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Finish the job: Citizens from Watson Lake are responsible forest managers

The Yukon Government may terminate half-completed forest planning in Southeast Yukon well before it is complete.

Here are some good reasons to renegotiate the lapsed mandate of the the Kaska Forest Resources Stewardship Council (KFRSC) – the group responsible for forest planning in Southeast Yukon.

The KFRSC, primarily made up of Watson Lake community members appointed by the Kaska and the Yukon government, is working hard and cooperatively with local trappers, land stewards, elders, government officials, community members, loggers and environmental groups.

This group should be allowed to build on the trust they have established and to continue with the important next steps of their work.

For more information, visit the Kaska Forest Resources Stewardship Council (KFRSC) at www.kfrsc.ca.

The most important reason to renegotiate KFRSC’s mandate is because they are successful.

Completing regional forest management plans that have broad community support takes years. In record time, the KFRSC is finishing regional planning that outlines broad forest management direction. They made provisions to harvest almost twenty thousand truck loads of logs, while the planning process was underway. So far, people have shown an interest in only 12% of this available wood. But if you need wood to establish a sustainable forest industry – it’s there! Also, the KFRSC has done all this in a way that is supported by the Kaska and that provides for healthy ecosystems.

The KFRSC must now focus their attention on specific areas for more detailed, sub-regional planning. This needs to occur before determining a final number that tells us how much wood can be cut each year. Their mandate also included guiding the development of the Yukon’s new Forest Act and regulations. The KFRSC is to recommend how a sustainable, economically viable forest industry can be encouraged.

Beaver River forest Photo by Marten Berkman

The KFRSC was to be a voice for the people of Southeast Yukon. Community members rely on it as the trusted source of information in considering social, economic, ecological and Kaska interests – effectively and cooperatively through an ecosystem-based approach.

The KFRSC relies upon the trust they have developed in the communities of Watson Lake and Ross River to do their work. They are trusted to produce competent plans that make timber available. They are trusted by the Kaska because their work respects Kaska cultural interests. The KFRSC stated from the outset that they would protect sensitive areas by limiting development where required, and they have.

The trust earned by the Stewardship Council has made it possible for all this productive work to get done in only three years. When government tried to do it themselves, conflict, confusion and confrontation resulted.

Certainty lies in accepting the recommendations of the regional plan and allowing the KFRSC to proceed with the next levels of planning. Even the forest industry recognizes the importance of completing all levels of forest planning before making an investment and the Yukon government should too.

Why would the Yukon Government want to terminate the Kaska Forest Resources Stewardship Council before its work is done and before its mandate is complete?