Course:FRST370/2021/Community Forestry in The Malcolm Knapp Research Forest

Acknowledgements

This Wiki page could not have been written without the help of many people. We are deeply thankful to Tonya Smith, Marie Nosten, and Juliana Lima de Freita for giving us the chance to write about Malcolm Knapp Research Forest (MKRF) and for encouragement and feedback that we received. We are also thankful to our interviewee for making it possible to write more in-depth information through the online interview which kept us focused. We are appreciative of all those who provided information for this research.

Loon Lake within the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest.

Loon Lake

Sitting atop a hill in the MKRF is the UBC Liquid-Mirror Observatory—home to one of the world's largest optical telescopes with a mirror the diameter of 6 meters, is the Large Zenith Telescope

Summary/Abstract

Old growth Douglas-fir in the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest

Residing in Maple Ridge of British Columbia, Canada, reigns the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest. It is home to the beautiful Loon Lake, including its Lodge & Retreat Centre, hiking trails, and even some old growth trees of over 400 years old. The MKRF is owned by the government of BC, and managed in accordance with the Forest Practices Code of BC. The research forest was established by a Crown Grant to the University of British Columbia in 1949. Its history bears intricate ties with the Katzie First Nation who are the original owners of the land that encompasses the MKRF since time immemorial. Management of the MKRF accounts for the economic sustainability, conduction of research, public education.

The MKRF is successfully funded by its own revenue-generating activities such as logging, and its diversity of educational and tourism programs. Just as any forest, the MKRF is not immune to the effects of natural disasters, but has strategies in place so the forest will prevail against these challenges.

Keywords: Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, Katzie First Nation, Research, Logging, Self-funded

Description

Location

Hugging the Coast Mountains, the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest can be found in North Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. It is roughly 60 km east from the heart of Vancouver city.

Geography, Topography, and Climate

The Malcolm Knapp Research Forest spans over 5,157 hectares with averaging lengths of 13 km and widths of 4 km. The forest holds a range of elevation with its peak reaching up to approximately 1000 m above sea level in the Golden Ears Mountains and slopes down to sea level by Pitt Lake. It is most abundant with coniferous trees: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), the western redcedar (Thuja plicata) and the western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla).

The Malcolm Knapp Research Forest is encompassed within the Coast Western Hemlock dry maritime (CWHdm) biogeoclimatic subzone, also referred to as a temperate rainforest. The CWHdm subzone spans across the entire west coast of British Columbia (BC). The Coast Western Hemlock zone, one of fourteen biogeoclimatic zones of BC, gets the most annual precipitation on average of all these zones. (J. Pojar, K. Klinka, and D.A. Demarchi 1991). The CWH climate characterizes MKRF as "a maritime climate characterized by mild temperatures with common cloudiness and a small range of temperatures, wet and mild winters, cool and relatively dry summers, long frost-free periods and a heavy precipitation most of which occurs during the winter season". For the MKRF, this means about 3000 mm of precipitation per year—a combination of rain and snowfall.

The Pacific Ocean makes the climate mild, with cool summers and mild winters. The wet climate of this coastal rainforest does not make it immune to the natural disturbances of fires. The MKRF is an "inland forest ecosystem" and experiences a cycle where every 350-500 or so, large fires will occur.

History

In 1868, a large fire swept across the forest burning majority of the trees in the western regions of what is now the MKRF. The fire of 1868 was a result of settlers' clearing activities in the forest during a dry season. This led to an accidental fire with severe consequences. These regions have since "regenerated to a stand containing healthy 140-year-old Douglas-fir, western hemlock and western red cedar, as well as bits of old growth and younger stands from recent harvests".

From 1920 to 1931 the logging company Abernethy and Lougheed (A&L) led extensive logging operations on the lands that the MKRF now resides on. The logging activities under A&L harvested 2800 hectares of high-volume old growth stands in the Eastern regions of the forest. This was accomplished through railway logging via steam donkeys. These same regions experienced a fire in 1931 caused by "a neighboring logging operation". Now, the Eastern regions of the forest have naturally regenerated to a "70-80 year old second growth", comprised mainly of "western hemlock and western red cedar, with a small amount of Douglas-fir" trees. At this time, Allowable Annual Cuts were not set (not until 1949), and harvesting levels were not regulated on public or private land.

