Residents are invited to share their input on the development of the West Central Vancouver Island (WCVI) Forest Landscape Plan (FLP), which will guide long-term forest management in the area.
“Forests are the heart of many B.C. communities, providing spaces for recreational and cultural activities, supporting biodiversity and offering economic opportunities,” said Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar in a release. “I encourage everyone in the region to tell us what matters most to you about nearby forests and help shape the future of forest management.”
People can share their thoughts through a short survey, open from Oct. 15 until Dec. 15, 2025, or attend an open house in a nearby community.
Four in-person open-house engagement sessions are planned so people can learn more about forest landscape planning and comment on the development of the plan.
The sessions are set for:
FLPs are co-developed with First Nations, with input from communities, subject-matter experts and forest licensees. The WCVI FLP is being developed with the Mowachaht/Muchatlaht First Nation, Ka:yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations and Ehattesaht Chinehkint First Nation.
They are guided by five key objective: manage the values placed on forest ecosystems by First Nations; support the protection and conservation of the environment; support production and supply of timber in the forest landscape area; manage the values placed on ecosystems by local communities and prevent, mitigate and adapt to effects caused by significant disturbances to forests and forest health.
Developing FLPs are a new approach to forest stewardship that establish clear direction for the management of forest-related values, such as old-growth trees, biodiversity, ecosystem health, climate change, watershed health and wildfire risk.
B.C. has 15 forest landscape tables that are at various phases of planning, representing 42 per cent of the area intended for FLPs.
