The Wetzin'kwa Community Forest spans the forested area behind Hudson Bay Mountain Road until the MacDonald Forest Service Road. It's a locally-managed area-based tenure, owned and operated by the Office of the Wet'suwet'en in Smithers.

In 2020, a project began in partnership with BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) through the Community Resiliency Initiative (CRI) to "mitigate the impact of wildfire on communities and critical infrastructure by reducing their risk."

As this is a phased approach, the operational treatment plans for the summer of 2022 includes two phases, which includes the completion of treatments that were started in 2021 (phase 1) and approximately 53 hectares of new fuel reduction treatment area (phase 2).

Both phases will partially delay access on Hudson Bay Mountain Road during the summer, but bikers, hikers and vehicles will still have access to the Community Forest (and subsequent trails) all summer long.

The primary objective of the prescribed fuel management is to improve public safety by altering forest fuels adjacent to primary access and egress routes within the Community Forest. That means cutting the dry undergrowth (understory) of trees along the road for a width of 50m from each side.

To reduce smoke impacts, chipping may be employed in lieu of pile burning where operationally feasible.

Aurora Lavender is the General Manager of the Wetzin'kwa Community Forest in Smithers, and CICK News spoke with her about the phases of this project. Listen to that interview below.