A joint venture of NK'Mip Forestry and Infinity-Pacific Stewardship Group
In 2017, the First Nations Woodland Licence was created, forging a long-term partnership between BC Timber Sales (BCTS) and the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB). This collaboration combines Indigenous traditional knowledge with modern forest management practices to build a future that prioritizes sustainability, economic growth, and environmental stewardship.
Through this partnership, the OIB plays a lead role in forest planning and resource management, ensuring that cultural values and ecological integrity are upheld. The revenue-sharing model embedded within the Woodland Licence provides financial benefits that support education, social services, and community development. “Our First Nations Woodland Licence has a revenue-sharing component whereby once this wood is sold, we’re able to receive a revenue share, so those funds come back to the Osoyoos Indian Band community and help with everything from education to social services,” says Dan Macmaster, Head of Forestry at Nk’Mip Forestry LLP. “When done right, it can provide jobs and economic benefits back to the community.”
The partnership is more than just about timber—it’s about sustainable land use and innovation in forest management. “The best collaboration that I’ve seen involves trying new things, not necessarily going after just timber,” says Ashley Vegh, Operations Technologist at BCTS. “We’re thinking outside the box—about wildfire urban interface areas and managing those areas in such a way that protects the community within the First Nations Woodland Licence but also other infrastructure.”
Education and training are also key priorities, with the partnership providing hands-on experience for Indigenous youth. “We’ve taken on a bunch of summer students,” says Vern Louie, Operations Manager at Nk’Mip Forestry LLP. “Any training that we do, we incorporate into their learning, get them involved, get them in the dirt, and let them strike out on their own. Passing that torch is really important.”
As forestry practices evolve, so too does the approach to land stewardship. “Forest management is changing,” says Macmaster. “How forestry was done 10 years ago—let alone 20, 30, or 40 years ago—is different today. This province faces a lack of timber supply, but that supply is out there. It just has to be managed differently, and it has to be done properly—with First Nations involvement as the absolute first step.”
This partnership stands as a model for reconciliation in action, demonstrating how collaboration and shared leadership can shape a thriving, sustainable forestry sector for generations to come.
Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/zAqj2XaFbMI?si=ssaB3lNO6S3y1_3O.
