B.C. report calls to cut more timber to fight pine beetle and help Burns Lake

VANCOUVER – A B.C. government report recommends increasing logging in the province’s central Interior, a region hit hard by the pine beetle epidemic and an explosion that demolished the Burns Lake sawmill.

The report, from the Special Committee on Timber Supply, examines the impact of the mountain pine beetle in B.C,’s forests and makes 22 recommendations.

It says the B.C. government should increase the timber supply and value of pine beetle wood, improve forest management, engage local communities and First Nations in future forests plans and find more ways to grow more wood.

The committee also recommends several steps to help the economic recovery in Burns Lake, where the local mill exploded and burned to the ground in January, killing two people.

The mill’s resurrection hinges on the amount of timber left in the area and how much can be logged.

The committee held public hearings in 15 Interior communities and in Vancouver and received input from First Nations, local government, stakeholders and the public.