The Cortes Forestry General Partnership is proposing the next steps in harvesting timber near Anvil Lake and is requesting comments from locals.

The plans aim to align with wildfire mitigation recommendations made by Blackwell and Associates, a consultant for BC Wildfire. CFGP also intends the cut block to be a lucrative one, that should fund the road infrastructure built, in part, to fight future wildfires.

In addition to these goals, the operation will assist in certifying future fallers on the island, according to operations manager for CFGP, Mark Lombard.

“(Blackwell and Associates) recommended that we develop access to create some kind of a fuel break if there's a wildfire,” Lombard told CKTZ.

The CFGP manages the Cortes Community Forest Cooperative, a group that's mission is to employ ecoforestry techniques and follow the guidance of the local communities.

Public feedback is a part of ongoing community guidance ingrained in the community forest model for harvesting timber in BC, and the CFGP is encouraging Cortes Island community engagement.

Lombard had received five messages in response to the call for community feedback, three were concerning the watershed. The operations manager clarified that this cut block is not located in the Anvil Lake Watershed.

“I think most people have given a bit of a quiet ascent…There's actually been no feedback to say that they opposed this block,” Lombard said.

The manager confirmed that they will continue to accept feedback on this specific project until the project is slated to begin. The start date for this harvest is February 1st.

"We're always open to feedback on any aspect of the Community Forest," he adds.

Comments can be emailed to Ione Brown by email at ibhecate@gmail.com or Mark Lombard at misterlombard@gmail.com.

To hear more about the upcoming community forest plans, listen to the CKTZ News Update below: