November 25, 1997
(Forest Resources and Agrifoods)

The following statement was issued today by Kevin Aylward, Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I am pleased to inform my honourable colleagues of the successful signing of the agreement for Phase Two of the Western Newfoundland Model Forest project.

On October 23, the federal government and the Model Forest Partners signed an agreement in Corner Brook, which will see the federal government contribute $500,000 a year to the Western Newfoundland Model Forest. This contribution will be matched by the Model Forest partners, for a total of about $5 million to be spent over the next five years. This represents a significant commitment on the part of all partners to the work of the Model Forest.

The local partners who will be providing the matching funding include: Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, the City of Corner Brook, the Newfoundland and Labrador Trappers Association, the College of the North Atlantic, the Forestry and Wildlife Divisions of my department, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Gros Morne National Park, the Humber Arm Environmental Association and the Canadian Forest Service.

The thrust of the Phase Two Work Plan is implementation of the Integrated Resource Management Plan developed over the past five years with the Model Forest partners and the public and I would emphasize that implementation means action. This agreement presents both a challenge and a great opportunity for the partners to move forward from the foundation of research and the development of an integrated resource management plan prepared over the past five years.

Earlier this year, my department announced the release of the 20-Year Forest Management Plan. In this plan, we outlined the department's new approach to forest management, the adaptive ecosystem management approach.

This approach addresses the long-term health of the forest ecosystem through the management of the range of values for the resource, such as, wood fibre, wildlife, tourism, recreation, clean air, and water resources. However, we are looking to the Model Forest to help us meet the challenge of implementing this new ecosystem approach to managing this province's forests.

The Model Forest project has the opportunity to provide the "model" for integrated management for the rest of the province, and indeed, the rest of the world. The success of the Phase Two Agreement will be in knowledge transfer and communication. This will ensure that the Model Forest approach is not only for Western Newfoundland, but for all of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I would ask the members of the House to acknowledge the work of all the government and non-government partners of the Model Forest, and to congratulate them on the signing of this important agreement.