More work than expected going on at industrial park

THERE’S MORE work going on at the city’s proposed airport lands industrial park than was first planned for this year.

Instead of just clearing the right of way for a 700 metre access road to the Skeena Industrial Park from Hwy16 south of the airport, 80 hectares within the planned park area is being cleared as well.

Project coordinator Trevor Jobb of Northwest Timberlands said there was luck in the timing of the clearing of this crown land on the park of the forests ministry because of an uptick in the market for wood.

The cleared location will form part of the industrial lands the city will then market to industrial or other users.

“Down the road, it may be impossible to market that wood,” he said, explaining that the push was to sell it now while there was a market for hemlock and pine.

Jobb also said the timber type in the airport lands is susceptible to mountain pine beetle attack, and the clearing helped create a fuel break.

The current work also allowed the ministry to sell the wood now, which it would not be able to do in future years the beetle did get in and damage the trees.

“Most of (the wood) got sent within the region, and some of it got sent to pulp mills in the south,” Jobb said.

The hemlock is being shipped to a pulp mill in Port Alice via Kitimat. Closer to home, pine cut to length is going to West Fraser’s Pacific Inland Resources in Smithers, and more pine is going to the Morning Glory Farms sawmill in Kitwanga.

Local company Long’s Logging started the clearing work in September and is finishing up now.

Owner Rob Long said the job has created a lot of work in the area, employing about 20 people for two months.

Typically, he said the wood value wouldn’t pay for the work, but it’s competitive right now.

“I basically did it to create work and keep some people employed,” Long said.

“(It) was smart to get it done now.”

Long estimated that 90 per cent of the wood in the clearing was sold off.

Some remaining non-merchantable hemlock and pine will be picked up by the local midgets rec hockey to sell for firewood.

“The rec team gets to create a little bit of money for their club,” Long said.

Jobb pointed out that clearing the land advanced two projects: pine beetle fuel management and getting the way for airport industrial lands clear.

“We can create a fuel break and advance the industrial park project for the city,” he said. “It moves it one step along. Now the city can proceed with the construction of its intersection and access road.”

The intersection and access road is estimated to cost just over $2 million, two thirds of which, or $1.337 million, is coming from the provincial and federal governments. The city is putting in the remaining $668,000.

Although originally billed as an economic stimulus project, the city has limited spending this year to $68,000 for engineering costs and clearing the right of way.

Right now the access road is just a dirt road with the intersection planned to come out across from the Sandur forest service road.

There is a little tree buffer by the future intersection for now, but it will be cleared in the next couple of weeks when all the work is done.

“Now all we need is some industry to come in,” Long said.

He estimates that there is probably enough space cleared for two or three industrial sites, depending upon the size and needs of a particular venture.

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