F. Malcolm Knapp, former forestry professor of UBC, was instrumental in the establishment of the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest. In the early 1940s, Knapp noticed there were insufficient resources to properly train future foresters, and negotiated with the government until the province of BC "initially leased, and later gifted the forest to UBC" under a Crown grant. This was not difficult for Knapp, as in its early beginnings the land was healing from a massive forest fire and was deemed as a lost cause by the provincial government, only 5% of the land at the time had new trees growing. The forest was officially named the Malcolm Knapp/UBC Research Forest in 1988 in honour of the late Malcolm Knapp, who passed away the proceeding year in 1989.

It is important to note that the "History" section on the MKRF website was written by Knapp's family members. There is no written information on the history of the MKRF by the Katzie First nation thus far.

Outdoor programs

Loon Lake Research and Education Center

The ecotourism centre, Loon Lake Lodge & Retreat Centre (LRC) houses an abundance of opportunities for the community to enjoy. The activities here range from revenue-generating, as well as for charitable causes. The LRC offers seven rentable venues, ranging from smaller cabins to large halls over 11,200 square feet.

Outdoor recreational and tourism activities include:

• Canoeing and water adventures
• Eco-tours and hiking trips
• Inspirational learning educational programs
• Peak Pursuits
• Rock climbing, rappelling, high/low ropes, team building
• Sky helicopter tours

Camp Goodtimes

Camp Goodtimes has been running since 2003 after UBC collaborated with the Canadian Cancer Society to designate the LRC as the "permanent home of Camp Goodtimes". Camp Goodtimes is a special program for kids age 6 to 16 who are fighting cancer. In this program, kids are able to explore Loon Lake for five weeks in the summer.

Wild & Immersive

The Wild & Immersive program at MKRF is an educational program curated for children aged 5 to 12, and runs all year round. At Wild & Immersive, children are welcomed to a world of wonder in the 'backyard' BC. This program opens children's minds to "outdoor education, natural science, environmental stewardship, creative expression, problem solving, and team building". The objectives of the program are to "create empathy, confidence, cohesion, and personal growth".

Included in this program:

• Field trips for school and youth groups,
• Fully supervised day, overnight, and week-long camps
• Fully supervised forest school programs during the school year.

Objectives & Long Term Goals

MKRF Objectives and Long term Goals
(1)	Education	UBC began managing MKRF in 1943 with the primary goal of creating spaces for research and education. MKRF supports a variety of educational opportunities for university researchers, elementary schools, high schools, post-secondary students, youth groups, corporate groups, including: Loon Lake Camp A 7-day field camp at the Research Forest each spring UBC Faculty of Forestry undergraduate students A 5-day field module at the Research Forest each fall for UBC Forest Conservation students. The Research Forest is an official Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network site, and many school groups have been involved in collecting monitoring data as part of this project. The GIS database and other data sets are used extensively by UBC Forestry students throughout their undergraduate program. Students from many post-secondary institutions throughout BC and the international forestry community are hosted here for field trips on a cost recovery basis. Many professional training courses are held at the Research Forest, with assistance from our staff. Tours are available on a cost recovery basis for high school and elementary school groups. The Wild & Immersive program offers nature-based programming for youth and adult groups. Each year, up to two internships are available with the purpose of providing entry-level field skills for forestry students/ related fields.
(2)	Health of the forest	MKRF and The Katzie First Nation share a common desire and goal to maintain healthy forest ecosystems and their cultural, spiritual, environmental, economic and social values while also harvesting trees in a sustainable manner for future generations.
(3)	Economic independence	MRKF is a self-funded and self-sustained forest meaning that in order to be profitable, they need to generate their own income in order to operate and maintain forest for research, field schools, etc. This is accomplished by Selling logs to the commercial timber market Generating revenue from Gallant Enterprises Mill, a "value adding" logging operation Educational and Tourism programs (Loon Lake, Wild & Immersive)

Tenure Arrangements

The Crown land of the MKRF is owned by the Government of British Columbia, and was issued to UBC as a Crown grant. The forest itself is 5,157 hectares in size, with 297.2 ha operating under a woodlot license which has a 10 year duration. The total woodlot area is 297.2 ha, of which 19.5 ha is Schedule A (private), and 277.7 ha is Schedule B (Crown) land.

The objective of the WoodLot License holder is to manage a section of Crown land for ecologically sustainable timber production while protecting and conserving non-timber values, including recreation, education, research, scenic quality, water and soil resources, cultural heritage, wildlife habitat and biodiversity.

The WoodLot License area also overlaps with a 30 hectare BC Hydro right-of-way, which imposes significant restrictions on operations. Timber rights within the right-of-way are "excluded from the WoodLot License", representing a power dynamic where operations are in favour of larger companies (BC Hydro).

