Cascade NTFP Regional Profile.pdf - First Nations in British ...

Cascades NTFP Profile
breath (Gypsophila paniculata) and sagebrush. During the autumn in the Fraser Canyon
one may frequently see pickup trucks leaving the mountains with large loads of cedar
branches. The extent of the local floral greens industry is difficult to track as the District
is so close to Vancouver allowing individuals to travel to and from Vancouver as part of
their work day.
Unlike the East Kootenay where the wild cultured Christmas trees remain an important
industry (Keefer 2006), there is little activity in this region with wild trees. As previously
described there is one Christmas tree tenure in the district. It is estimated that in a
typical year harvest permits are given out for the harvest of approximately 1000 trees
(Marlon Dosch pers. com 2007). These trees are harvested on rights of way, permits for
trees of less than 3 m in height are worth $0.20 per tree.
Within the District the harvesting of conifer boughs is considered to be a minor activity
with low risk to the conifer plantations (Rob Jonas pers. com 2007). According to Jonas
and Dosch (pers. com 2007) there have been no recorded incidents of damage to the
conifer stock from bough harvesting activities; in fact the bough industry is regarded as
beneficial.
There are few requests for permits to harvest any type of floral greens. In the past (date
uncertain) one free-use permit was issued to a green harvester interested in Oregon grape
(Rob Jonas pers. com 2007).
Native Plants for Horticulture and Restoration
This sector includes native plant nurseries, native seed businesses, landscaping
companies that use native plants as well as the use of these plants for ecological
restoration. Native conifer seeds and seedlings produced for reforestation efforts in the
silviculture industry are not included in this analysis.
Due to the widespread death of pine trees from the MPB epidemic there have been
increasing requests for permits to transplant wild trees at the Cascade District office (Rob
Jonan pers. com 2007). District staff members are currently working on drafting
language for a free-use permit that will allow the removal of trees for re-planting of
mostly urban landscapes.
Shackan Greenhouse
The Shackan Greenhouse is a native plant nursery that was opened in response to
concerns about the loss of fish habitat by the Nicola Tribal Association in partnership
with the Shackan Band. The business has been open since 1996 and employs 2 full time
and a number of seasonal workers. Annually the business produces around 60,000
seedlings that are primarily grown for reclamation and ecological restoration projects.
This stock goes to projects including road deactivation, mine reclamation, riparian
revegetation and education. Though some seeds are purchased externally, most are
collected locally by nursery staff. Species grown include: black cottonwood, trembling
aspen, chokecherry, Saskatoon, red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) and many others.