As outlined in the story on page one, Wells Gray Community Forest has decided on which local causes or organizations will receive portions of its first $100,000 round of disbursements.
Selecting the successful recipients is just the start of the story, according to Wells Gray Community Forest president Ted Richardson and Richard Christenson, chair of Wells Gray Community Forest (2010) Society.
All the recipients must submit full reports on how they spent the money and ensure that it is spent only on what was in their applications.
“They will have to submit receipts and if they purchase an item, they need to give us photos of that item,” said Christenson. “It was very strongly expressed that there has to be full tracking of the money spent with full reporting back to the society.”
Part of the grants’ requirements include that the recipients publicly acknowledge that the money came from the community forest, said Richardson.
“That’s so people can see the value of the community forest to the community,” he explained. “It also helps when we ask the politicians to expand the community forest’s annual allowable cut.”
All of the recipients are local and much of the money will be spent locally, the two pointed out.
The community forest is transitioning away from reliance on Woodco Management Ltd., a Salmon Arm-based company, and using more local contractors.
Hiring the out-of-town company was necessary to get the community forest off the ground, they felt, but is becoming less so now as more expertise is developed here.
Working with local contractors has resulted in considerable volunteerism for the community forest.
“They do things here and there without charge, such as putting in culverts or upgrading a road,” said Richardson. “They want to be helpful, and are.”
Wells Gray Community Forest contributed about $70,000 towards community causes before this latest round of disbursements. These disbursements will add nearly $100,000 to the total. A second round of disbursements is planned for next spring. Although the two representatives could not say for sure, they hoped that another $100,000 would be available then.
Recently Lower North Thompson Community Forest announced that it will be giving away $5,000 in scholarships to students at Barriere Secondary School and another $5,000 to various community causes.
Christenson and Richardson could not comment on why Wells Gray Community Forest is being so much more generous than its Barriere-based equivalent, except to note that they have done a considerable amount of pine salvage over the past five years.
More information about Wells Gray Community Forest is available at www.wgcfc.ca on the Internet.
