NACFOR Awarded Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry
The Nakusp and Area Community Forest is proud to have been selected for the provincial Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry. This award recognizes the leadership in sustainable forest management and the community impact of the chosen community forest.
“The Nakusp and Area Community Forest is proud to be the 2026 recipient of the Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry,” said Mike Crone, general manager, Nakusp and Area Community Forest. “We recognize the over 20 years of dedication and effort from our community, board members, management teams, contractors, volunteers and partners that have gone into making community forestry a success in the Arrow Lakes region. We are feeling invigorated and look forward to the next 20 years of successfully providing social, environmental and economic benefits through sustainable management of the forest land base.”
The award was accepted by NACFOR Board of Directors representatives and the management team at the 2026 BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) annual conference and AGM in Vernon, BC, this June.
Open House Success!
NACFOR’s annual open house on May 21st was a great success! Thank you to all of the community members who attended, asked questions, and attended the field tour in the Wensley Creek wildfire risk reduction treatment unit.
We shared lots of information about operations, wildfire risk reduction treatments, our recreation projects, community benefits, educational programs, forest health topics such as Douglas-fir beetle management, our silviculture and stewardship programs and non-timber forest values that NACFOR manages in our operations.
We plan to have more information sessions this fall, so stay tuned for further events.
Nakusp Wildfire Risk Reduction Project Funding
Wildfire Resiliency Plan
NACFOR has recently received funding through a partnership of the BC Community Forest Association and BC Wildfire Service towards developing a Community Forest Agreement Area Wildfire Resiliency Plan. What does this mean?
This Wildfire Resiliency Plan will be created specifically for areas of NACFOR CFA tenure, Woodlot 406 and Glenbank Private Lands, that have not yet had a wildfire risk reduction plan created for them, or were not included in the 2017 Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
The development of this plan will include analysis of our forest land base to identify priority areas for treatment over the next 5 years, informed by evidence-based risk class ratings and fuel loading. The plan will also take into account the fuel treatments that have already been completed or are currently ongoing around Nakusp. This funding will not be used for the implementation of fuel treatments.
Wensley Phase II, and Summit Lake Ecosystem Resiliency Project
Through the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), NACFOR was awarded provincial funding for wildfire risk reduction projects on the community forest. For Wensley Creek Unit 5 Phase 2, $366,100 has been awarded to complete understory hand treatment and post-harvest surface fuel reduction treatments. This is aimed to be completed by November 2026.
An additional $320,000 was awarded to NACFOR from FESBC for the Summit Lake Ecosystem Resiliency Project. This project will combine wildfire risk reduction objectives with enhancing Western Toad habitat along the Summit Lake forest service road. The proposed area is approximately 36.4 hectares over 3.2 km of existing road. Treatment will be a combination of understory thin-from-below treatments, post-harvest mechanical piling, chipping and burying coarse woody debris to support Western Toad habitat. The goal is to create a defendable space along Summit Lake FSR to protect Highway 6, Summit Lake private property and infrastructure, and Summit Lake Provincial Park, in the event of a wildfire.
An understory thin-from-below treatment buffering Summit Lake FSR and Summit Lake Branch
2 will provide an opportunity to utilize the two roads as defensible space and as a backburn ignition site to combat a wildfire approaching the highway and nearby infrastructure. Summit Lake is recognized as a highly important breeding site for Western toads, which spend the majority of their life in terrestrial forested habitats.
During fuel treatments, there will be opportunities for innovative slash and waste management, such as burying coarse woody debris to create subterranean microclimates and hibernacula for overwintering toads. Leaving large woody debris lying flat on the ground to decompose will also create
good toad habitat, and creating critter piles (small piles of stacked debris). These innovative waste
management techniques will create habitat for toads and other species, such as squirrels, that
contribute to forested ecosystems while supporting wildfire resiliency.
Nakusp Rod and Gun Club Rifle Range Project
Earlier this year, NACFOR received funding from the Columbia Basin Trust and provincial Wildfire Resiliency Initiative. This project funding will support field data collection, treatment layout, and the creation of a prescription for the Nakusp Rod and Gun Club rifle range north of Nakusp. The treatment objectives for this area are to reduce wildfire risk on the rifle range through vegetation management and fuel reduction. This treatment area will connect to Units 1 and 2, previously completed by NACFOR and Interfor, which are part of the landscape-level fuel break surrounding the Village of Nakusp identified in the 2017 RDCK Area K and Village of Nakusp Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The estimated timeline for this work will be field data collection and treatment layout over the summer, then a draft prescription will be created, and information sharing with First Nations and the community will be completed through September, so that treatments can be completed over the winter.
Wildfire Risk Reduction on Box Mountain
NACFOR has received many questions regarding the proposed wildfire risk reduction treatment units on Box Mountain. NACFOR has no current plans to move ahead with the prescription that was created for Unit 6 in 2021. Unit 7 remains a proposed treatment unit in the updated 2025 Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan developed by B.A. Blackwell and Associates Ltd., however, no prescription has been created for it.
At this time, NACFOR does not have grant funding to conduct treatment implementation in these areas. There have also been no changes to the Unit 6 prescription. NACFOR is committed to open communication with concerned residents prior to completing any further planning in these units.
Jackrabbit Trail Interpretive Signage
The Jackrabbit Interpretive Trail in the Wensley Creek recreation area will be receiving some new signage soon! NACFOR will be creating signage to explain the various wildfire risk reduction treatment techniques that were used in the area, and forest management practices that are employed. The signage will be installed in a few locations along the Jackrabbit Trail for hikers to enjoy and learn about the site-specific activities. Thank you to the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC for supporting this project.
