B.C. man honoured by province for sustainable forest management
Posted October 28, 2023 3:24 pm.
Last Updated October 28, 2023 10:08 pm.
A man from Houston, B.C., is being honoured by the province for his work in woodlot management.
Jonathan Henry Seinen received a Minister’s Award for Innovation and Excellence in Woodlot Management, which includes a signed certificate and a $10,000 grant, at the annual general meeting of the Federation of British Columbia Woodlot Associations on Saturday.
Seinen, president of the Nadina Woodlot Association, is a leader in ensuring the province’s forests are sustainable for future generations, said Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston.
Seinen is one of an estimated 20,000 woodlot owners who tend to about 3.5 million cubic metres of timber in the province, allocated to small tenures such as community forests or woodlots. A woodlot is a small, area-based forest tenure — an agreement between an individual or company and the province — that grants rights and outlines the conditions to harvest timber on the land.
He and his family have been managing the same woodlot since 1981.
“Jon took over the (managing) role from his father in 2010 and has worked through the mountain pine beetle epidemic and now through adjacent wildfires,” said Mark Clark, president of the Federation of BC Woodlot Associations.
“Jon’s story is an excellent example of the hands-on resilience that woodlotters use every day in managing their operations, and it demonstrates that the forests are in good hands.”
The frequency and intensity of wildfires in Canada are increasing due to climate change. This year, B.C.’s wildfire season set a new record in square kilometres burned across the province.
According to the ministry, Seinen is an active participant in fire suppression through his woodlot management by contracting equipment to create fire guards. He spent several weeks assisting in the suppression of the Peacock Creek fire this summer.
The ministry states Seinen also regularly invites youth groups to his woodlot for educational programs, hands out free seedlings at the end of the tree-planting season, assists with local park projects, and provides lumber for local barn construction projects.
Seinen is the latest woodlot licensee to take home the prize for this annual recognition by the minister of forests.