Another restriction imposed by the WoodLot License are scenic polygons. The provincial government has declared that if a harvest area within a WoodLot License is visible (scenic polygon) to a private property owner other than the MKRF, then the allotment must be moved to another area.

WoodLot License holders must implement measures to prevent the introduction of invasive plants, such as sowing in newly disturbed areas created by the license holder, minimizing the transport of invasive plant seeds by removing seeds or nutrients from invasive plants, training workers to identify invasive plant species, and checking for invasive species in their daily activities.

Revenues throughout the WoodLot License area are subject to a stumpage fee and all work within the license requires the approval of a forestry professional. It is uncertain the length of time that the crown grant was issued for, and if the province of BC can be expected to transfer this tenure to another stakeholder, though highly unlikely.

Institutional/Administrative Arrangements

People

The Malcolm Knapp Research Forest is currently managed by seven main individuals:

• Paul Lawson (RPF Director)
• Hélène Marcoux (Manager)
• Ionut Aron (Research Coordinator)
• Sarah Panagiotou (Manager of Administration)
• Jeremy Watkins (Assistant Operations Manager)
• Liz Smith (Business Improvement Coordinator)
• Victoria Farahbakhchian (Education Coordinator)

This specialization of roles allows for the most efficient management of the forest.

Dealing with extreme weather

Recent events such as extreme rainfall, high winds, fires, and flooding have all had an impact on MKRF and infrastructure has been built. This includes bridges and pervious pavement, useful for efficient water drainage. Such infrastructure helps to reduce the impact of these disasters on the forest. The MKRF has previously experienced fires close to homes that have had a greater impact on humans. Because of the overall fire risk that the MKRF experiences, they employ two students for fire-monitoring patrol and are responsible for this role of fire prevention during the summer months. The students are also responsible for informing visitors of the forest rules and operations. Depending on the fire risk at hand, fire patrol is initiated for different tasks.

General policies in MKRF

General policies are set to protect the forest. They are both determined and enforced mainly by the director, manager, and research coordinators at the MKRF.

Policies of most importance to this case study:

• Fishing is not allowed in any of the MKRF lakes, because many of the fish are being investigated by the research project. This can potentially be a point of contention with Katzie peoples, or may have been reached at consensus with MKRF for the knowledge research may be able to offer. These inferences have yet to be confirmed by the Katzie peoples. Here, we see the irony of academic research being prioritized on land that is owned by an institution, but belonging to Indigenous peoples since time immemorial, who have always had the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to understand fish and how to co-exist with them.
• Under the woodlot, there is a requirement to consult the Katzie First Nation to give them their plans to receive their feedback. Within identified cultural heritage sites, archaeologists must come to visit to outline areas that had archaeological potential, meaning the MKRF has to modify forest operations. However, research does not fall under same consultation practices.    

Affected Stakeholders

Birds at the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest (the little affected stakeholders of the MKRF!)

Indigenous First nations groups

Discussions between the MKRF and the Katzie First Nation have been ongoing for a number of years, and will continue. Strategies to preserve and protect cultural heritage resources have been developed based on input from the Katzie First Nation, whose traditional territories overlap with the MKRF.

The UBC Faculty of Forestry signed an agreement in 2009 recognizing the Katzie First Nation as the original inhabitants of this land and continuing custodians of this land. The best example of co-management between the MRKF and the Indigenous peoples of the area that we have been able to identify is their ability to access, harvest, and manage cultural heritage resources within MKRF lands.

When requested, access opportunities for the traditional use of wester red cedar will be provided. The MKRF plans for this by ensuring there will be a longterm supply of western red cedar through planting and retaining healthy and naturally occurring young western red cedar trees. The MKRF also outlines that "reasonable opportunity will be given to the applicable First Nations to review cutting permits and to collect traditional use plants prior to harvest". Access rights for local First Nations are also granted for traditionally used plants, but again, only when interest is indicated. This can mean that First Nations' access rights may still at the mercy of the institution. A no-pesticide policy is practiced in this Woodlot License area to respect the maintenance of these "traditional use plants".

