Sustainable forestry departments in Fraser Valley First Nations

Photo credit: Jason Kemmler

Chief Clem Seymour’s Band, the Seabird Island First Nation in the Sto:lo Nation, has established a sustainable forestry department, “We have long term goals and forestry operations are making the Band money, and providing valuable jobs with long-term careers.” Tamihi Logging Ltd. has become a significant business operation that works in the Chilliwack-area forests on behalf of Seabird Island First Nation.

“It’s forestry operations in some deep valleys,” says Chief Seymour, “and we work wherever we have to in harvesting fir and cedar from second and third growth forests.” Fifteen to twenty employees are working in crews under Tamihi’s Gary Peters, falling trees and loading timber at the dump-sites. “We are managing these tenures in our fourth year, working in a partnership through Tamihi Logging and Dorman Lumber on the specialized form of logging that we do.”

The employment is going to Seabird Island members and other First Nation forestry personnel from around the Lower Mainland. Head office for Tamihi Logging Ltd. is about 20 kilometres outside Chilliwack, at Agassiz, B.C..

This arrangement is another example of First Nations finding innovative ways to work in the forests of traditional territories. Dorman Timber Limited and their subsidiaries, Tamahi Logging, and Fred Morris and Son Selective Logging are specialized in coastal forestry operations. "We have been working in the Fraser Valley with Seabird Island First Nation on their Forest Range Agreement," Brian Dorman explained last year, “including a 100,000 Cubic Metre (CM) annual allowable cut.”

Dorman also works with Scowlitz First Nation on a FRA of 32,000 CM per year. They work on Vancouver Island where they own and operate a couple of area-based timber licenses adding up to 400,000 CM. They cut contract logs for a couple of different forestry outfits including Timberwest, Island Timberlands, Western Forest Products, and First Nations in Sooke, Port McNeill, and elsewhere.

Dorman Timber has obviously established strong working relationships with First Nation foresters in the Fraser Valley and in coastal, island, and archipelago forests, and the company continues to build relationships that will see the forestry industry of B.C. evolve with a new set of important players.

Matt Wealick, RPF, of Ch-ihl-kway-uhk Forestry, says, “A lot of preliminary work went into the recent logging with Alternative Forest Operations to make sure the value of the end product was going to make the bottom-line work . We paid for the more expensive single-stem logging operation.” The cedar was picked up by Helifor and delivered to the buyer, Gorman Brothers, “They bought  and marked poles on site,” said  Wealick.

“This was our first attempt at logging for a particular market in telephone poles. The market happened to allow for this type of operation   Poles were worth quite a bit more money. We plan cutblocks with all the options on the table and we go with best option. We own and manage the Tree Farm License and actively coordinate projects for the logging contractors, engineers, buyers, and operations conducted by AFO and Helifor.”

Ch-ihl-kway-uhk Forestry operates from Chilliwack, B.C., and hired Alternative Forest Operations for a project that took two months to harvest  timber this summer, and a month prior to set up the job. The contract with Ch-ihl-kway-uhk Forestry ensued from AFO’s commitment to alternative harvesting and  forestry practices, as Jason Kemmler explains, “The thing is, we have no real piece of technology that sets us apart.  It’s men, the training and care we put into work. It’s thinking outside the box.”
 

The job in the Lower Mainland involved up to 10 men, “The job was specifically designed to harvest cedar poles. Engineers go in and individually pick the trees that have the characteristics to make  telephone poles. These are straight, and uniform in length and size. We limb, top and jig the tree so there is no damage. The tree gets delivered to the drop pocket without touching the ground.”

This type of harvesting leaves no room for damage. “There’s a great market for these trees, a strong market for a limited resource. The biggest difference is we don’t fall the pole so there’s no potential for hidden breakage. It’s more time-consuming and costly. Single-stem harvesting makes the opportunity of harvesting cedar poles or other niche markets one tree at a time.”

Personnel are trained in identifying poles. Engineers mark the pole, the climber climbs.  The jigger jigs the tree, once the helicopter logs the stem a ground crew walks to the stump to confirm the single stem has been removed. The size of job that warrants something like this usually ranges from  300 to 3,000 trees.

“We create projects with our client,” says  Kemmler. “Our methods are more expensive and intense, involving a high level of professionalism/organization/ and communication. We are working with clients looking to maximize value and keep a sustainable forest. We do a few clear-cuts, where there is no retention, and steep drainage. Often we harvest without clear cuts, using no roads."
 

It’s investing, planning, communication and Integrity plus time taken to make a greater return for the clients. “Our operations require someone in the Timber-holder position to consider this. It's value-added forestry to sell logs into niche markets mixed with some conventional logging.”  Kemmler says, “We have few competitors. Our goal is to maximum value through recovery methods if the expense of additional harvesting methods warrant it.”

A timber sales company goes to log brokers to sell into the commodity market. “We are of the mind-frame that the commodity log market is part of it, but where there is the one red cedar that could be made into a totem pole, we want to find the niche markets to buy the log, to tap into the value-added side of forestry. Some trees double in value when the market is for transmission cedar poles.” It all depends on what the client has for trees to cut.

Kemmler says, "First Nations have a new resource in wood fibre baskets, but they may be missing important knowledge about how to manage it. It’s a matter of building trust. Without integrity nothing works. Being a part of the operation at Ch-ihl-kway-uhk Forestry involved Matt Wealick, RPF. He’s a young RPF who has other First Nations calling him for advice. We work along side him to manage a timber harvest that incorporates alternative methods."
 

AFO has a staff complement of 30 to  40 full time personnel, working 10-12 months of the year. “Mostly our operations are on the coast of BC, harvesting fir and cedar. In Bamfield AFO is working with the Huu-ay-aht first nations, we are harvesting Highly valued red cedar logs and cedar trees picked for telephone poles the value or price of lumber that these species produce help the client harvest less valuable species such as Hemlock or Balsam with the helicopter which would normally be felled and left on the hill. “Huu ay aht is harvesting a community forest.”
 

They are taking a percentage of all species on the hill, sustainably logging the profile. There’s big wood and steep ground. We’ve been in there for a couple weeks. We’ll be in there another few weeks. The work is the same situation where we had a client who wanted to harvest in their community forest,  the sales value of the wood had the profitability of the project to small to warrant the risk. After re looking at the job we were able to apply the Single Stem method and create a win for all parties.  Kemmler has been impressed the Huu ay aht operations, “They have a well-rounded organization with lots of Band members working in their operations.