A contract to remove burned timber stands near the Williams Lake regional airport has been awarded to Borland Creek Logging of Williams Lake First Nation.
WLFN stewardship forester John Walker said the work got underway on Monday, Dec. 14. and will involve hand work, full phase logging and brush sawing.
About 12 people will be employed.
“We’re doing fuel management currently on Fox Mountain, South Lakeside and just finished a project in the Dairy Fields and the river valley,” Walker said, noting they have done a few projects in the community forest that WLFN owns with the City of Williams Lake.
Borland Creek will be doing another project near the Ottoman Drive rugby fields and Bond Lake in the spring of 2021.
Borland Creek submitted a bid for $109,894, which was as at least 50 per cent lower than the other three bids.
Sarver Wood Fibre Ltd.’s bid was $201,080, Skywest Environmental’s was $218,647 and Spectrum Resource Group’s was for $281,471.
When asked why the bid was so much lower, Walker said perhaps it is because they have had more experience in the area already.
Read more: WLIB harvesting timber in 2017 wildfire areas
Included in the contract is an 18.8 hectare area of burnt stands from the 2017 wildfires and fuel treatment work northwest of the Cariboo Fire Centre at the airport.
It is estimated 1,000 cubic metres of saw logs will be harvested for an approximate selling price of $65 per cubic metre, as well as approximately 200 cubic metres of biomass logs to be sold at an estimated selling price of $33 per cubic metre, noted Jenni Hoyer, city procurement and assessment management co-ordinator in a report to council.
Hoyer added the projected revenue of $71,600.00 from the sale of the logs will go against the total cost of the treatment.
This project is utilizing funding through the Community Resiliency Investment Program (CRI) which allows the city to complete more works associated with the City’s community wildfire protection plan.
The estimated net cost $38,294.00 will be covered by the CRI Grant, she added.
Walker, who has been the stewardship forester since February 2019, started working for WLFN just over a year ago.
“It is amazing how the regeneration and shrubs are starting to come back in areas that were burned during the 2017 wildfires,” he said. “It is neat to see the progression of nature.”
On Fox Mountain in the burned area there are lots of aspen coming up and the odd Douglas-fir and pine.
“There are quite a few patches of Aspen and they are getting up to about chest height. They are growing well.”
Originally from Nova Scotia, he has been in the Williams Lake are for 24 years.
Read more:First Nations project to remove biomass for markets in Williams Lake continues
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Rylan Ballantyne prepares to do some brush sawing near the Williams Lake Regional Airport in an area impacted by the 2017 wildfires. (John Walker photo)