Our interviewee has stressed that license holders of the MKRF are vigilant in seeking evidence of cultural heritage resource sites during field work, and will inform the Katzie First Nation and the Forest District if any evidence is found. The Licensee will also keep the Ministry of Forestry and local First Nations informed of the presence of any newly discovered sites or features and will cooperate fully in consultations and comply with the instructions of the Ministry of Forestry First Nations Liaison Officer. If evidence of a previously unidentified cultural resource feature is discovered while conducting forest operations, all activities threatening the site will be immediately suspended. Archaeologists must come to visit to outline areas that had archaeological potential, meaning MKRF has to modify forest operations, giving more power to the historical land rights of local First Nations.

The bundle of rights held by the Katzie First Nation	Explanation	Yes, No, Moderate, or Not applicable
(1) The right to access	The right to enter MKRF	Yes
(2) The right to withdrawal	The right to obtain products of a resource in MKRF	Yes
(3) The right of exclusion	The title holder can limit who may enter the property	Moderate*
(4) The right of management	The right to regulate internal use of MKRF	Moderate*
(5) The right of alienation	The right to sell or lease management or exclusion rights	No
(6) The right of duration	The rights applicable within a specific time frame	Not applicable
(7) The right of bequeathe	The right to operate without a term limiting the possession of these rights	No
(8) The right of extinguishability	The right to due provision for adequate compensation	No

* Moderate for (3) and (4) : Although Katzie First Nation co-manages the forest and has the ability to access and manage the cultural heritage resources on MKRF lands. They do not get to decide what kind of operations take place on the forest.

Interested Outside Stakeholders

Gallant Enterprises of Maple Ridge

Gallant Enterprises of Maple Ridge owns Gallant Mill which operates out of the MRKF and uses timber from the research forest to cut specialty beams and components for timber frame buildings. Gallant Mill consumed around 10% of MKRF log production (in 2005) and is able to put some profits towards MKRF operations. Being that the MKRF is a self-funded project, naturally interested stakeholders will have a high importance. Because Gallant Enterprise is a "value adding" operation, any opportunity to increase economic benefit from new products derived from timber at MKRF, they hold the ability to directly sway their current level of importance and influence. Different revenue streams can dictate operations at the forest, indicating their relative power. However, it was shared in our interview that potential research purists can sometimes trump forest management plans, shifting power away from interested stakeholders. This is because the land is held under private tenure, so it is easy to direct what types of research the forest will conduct. Research topics are generated mostly based on interests held by the researchers themselves. Seems that the influence and importance of Gallant Enterprises can sway depending on research objectives, but remains important because of the operations' contribution to MKRF's economic sustainability.

Meteorological Service of Canada

The MKRF is a volunteer observer for the Meteorological Service of Canada. The MKRF provides data and observations of daily weather, and reports them into the National Climatic Data and Information Archive. The Meteorological Service of Canada has relatively low power since they are not a governing body, and have a relationship with the MKRF that is based in data collection and volunteerism.

The Government of BC/Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD)

The Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources Operations is a source of provincial government jurisdiction on Crown lands. Their objectives include the stewardship of provincial Crown land by ensuring sustainable forest wildlife, water, and other land-based resource management. FLRNRORD is also responsible for issuing community forest licenses in BC, such as woodlot licenses as in the case of the MKRF. FLNRORD acts with high relative power because of their jurisdiction on Crown lands, determining who is responsible to manage the provinces’ natural resources, lands, and forests.

Full Time Staff

Full time staff of the MKRF, including the manager, resident forester, research coordinator, administrative and technical staff, have varying levels of responsibility in managing operations of the MRKF and thus varying levels of relative power. In comparison to other interested stakeholders, full time staff hold some of the highest power because of their decision-making power for potential research projects, forest management plans, provision of job opportunities, as well as networking and partnership abilities.

UBC Faculty of Forestry students

Students in the faculty of Forestry at UBC often attend a 7-day field camp at the MKRF, and UBC forest Conservation students attend an annual 5-day field module at the research forest. Both of these activities are profitable for the MKRF. A GIS data base subscription is also used by UBC Forestry students, and school field trips are offered to the faculty of forestry students at a cost. Professional training courses, tours for high school and elementary school groups are available at a cost. We were unable to retrieve information on how much revenue these UBC Faculty of Forestry Student programs contribute to operations at the MKRF. However, it can be assumed that these programs exercise a relatively moderate level of power at the MKRF because they are educational in nature. Although they do not exert power over MKRF project processes and outcomes, their educational pursuits align with the MKRF's goal to create spaces for education.

