About Us

Remembering Our History

Where We've Come From

Tumbler Ridge originally applied for a Probationary Community Forest License in Sept 2008 and had an Area-based Forest License approved in January 2011.

To manage the Community Forest, a Corporation was formed in Aug 2012 with it's original board of directors. The team's first Forest Stewardship Plan was approved Sept 2012.

Following a successful year, TRCF submitted a formal request to expand the Community Forest area in June 2013 and began to adopt new technologies such as GIS mapping around this time.

Like much of British Columbia, Tumbler Ridge was negatively affected by the rapid growth of mountain pine beetle, and in October 2013 TRCF was approved for a harvest uplift of 300,000 m³ to salvage the damaged forest. A further 60,000 m³ was approved in December 2016 to salvage the remaining pine beetle.

Over a few step iterations between 2013 and 2022 TRCF worked with Government to increase the Annual Allowable Cut (AAC) from 20,000 m³/yr. to 43,490 m³/yr. with an expanded area of 39,986 hectares. This new AAC and management plan applies until it's expiry on Sept 1st, 2032 when a new agreement will need to be submitted.

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What Makes Us

Who We Are

Tumbler Ridge Community Forest is a municipally owned corporation, responsible for the sustainable management of forests in the Tumbler Ridge area, for the benefit of the local community.

Where We're Heading

Our Vision For The Future

Through shared ideas and community involvement, Tumbler Ridge Community Forest aspires to become the model Community Forest in British Columbia.

What Guides Us

Our Mission

To manage our Community Forest in an environmentally sound and ecologically sustainable manner providing direct benefits to the community such as economic diversification, employment, education, and recreation.

First Nations Declaration

TRCF acknowledges the Indigenous communities surrounding Tumbler Ridge. This land is the traditional territory of the Dunne-za, Saulteaux, Tse’khene, Cree and Metis peoples which includes the McLeod Lake Indian Band, Saulteaux First Nations, West Moberly First Nations, Kelly Lake Cree First Nations, and Kelly Lake Metis Settlement Society within Treaty 8 Territory.

Our story by numbers

We have accomplished great results

39,986

Hectares Managed

1,500+

Hectares Reforested

$1,030,000+

Support to Local Causes

$82,500+

To TR Food Bank

$35,000+

Scholarships & Bursaries

Meet The Team

Our Board Of Directors

The board is comprised of seven members. Six appointed volunteers from the community plus the town mayor or his designate.

Allan Kangas

Chair

Allan graduated from Queen’s University as a Mining Engineer in 1981 and has been a resident of Tumbler Ridge since 1985. His work experience includes progressive duties with Teck Corp at the Quintette and Bull moose mines till 2006 when he joined Western Canadian Coal and subsequently Walter Energy where he was Vice President/General Manager of Canadian Operations. In the spring of 2017, he decided to semi-retire and begin his own consulting services company. Allan and his wife are both long term residents of Tumbler, have 5 children and 3 grandchildren, two of which live in Tumbler. They all enjoy the northern B.C. lifestyle and their home of Tumbler Ridge.

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Marsha Dufresne

Director

Marsha Ḵwa’x̱i’latł Dufresne,s Kwakiutl from T’sakis who moved to Tumbler Ridge in the early stages of the town’s development in the 1980s. Marsha works in the Tumbler Ridge school system as the Aboriginal Education Support worker, where she maintains a space for Indigenous students to gather, explore and learn. She is a member of many volunteer groups in the community and has been with the Tumbler Ridge Community Forest since the beginning stages in 2013.

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Chris Norbury

Director

Chris Norbury is a Librarian at the Tumbler Ridge Public Library as well as a town Councillor. Chris is an active member and volunteer in his community who tries to build and grow relationships between people and organizations. Originally from Kamloops BC, Chris moved to Tumbler Ridge 8 years ago with his wife Lindsey who is a math teacher at TRSS.

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Hugh Kingwell

Director

Hugh joins the TRCF Board following a decades long career in resources-based industry, most recently as Director of Human Resources for Conuma Coal, overseeing 900+ employees. Recently retired, Hugh's Management experience extends to both union and non-union heavy industrial companies, and includes both Training and Safety roles. In the forestry sector, Hugh has held various positions in the Revelstoke Forest District including Pest Management, Air Attack, Forest Protection, Timber Management and Fire Fighting. Hugh is a strategic thinker and brings strong analytical and project management experience to TRCF. He additionally serves on the Board of Directors for the Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark.

