Provincial and federal government commitment to forests to include Fort Nelson project

SAANICH, B.C. — The provincial government’s announcement of efforts around reforestation and habitat restoration includes a project in Fort Nelson.

On June 2nd, the province committed an additional $155 million toward the $200 million the federal government announced in early May as part of its 2 Billion Trees program, bringing the total to $355 million.

Among the 16 projects listed by the federal government is a $1.5 million project in Fort Nelson to replant trees in the Muskeg area of Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN), according to a press release.

In total, the funds for reforestation will plant 125 million more trees across British Columbia.

Ravi Parmar, the province’s minister of forests, said in a statement the commitment shows B.C. “leads the way” in both restoration and reforestation.

“Since 2017, we’ve invested in planting 400 million trees in B.C. Now, we’re adding 125 million more,” said Parmar in the release. “We’re securing the future of our forests and forestry jobs for generations to come.”

The release details how the province’s money will be allocated, including $56 million toward habitat restoration through the BC Aggregation 2 Billion Trees Projects, $1 million for B.C.’s Riparian Recovery Project, and more than $99 million for large-scale reforestation through the BC Forest Investment Program.

These funds are additional to B.C.’s annual contributions to its Forest Investment Program, which combined incremental government-led forest investments previously managed by the Forest Carbon Initiative and the Forests for Tomorrow program, announced in 2021.

The announcements came on the heels of the Council of Canadian Forest Ministers Conference, which took place over several days in the Victoria area earlier in June.

In Fort Nelson, more than 455,000 native seedlings will be planted in the Muskeg area as part of an effort to restore boreal habitat along seismic lines.

The 2 Billion Trees Program was announced in 2020 as part of a strategy to plant two billion trees across the country within a decade. 

In the 2025 budget, the federal government announced it would wind down the program.

Energeticcity.ca has reached out to FNFN’s director of Lands, Resources and Treaty Rights for further comment on this story.