The Commercial Timber Market

Log sales are carried out on the open market, namely, the commercial timber market. These prices are dictated by the market itself. Prices of logs will vary over time due to market fluctuations, as well as by their species, and the type of logs. The MRKF, which is self funded, relies on the current market prices for timber in order to support infrastructure and to pay for the creation of research and educational opportunities. They are at the mercy of the market, as they do not have enough power to set their own prices. This gives buyers on the commercial timber market very high power, but low influence. If there was no annual allowable cut (AAC) levels set in the MKRF, it could be possible that the timber market would exert more influence over project processes and outcomes.

Loon Lake Camp (LLC) and Wild & Immersive

Loon Lake Camp is a campground that can accommodate up to 100 guests, is located on the shores of MKRF's Loon Lake. The camp has a long tradition of providing an area for forestry and environmental education as well as outdoor recreation. The Lodges of Loon Lake are also revenue-generating. The Wild & Immersive program is a nature-based programming for youth and adult groups. Both educational programs operate at a cost to individuals, and engage in a transactional relationship with the MKRF. These programs exercise a moderate level of power at the MKRF because they are educational in nature and align with the MKRF's goal to create spaces for education.

Discussion: A Successful Community Forest

In assessing the relative success of MKRF projects, we have attempted to assess the success of the three long term goals of the MKRF: education, health of the forest, and economic independence. During our research and interviews, we found there to be little evidence of relative failures of the MKRF, taking into account MKRF's own objectives. The following is a summary of the net positive benefits to proximal communities.

Meeting the general objectives

Education

MKRF has evolved in terms of educational development, as well as research, and is in line with their objectives. The MKRF gives people a chance to experience learning first hand, which helps bring to life concepts that would otherwise be conveyed in a typical classroom setting.

The MKRF staff mentioned in the interview that because MKRF operates under private tenure, unlike other forests that need to go through a complicated process to be vetted, land use planning and project direction can easily meet their self-identified objectives of research and education. MKRF's private tenure system also allows for the creation and continuation of a long-term data set of research in one geographic location. This is a fairly rare opportunity in research, and for this reason has given the MKRF the opportunity to advance academic forestry research and education.

Along with MKRF's GIS database, research projects are clearly organized in an online database. This database currently has over 1,000 records of research covering riparian management, silviculture, wildlife, hydrology, ecology, and other areas of applied science. According to the website, the database has two sections: (1) a database for public use, particularly for students and researchers, as a literature review tool to find information on current and past activities in research forests, and (2) an online management tool, primarily for use by researchers. This is another tool used by the MKRF to strengthen its long-term data set and contribute to its objectives of advancing education and research.

Health of the forest

From our research and interview, we were able to gather that the forest environment conditions at the MKRF are currently in a healthy state, there is no excessive deforestation and economically related projects are carried out in accordance with AAC levels and sustainable forestry policy. Cultural resource values are accessible and viable. Cultivation by local Indigenous peoples is sustainable and regenerative by nature, and does not contribute to the negative effects of forest resource extraction.

Economic independence

There are currently 4 major revenue streams: selling logs on the commercial timber market, Gallant Enterprises, Loon Lake and educational programs

The MKRF is very successful at being self-funded. Its diversity of revenue streams avoids dependency on one stream of income, such as tourism, which was a sector of revenue that was largely shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Loon Lake Lodge & Retreat Centre was shut down, while the program Wild & Immersive actually thrived! However, during the pandemic, the MKRF was still able to obtain revenue from other activities in the forest, such as timber sales from Gallant Enterprises. During the pandemic there was a large upscale in the market value of lumber due to supply chain disturbances, giving Gallant Enterprises an opportunity to sell a lot of lumber locally, generating more revenue. It is expected that supply chain disturbances will persist with more frequent extreme weather events (ex: floods in BC's interior, limiting transportation). This may favour more local suppliers such as Gallant Enterprises, or make it harder for them to transport their product to customers farther away.

It is speculated that Canada's softwood lumber dispute with the United states may impact timber revenue generated by the MKRF. The United States believes that they should have a trading tariff tax on any wood imported from Canada because in their view, Canada is subsidizing licensees. Imposing a trading tariff tax on Canadian-imported wood will impact the revenues of the MKRF and as the MKRF sells their timber (through Gallant Enterprises), any timber sold to the United States will not be as profitable.

