Silviculture project in Grand Bank District

Judy Foote, MHA - Grand Bank, and Kevin Aylward, Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, are pleased to announce the award of a $25,000 contract to carry out a silviculture project in the Grand Bank District. The Town of Grand Bank was awarded a contract for stand reclamation work.

Ms. Foote announced: "This project will get underway by mid-September for a scheduled completion for mid-October. I am pleased that 12 people will be able to secure four weeks of employment on this project located near Molliers in Grand Bank. The intent of this project is to convert an immature, severely aphid infested balsam fir stand to a spruce/larch stand. This work ensures that we, as communities, make to most of the resources we have in our backyard. The Town of Grand Bank is commended for having the sense of stewardship to take on this project."

"Silvicultural projects provide meaningful work that will contribute to the long-term viability of the over 80 rural Newfoundland communities that rely on various levels of forestry related activity," commented the minister. "Having the initiative come from the community council itself shows a worthy sense of stewardship for the resources in their own backyard."

This project is made possible through a commitment of $2.5 million under the provincial government's Employment Initiatives Fund for the development and maintenance of the forest resource and the jobs associated with this resource.

Government has continued to provide strong support to the ongoing silviculture program. For 1997, government announced a total of $15 million to be spent on silviculture-related work. This amount represents direct provincial contributions combined with partnership arrangements with the two pulp and paper companies, Abitibi Consolidated Inc. and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, plus a combination of federal/provincial government investment through the Transitional Jobs Fund.

Contact:

Anna Buffinga, Communications, (709) 729-3750
Ed Blackmore, Central Region Forest Office, (709) 256-1451