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Bernie Lehmann

Director

Bernie was born in Switzerland and moved to Canada at age 10. He is a red seal journeyman carpenter since 1979 and worked in Yukon from August 1973 until June of 1990 at United Keno Hill Mines. Bernie built custom homes in Whitehorse before moving to Tumbler Ridge in November of 1994 where he continued his career for M.R. Maintenance looking after housing for Quintette Coal until 2002. Bernie worked as a carpenter for school district #59 and shop instructor in Chetwynd. Prior to retiring in 2021, and wanting to give back to the community, Bernie ran for Town Councillor of Tumbler Ridge and completed a 4-year term.

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How We Do It

The values that define us

Share Your Input

Sustainability

Our mission is to manage our Community Forest in an environmentally sound and ecologically sustainable manner. We use state of the art forestry modelling to determine sustainable harvest levels and reforest promptly post harvest. The Community Forest has harvested over 1500 ha since 2012 and we have reforested 100% of the harvest area.

Local Benefits of Giving Back

The Community Forest has contributed over $1M to support local causes spreading the funds over 110 grants and community support submissions.

Engagement

The community has direct input to forest operations in and around Tumbler Ridge and are invited to our board meetings and AGM. The forest manager is available at any time to discuss any concerns the public may have regarding management of the Community Forest.

Economic Diversification

The Community Forest is about local control over and employment of the benefits offered by local forest resources. TRCF is a means to help stabilise the local community economy and provide long-term employment opportunities. We promote community participation and foster long-term environmental stewardship.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question? You're not alone! Some of our most frequently asked questions are answered below. If yours isn't please get in touch!

What is a community forest?

A Community Forest can be described as a forestry operation managed by a local government, First Nation or community-held organization for the benefit of the entire community. This innovative form of forest management generates economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits for local communities and for the province. At its core, community forestry is about local control over, and enjoyment of the monetary and non-monetary benefits offered by local forest resources.

Why did the Community Forest expand from 20,00 ha to nearly 40,000 ha?

Once the Community Forest was approved, it was evident to management that the volume of 20,000m3 annual cut would not be sufficient to support a forest enterprise where markets for the fibre were a significant distance from the licence area. So, from around 2012 or so management embarked on a campaign to increase the licence area to further ensure the CF could survive as a going concern in perpetuity. After considerable effort and lobbying in August 2022, TRCF licence area was amended to increase the harvest to 43, 490m3 per year from 20,000m3. The area was adjusted to approximately double the original area now 39,986 ha.

How many positions comprise the TRCF board?

The TRCF board is made up of seven positions. At present six positions are filled. We encourage anyone interested in becoming a board member to approach the current board members or contact the Forest Manager. Board members are approved by town council on an annual basis.

What is the Community Forests current financial silviculture obligations as of 2023?

As of August 2023, the silviculture obligations on the past harvest area is $528,000. This figure goes up when we harvest more area and goes down as we reforest and monitor for growth of the plantations.

Did the recent wildfire of 2023 burn into the Community Forest?

The West KisKatinaw wildfire burnt approximately 25,100 ha of forest just north of Bearhole Lake Provincial Park. Approximately 2,500 ha burnt into the Community Forest license area. To learn more read this article.

How does the Tumbler Ridge Community Forest make money?

The Community Forest generates income by harvesting an annual harvest of approximately 43,000m3/yr. in the license area. Payments are made toward the operating of the forest business and money generated is accumulated to pay for the reforestation of the harvest areas. The remainder of the funds are held to support local projects in the realm of grants and community support initiatives.

Why is the Community Forest not harvesting in the recent past?

The Community Forest had to wait for the most recent Management Plan 3 to be approved in 2022. Once the plan was approved, we put out a harvest package in the fall of 2022 and in the spring of 2023 for around 50,000m3. Due to low market prices, the bids came back too low to accept the sale. We are looking to put out bid packages for a winter 2024 program and hope market conditions improve by then.

How does the Community Forest determine what projects to fund through grants or community support?

Beginning each calendar year, the Community Forest directors approve an annual budget. As a guide, the directors allocate roughly ten percent of the net projected revenue towards the grant initiatives from the planned operations. They determine the validity of the requests by following the internal grant policy found on this site.

How do I offer services and become an approved vendor?

The Community Forest looks to hire services from the local population. We first look to the community and then span out to other small communities in the area. In some circumstances we utilize resources from larger communities to get the best service. Click here to learn more

Where does the wood end up?

The Community Forest looks to the local markets to invite bids for volume. This includes the major licences in the surrounding area including as far as Fort St John and Quesnel. We have also made some small local sales to the community population for specialty projects.

Get Involved!

If you would like to know more about the Community Forest, there are lots of ways to get involved. Come out to our quarterly public meetings or the Annual General Meeting. Approach the management with your inquiries, or request information from one of the seven directors. Perhaps you have a business opportunity. We welcome all input.