Assessment

• Importance: the role in achieving project outputs and purpose

• Influence: power exerted over the project process and outcome

	High Importance	Low Importance
High Influence	Gallant enterprises Katzie First Nation FNLROROD Full-time staff Loon Lake and Wild & Immersive Educational Programs
Low Influence	Commercial Timber Market	Meteorological Services of Canada Tourists and Recreationsits

Our interviewee stressed that relationship building is what sustains good relations with stakeholders. The MRKF is in contact with many other organizations, such as the Alouette river management society (the North Alouette stream runs through the MKRF), the Maple Ridge Fire Chief, and Golden Ears Provincial Park, which borders the MRKF. To be able to make things work for everyone by reaching consensus and having good intentions is an important value held by those at the MRKF. Even though the soft skills of relationship building are not regulated by the government, they are important to the values of social capital and thus effective forest management projects. The MKRF strives to provide a place that has value to the outside community as well. The Wild & Immersive program and Loon Lake Lodge and Retreat Center are good examples of this.

Recommendations

Mixed planting pattern

Nelder plot 2 (57-5) is a trial site at the MKRF where deformities have occurred as a result of weevil attack over 40 years. The open-grown trees had high weevil productivity in the leader, which meant that there was a high inoculum resulting in weevil movement into the understory. This would be a good opportunity to think about planting resistant provenances as a recommendation. Additionally, they could consider planting mixed with susceptible trees.

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP)

The MKRF is part of the traditional territory of the Katzie First Nation. The relationship between the MKRF and the Katzie First Nation is very good. The Katzie band traditionally use the NTFP as medicine and artifacts, and they also have spiritual significance. Opening up the NTFP intangible cultural heritage may provide more opportunities for joint projects between MKRF and Katzie.

Devolution of Control and Research which validates TEK

Forests are fundamental to the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples, as their resources are important for subsistence values, economic pursuits, and ceremony . Indigenous peoples have historically-rooted relationships with nature, and have been managing forests since time immemorial. Now, over 70% of communities are located in or near forest lands that have been managed for generations. A majority of these communities are comprised of Indigenous peoples. In light of this, it is important to decolonize Canada’s forest sector by encouraging increased involvement of Indigenous peoples in decision-making in the forest sector. The MKRF does its duty in consulting Indigenous peoples of their proposed management plans, but has not yet realized their customary rights within the legal system. Research and restoration under guidance of local Indigenous communities allows benefits to be shared among a broader group of people, and is a step towards the devolution of control within institutions: even forestry research. It also then important for the MKRF to consider research projects which can validate Indigenous ways of knowing, teachings of the land, stories, and oral histories.

In forest management, shared decision-making between two parties is also key to achieving social and management objectives. Shared decision-making includes "decentralization of control (devolution of management to local user organizations rather than retention by external groups), sense of ownership, consensus, conflict resolution and enforcement mechanisms, and integration into traditional systems".

Revenue Sharing

The goal of the Katzie First Nation Forest & Range Consultation Revenue Sharing Agreement (FCRSA) between the Katzie First Nation and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia is to include Revenue Sharing Contribution to promote the involvement of the Katzie First Nation on this consultation process. This is intended to compensate for any adverse impacts to the Katzie First Nation resulting from forest and range resource development within the Traditional Territory. Currently, there is no revenue sharing system between the Katzie First Nation and the MKRF. To implement a revenue sharing program would fully realize the Katzie Nation as affected stakeholders, whose livelihoods can be negatively affected by forest and range resource development within their traditional territories. The FCRSA may also help the MKRF establish greater stability for forest and range resource development on Crown lands within traditional territories.

Replacement of a Woodlot License with a Community Forest License.

The MRKF is already managing for a broad range of community benefits, as are the objectives of a community forest license. However, as we have learned in Jennifer Gunter's analysis of the BCCFA case study, compared to a woodlot license, community forest licenses have longer length of time rights (community forest licenses used to be 5 years in duration, but now hold 25-99 years duration, and are replaceable every 10 years). These longer length of time rights can encourage greater investments into the type of forestry a program would like to see, and incentivizes CFA holders to manage for the long-term health of forests and communities. Woodlot Licenses, on the other hand, are the only tenures in BC that are not transferable. In the case of the CFA, the only transfer that can occur is to another legal entity representing the same local community and only with the approval of the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. This helps to maintain the benefits of forest management within the community itself. Jennifer Gunter has written that "The BC Community Forest Association contends that the CFA is a tangible tool that can be used to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. For these reasons, it is the most appropriate tenure for the lands surrounding Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities" (Gunter, 2004), including the land of the MKRF. Often, the autonomy of Indigenous partners can be limited by the tenure rights that hold the forest, especially private tenure. An adoption of a community forest license in place of a woodlot license would still allow the MKRF to harvest and sell timber, but with a greater certainty of duration rights.