In August of 2004 the Westbank First Nation (WFN) entered into a five year agreement with the British Columbia Ministry of Forests for a Community Forest Pilot Agreement.
The Westbank First Nation Community Forest (WFN-CF) covers over 46,000 hectares directly west of the communities of West Kelowna and Peachland. The boundaries of the WFN-CF were selected to balance the opportunity for forest management with traditional use by the Westbank First Nation people for hunting, trapping, food gathering and spiritual use.
The forests of the WFN-CF contain a mix of tree species including ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, balsam, Englemann spruce, trembling aspen, black cottonwood, white birch and willow.
In 2004 the annual allowable cut (AAC) on the WFN-CF was set at 55,000 cubic meters per year. This is based on an analysis that of forest’s capacity to grow trees over a 250 year time horizon.
Approximately 46% of our current forest inventory is lodgepole pine which is the primary host for the mountain pine beetle. In 2005 the mountain pine beetle was rapidly moving towards the WFN-CF from the north and west. Since the winter of 2005/06 our harvesting has been focused on stands that contain more than 80% lodgepole pine. In January 2007, the harvest level was increased to 85,000 cubic metres per year to help address the growing mountain pine beetle issue.
In July of 2009 WFN and the province of BC replaced the 5 year pilot license with a 25 year Community Forest license. This longer term license will provide WFN with the security to undertake more long term initiatives on the Community Forest.
In the fall of 2009 a second block was added to the WFN-CF. The Derickson Block is east of Kelowna, adjacent to the West Kettle River. This area has been used by WFN families for generations.
Proposed Management Plan #2
Management Plan #1 for the WFN-CF was accepted by the Ministry of Forests and Range in 2005. Since then the harvest level has been increased to address the infestation of mountain pine beetle, Crystal Mt. Commercial Recreation Area has been removed from the WFN-CF and the Derickson block, north of Big White Mt. has been added. Proposed Management Plan #2 was developed in response to these changes since 2005.
Proposed Management Plan #2, and it’s supporting Timber Supply Analysis, have been posted here to facilitate public review and comment. We anticipate making our final submission to the Ministry of Forests, lands and Natural Resource Operations by the end of December, 2011.
If you have any questions or comments about these documents please contact Grant A. Thompson RPF at 250-768-5617 or by email at
