British Columbia Government Approves Vavenby Forest Tenure Transfer from Canfor to Interfor

The long-awaited transfer of Vavenby forest tenure from Canfor to Interfor was finally announced on Friday afternoon (2/28/20) by the B.C. government. Canfor closed the Vavenby mill in June of 2019 and since then the timber allotment for that mill has been left untouched. The transfer will result in more timber harvesting jobs in B.C.’s central interior. The transfer will give Interfor access to an annual cut of 349,000 cubic meters of wood to feed its Adams Lake Lumber Division located south of Clearwater and Vavenby. That leaves one unsettled issue, when the possibility of a change in ownership of timber rights was first announced in June, leaders of the Simpcw First Nation, located between Kamloops and Clearwater, said they weren’t consulted and had hoped to acquire at least some of the land tenure. The B.C. government is now in discussions with the Simpcw First Nation.