“The continued expansion of stewardship in our forests is vital to both the forest industry and the conservation community,” says Jean Cinq-Mars, president of Wildlife Habitat Canada. “We have a shared interest in promoting ecologically sound forest management practices to ensure that our forests and wildlife populations are healthy and sustainable.”

Forest stewardship awards were presented to:

Weyerhaeuser Company, Vancouver Island
Weyerhaeuser in partnership with TimberWest has permanently conserved more than 700 acres of critical forest habitat along the Englishman River on Vancouver Island.

The Englishman River is one of the most important salmon-producing streams on the east coast of Vancouver Island and is the main water supply for about 20,000 people.

David Rauscher, Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries, Boyle, Alberta
David Rauscher is responsible for the Alberta-Pacific's forest education program. His outreach efforts go well beyond routine pulp mill tours to offer a more diverse education opportunity. Alberta school children and their teachers can access the most relevant and current research and information relating to forest stewardship and sustainable forest management. Not only does David Rauscher visit schools throughout the province, he has also developed a series of on-line learning resources to support the program.

The founding partners of the Forest Stewardship Recognition Program are the Forest Products Association of Canada, Wildlife Habitat Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Canadian Forest Service. Winners receive a limited edition print of a painting entitled New Morning by BC artist Don Li-Leger.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Lynn McIntyre
Director of Stewardship Programs
Wildlife Habitat Canada
Tel: 1-800-669-7919 Ext. 234