It owns one of the largest logging operations in the Merritt Forest District, along with a tree planting operation, a professional layout and development and silviculture division, and an 80-acre industrial park in Princeton, featuring a sawmill and a furniture-making plant.

With about 150 full- and part-time workers, USIB is the Similkameen Valley’s second-largest private employer, after forest products giant Weyerhaeuser, says Band manager Philippe Batini.

“The Band generates about 90 per cent of its annual income from its various businesses,” he notes. “Our 2007 payroll was $2.5 million, which illustrates the Band’s importance to the local economy, particularly the community of Princeton.”

Not that it’s been easy. While the Okanagan Valley is blessed with rich agricultural land, USIB has rocks and trees, says Batini. But in the spirit of making lemonade from lemons, the Band, in 2004, developed Mascot Gold Mine Tours, which offer tourists a glimpse of the area’s gold mining past, as well as stunning views of the lush Similkameen Valley.

Batini sees USIB’s economic future as primarily resource-based. Thanks to current high metals prices, new mining activity is being undertaken in an area that remains rich in gold and copper. That creates employment opportunities for the Band, which does work for mining companies, including land reclamation, landscaping and environmental work.

And Batini is bullish about the forestry industry’s prospects, despite its current difficulties. “Our challenge is to continue creating jobs for our young people,” he says, adding that after years of depopulating, the Band’s membership has stabilized. “We have people with the necessary skills right here and we’re confident about the future.”

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