FBCWA Vision

"The Federation of BC Woodlot Associations [FBCWA] promotes the economic and social interests of woodlot licensees, private forest landowners and others involved in small-scale forest management in British Columbia. The FBCWA’s mission is for all its members to practice exemplary forest and natural resources management in a socially, economically and environmentally responsible manner."

Click PDF icon below to view/download the full FBCWA Vision document.

FBCWA Vision - 2007-2012 (March 5, 2007)

FBCWA Strategic Plan

Most woodlot holders/owners have recently experienced an unprecedented rate of change affecting their forest management. This is expected to continue or accelerate in the near future due to forest health issues, technology, government policies, economic pressures, changing markets and climate change which is presenting real challenges for the FBCWA’s long term planning and strategizing.

This Strategic Plan is intended to assist the FBCWA meet these challenges by providing direction for future planning and strategizing for its membership to develop workplans, budgets and specific actions to meet the goals set out in this plan. This document will be continually updated as ‘a living document’ and promote adaptability and diversity to our associations which represent woodlot holders and woodlot owners.

Click PDF icon below to view/download the full FBCWA Strategic Plan document.

FBCWA Strategic Plan - 2007-2012 (Oct. 5, 2007)

What are Woodlots and Woodlot Licences?

The term woodlot typically refers to a plot of privately owned forest land. In British Columbia, there are an estimated 20,000+ woodlot owners. A woodlot licence is a form of area-based tenure which is unique to British Columbia. In effect, they are partnerships between the licence holder and the Province of British Columbia to manage public and private forest lands.

Woodlot Forestry in BC

The woodlot sector in British Columbia is diverse. Woodlots vary greatly in size, in ownership, and in legal status. They can be forest lands managed by individuals, groups of individuals, First Nations or public institutions.

More than 20,000 non-industrial private land owners in the province have forest holdings greater than 20 hectares. Many among these land owners are engaged in farming or ranching, but virtually all other possible occupations and backgrounds are represented.

Increasing consideration is being given to woodlot forestry as an alternative approach to administering and managing some of our Crown forest lands. As part of a slowly expanding program, several hundred Woodlot licenses have been awarded since this form of Crown land tenure was introduced in 1979.

Who & What We Represent

The Federation of British Columbia Woodlot Associations was founded in 1988. It represents woodlot associations, individual woodlot licensees, and small private woodland owners throughout BC.

Our membership plays an important role in rural British Columbia. Woodlot operators in our associations contribute stability and leadership within their communities, create local employment, produce a wide variety of products from the forest, offer environmental protection, and generate additional landscape values from the pride they take in their operations.

Woodlot owners have a unique potential to produce forest products not only in great variety but of high quality. An increase in the number of actively managed private and Crown woodlots will stimulate greater innovation in forest management approaches and contribute to a diversification in the log trade benefiting the value-added wood processing sector.

Private citizens formulating their own goals in owning and managing forest land is part of the distinct nature of woodlot forestry – the key to its development and contribution to society.

Winter Tree Falling

Woodlot licences are small, area based forest tenures which is unique to BC. In effect it is a partnership between the license holder and the Province of BC to manage public and private forest lands.
A woodlot is a replaceable tenure that is awarded for 20 years. Replaceable means the tenure will be renewed or extended, providing the terms and conditions of the agreement are being met. As such, woodlot licenses are often passed on to generations within a family.
Woodlots marry private lands with Crown lands. For older woodlot licenses the maximum crown land portion was 600 (interior) or 400 (coast) hectares of crown land, creating an unique forest tenure.
In BC, there are 546,000 hectares included in woodlots, of which ~91,434 hectares or ~17% is private property.
Recent changes in forestry legislation increased the maximum allowable crown land portion to 1,200 and 800 hectares, interior and coast respectively.
There are 823 active woodlots in British Columbia. In 2005, woodlot licenses harvested just over 3 million cubic meters of timber, generating an estimated $183,000,000 in economic activity within the province.
There is no differentiation between the private and crown land when it comes to management. Both are managed to the same high standards. A woodlot holder cares for the crown land in the same way they care and tend to their private land.
Woodlots are a form of small business, each one helping to support one or more families. Woodlots are typically handed down from generation to generation within a family.
Woodlot holders assume responsibility for managing the woodlot area, taking a long-term approach to the sustainable management of all resource values.
Woodlot holders invest a significant amount of personal time and effort into managing their woodlots. On average a woodlot holder invests 45 man-days of personal time.
A woodlot is a source of personal pride and accomplishment.
Woodlot holders have close ties to their neighbours and to the local community within which they reside and manage their woodlot.
Since woodlots offer 'personal' management on a small-scale, many have purposely been located in close proximity to communities and residential areas or over areas with sensitive resource management issues.
Each woodlot generates a significant amount of full time, part time and seasonal employment including jobs in planning, harvesting, road construction & maintenance, reforestation, silviculture and small-scale timber processing.

FBCWA If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact us:

Federation of BC Woodlot Associations

Brian McNaughton, General Manager
381 Pheasant Road
Williams Lake, BC
V2G 5A9

Phone: 1.866.345.TREE (8733)
Email

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