An annual Crown wood allocation of 149,000 cubic metres of white birch, poplar, spruce, pine and fir has been awarded to the Whitesand First Nation, near Armstrong in northwestern Ontario.
Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Minister Michael Gravelle made the announcement in Thunder Bay, April 26. The wood award is part of the province's Crown wood supply competition.
The wood allocation is expected to create 42 jobs for a proposed sawmill, a three-megawatt co-generation plant and a wood pellet manufacturing operation. Construction of the whole project will be completed by March 2013.
Allan Gustafson, chief of the Whitesand First Nation, said the announcement starts a “new forest economy” for his community by replacing costly diesel power generation with green energy. He said owning and operating their own facilities “will maximize community and regional benefits from our local forest.”
The Ontario government has made 22 accepted wood supply announcements after receiving 115 submissions through the Provincial Wood Supply Competitive Process.
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