The old tree farm license TFL 10 was converted to one of the largest community forest agreements (CFA) in BC late last year.
And Chief Ken Brown was clear about what the 230,000 hectares around Toba Inlet meant for Klahoose First Nation in the years ahead.
“This is a major achievement for us as a community,” he said. “Converting TFL 10 allows us to utilize our own resources in the Toba Valley again for our sole benefit after years of others benefiting from what was rightfully ours for more than 20 years.”
Brown is full of optimism for the potential of the stands of timber around Toba Inlet, particularly because it means much-needed own-source revenue and job creation opportunities for his community.
But logging in Toba is not easy or inexpensive, said Brown. “The cost of logging is considerably higher in Toba than, for example, back-door logging in Powell River. Everything is more expensive. It’s tough terrain and the timber is bigger.”
He lists the types of equipment used – grapple-yarding, hoe-chucker, heli-logging and a spar tree – to illustrate the challenges.
But there are also the benefits of having a CFA license. “A lower community forest stumpage really does give us an advantage,” said Brown.
Another big advantage is the people on the ground in Toba.
“I would put this team, this forestry group, up against any other in the province,” said Brown. “It is something to be proud of. We’ve got a lot of people from Klahoose who are working here. Right now, we’ve got a 25-person camp that will expand to 40-45 as the season progresses.”
Activity at Squirrel Cove
“It has strengthened our community on many levels,” Brown said of how the CFA is impacting the main Klahoose reserve at Squirrel Cove.
“We have taken some timber out of the Toba and used it for job creation Last year we milled cedar on a mobile dimensional mill and that was used for home renovations, the canoe shed and the multi-purpose building.
“We are the biggest economic stimulus on Cortes Island right now. Some people don’t like us being self-sufficient, determining our future and being self-reliant.
“The only time they support us is when our interests run parallel. Aboriginal rights and title is always at the forefront when they are taking a stand on environmental issues – providing the First Nation agrees with them – but as soon as we pursue economic development, when our interests don’t align with theirs, it becomes a situation where rights and title mean nothing.
“Self-sufficiency, self-reliance and independence from government are what really strengthens communities.”
Three things for success
“It’s pretty hard not to be successful,” Brown said of the Klahoose forestry operations.
For that he credits a strong and highly experienced board of directors, the loggers on the ground and the high-quality timber profiles.
He was also quick to credit Plutonic Power Corporation’s run-of-river construction project, not only for its capital and capacity building in Toba, but how it opened up the inlet for other opportunities.”
"There was $30 million injected into the valley for bridges, road rehabilitation and new road construction," Brown said. "If we didn't have this power project built in the Toba Valley we may never have had the opportunity to get access up there because all of the roads were decommissioned. There was no access in that valley for 22 years. It wouldn't have been viable otherwise."
TFL 10
Standing near a log dump on K4C community forest, Klahoose forestry engineering manager Ben Lessard said he is proud of the logging practices that are being implemented.
Two big benefits of his job, he said, was actually “being on the ground” and putting traditional Klahoose knowledge into practice.
“Being a band member gives you a different insight. We know where all our traditional-use stuff is and use that in our planning.”
Lessard said that “being on the ground all the time, getting out there, getting to know it,” lets him come up with creative ways to make sure the forest is productive for more than just revenues.
“You can say that this habitat is a lot more productive than that habitat,” he said, explaining how land swaps benefited grizzly bear areas.
“We are striving to keep our forestry program environmentally sensitive as well as visually pleasing for future Klahoose members’ enjoyment. We are planning our cutting blocks to offer wider buffers for streams and we are completing a timber inventory to properly plan for generations to come.
“The more visual retention we put in, the better. It’s tricky and it’s rough country, but I think we’re managing.”
By planning smaller cuts than were traditional and taking understory timber, Lessard said: “We’re spreading them out and thinking about the visuals. There are going to be tourism opportunities here eventually.
Klahoose Forestry Ltd recently announced a harvest of 35,000 cubic metres in its first three and one-half months of operation with a net margin of $280,000.
Lessard said that continued revenue prospects look good for the community forest. With an annual allowable cut of about 120,000 cubic metres, Klahoose will be well placed in the coming years.
“There is a huge change of policy coming down the pike and I believe First Nations are going to play a huge role.”
UBC Forest programs
The University of British Columbia’s department of forest resources management will be working with Klahoose and the Quathen Xwegus Management Corporation on a variety of projects in the coming months.
A team of students will prepare a forest management plan and business report for reserve lands. It will summarize the current state of the reserves and identify strategies to maximize revenue, including carbon-offset sales. It will also identify silviculture systems and model forest growth and management over the long-term. The business report will identify potential carbon revenues for future Klahoose financial benefits.
A second phase later this year will focus on the CFA licence in Toba Inlet. It will offer management scenarios showing feasible alternatives that will include harvest levels, growing stock, carbon stocks and other resource indicators such as habitat abundance.
Geoduck Aquaculture
Klahoose also signed a collaborative research and development agreement with the research science centre of UBC geared toward geoduck aquaculture.
Klahoose will have access to new formulas and feeding models that should increase the grow-out rate and lower mortality rates in transplanting seed to its geoduck tenure.
“It is one of several exciting new relationships we are developing with UBC,” Chief Ken Brown said. “It is our hope that one day soon our Klahoose youth will be able to enrol and participate in the many programs offered by UBC.
“By building these relationships with advanced education, it is our hope that we can break down roadblocks and barriers, making the link to a higher education seem less foreign.
“Aquaculture has a huge, huge future if we First Nations can ever get it together,” he said.