SHESHATSHIU, NL – Innu Nation of Labrador and JP Forestry and Environmental Ltd. of Corner Brook, NL announced today that they have entered into an agreement for a two-phase forestry project in central Labrador.
“The JP Forestry project will make good use of wood already cut for Muskrat Falls, andwill build on the foundations put in place by Innu Nation and the Province ofNewfoundland and Labrador under the 2018-2022 Five Year Operating Plan for theForestry Management District 19 (FMD 19) for a sustainable forest industry inLabrador,” stated Greg Penney, CEO of JP Forestry.
Phase I of the JP Forestry project will utilize the approximately 400,000 cubic meters oftimber harvested in 2013-15 by Nalcor Energy for the Lower Churchill hydroelectricproject at Muskrat Falls, Labrador. The wood will be chipped and shipped to theEuropean and United States biomass fuel markets. It will create over 70 new jobs forqualified Innu and other local people.
Phase II of the project involves the harvest up to 185,000 m3 per year of timber inaccordance with the strict environmental protection guidelines set out in the 2018-2022 Five Year Operating Plan for FMD 19.
Grand Chief Gregory Rich said that “Innu Nation has frequently been approached withproposals for forestry development in our territory. This is the first proposal in decadesthat makes sense for us. Innu Nation’s Forest Guardians will play a key role inmonitoring the harvesting operation to protect forest function. The operation itself willoffer much needed training and jobs for Innu and others in the local area and willcreate the right conditions for a diversified forest industry that can meet local needs forlumber as well as supplying the global market for biofuels.”
“JP Forestry is very pleased that we were able to work together with Innu Nation toconclude an agreement. Using wood that would otherwise go to waste and as well aswood that will be sustainably harvested under an ecosystem-based forestry plan inpartnership with the Innu Nation is important to our buyers,” said Greg Penney, CEO ofJP Forestry.
Innu Nation has been working with the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador todevelop sustainable forestry opportunities in Labrador since 2001 and jointlydeveloped a Forest Management Plan for FMD 19 that has received global recognitionas an example of ecosystem-based forestry. Innu Nation plans first for ecological andcultural protection as a basis for a sustainable forest economy. The ForestManagement Plan is reviewed and renewed every five years by Innu and localstakeholders, as well as through a formal provincial environmental assessment review.This project is consistent with the Forest Management Plan most recently reviewedand approved in 2017.
Phase I of the project will begin in mid-August.
