January 27, l998

As part of the Jobs and Timber Accord, the government of British Columbia has made a commitment to design a new community forest tenure and pilot the tenure in three communities. This commitment will be carried out under the Community Forest Pilot Project.

In December 1997, a Community Forest Advisory Committee was struck to make recommendations to the Minister of Forests on:

• possible models for a new community forest tenure
• criteria for selecting pilot sites at which to test the new tenure model or models
• suitable areas to test the models
• ways to monitor the pilots and evaluate the final outcomes.

In the spring of 1998, following the expected introduction of enabling legislation related to community forest tenures, and the establishment of pilot selection criteria, the Minister of Forests intends to select three communities as pilot sites for the new community forest tenures.

The application process will have two stages. The first stage is for a community to submit an Expression of Interest for consideration as a community forest pilot site. The second stage will require communities to submit a detailed proposal outlining how they would develop and manage a community forest in their locale under the new tenure.

The first stage is necessary to ensure that all interested communities have an equal opportunity to signify their interest in the pilots, and so that the ministry can ensure appropriate information is forwarded to interested communities in preparation for the detailed proposals.

All communities interested in participating in a community forest pilot, including those that have made previous submissions, should submit an Expression of Interest as outlined below, to ensure that they are listed on an Applicants List for the second stage.

The Expression of Interest should be clear and concise and follow the outline described below. It is meant to provide a profile of the proposed community forest and an overview of the efforts the community has invested in a community forest initiative to date. It should be a maximum of 5 pages (not including attachments, such as letters of support) and include the following information:

1. Contact: The name, address, telephone number and fax number of a contact person for the community seeking the community forest, and in what capacity that person represents the community.

2. Description of community: A description of the "community" seeking the community forest (e.g., the name of the community, the geographic location of the community; organizations, interests, and individuals represented within the community; historical overview of community forest initiatives within the community).

• Key management objectives for the community forest (e.g., local job creation in forest land management and value-added manufacturing, recreation, ecosystem health, ecosystem restoration, enhanced forest management, cultural values).
• Steps taken by the community towards achieving these objectives (e.g., discussions with forest district/region, First Nations, local stakeholder groups or local industry; feasibility studies; business plans).

4. Legal: Steps taken towards identification or formation of a legal entity to hold a community forest tenure.

5. Landbase: Where known or identifiable:

• the landbase on which the proposed community forest might be situated (e.g., Crown land private land, municipal lands, etc., or combination thereof)
• the anticipated scale of timber harvesting operations which would be expected to occur within the community forest
• the current availability of the proposed community forest landbase (e.g., unallocated AAC in the TSA; incorporation of private or municipal lands; joint venture with holders of existing tenures such as forest licences, woodlot licences, tree farm licences or small business forest enterprise program registrants)
• progress made to date in verifying the availability of the proposed community forest landbase (e.g., discussions with Ministry of Forests district or regional managers, First Nations, private landowners, licensees with rights to harvest the timber).

6. Community support: The extent to which a support base has been developed for a community forest initiative (e.g., as demonstrated by letters of support from partners within the community ; availability of expertise within the community to support the initiative).

7. Previous correspondence: A summary (listing) of any previous correspondence or submissions to the Ministry of Forests regarding the proposed community forest. 

Applicants are advised that any materials submitted as part of the Expression of Interest :

• are subject to review by the Community Forest Advisory Committee
• are subject to the Freedom of Information Act
• may be used in summaries prepared for public review
• should be in a form that can be readily copied (e.g., unbound, single-sided, no colour or shading).

Minister of Forests
c/o Director, Corporate Policy and Planning Branch
Ministry of Forests
P.O. Box 9515 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9C2
tel: (250) 356-7900

Stage Two: Detailed Application

Detailed applications will not be solicited or accepted until the minister has approved a model for the community forest tenure and established criteria for selection of pilot sites. Such decisions are tentatively expected to occur in March 1998. At that time, a detailed application format will be sent to all communities who are registered on the Applicants List.

Applicants are reminded that the selection of pilot sites by the Minister of Forests will be contingent on the passing of necessary legislation. The minister intends to propose such legislation in the Spring sitting of the 1998 Legislature.

Posted January 28th, 1998 rjc

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