The province's Living Legacy Trust is investing nearly $1 million in six forestry projects near Thunder Bay, Fort Frances, Armstrong, Dryden and Geraldton. All of the projects are designed to create employment for people under age 25. They will improve the quality and quantity of all wood on Crown land, a spokesperson with the province says. The work will involve thinning out trees and improving trees through the cutting of branches.
Workers will acquire skills with seed-orchard maintenance, manual tending, diseased tree identification, efficient cutting methods and safety.
The following grants were announced recently: $46, 800 to Bowater for its First Nations ranger program in the Dog River Mattawan area; $220,000 to the Geraldton community forest program; $398,000 to the Moose Creek project in Oxdrift near Dryden; $88,000 to the Clearwater project near Armstrong; $80,000 to a project near Kakabeka Falls; and $120,000 for the Timber Ridge project near Fort Frances.
The Living Legacy Trust is a five-year, $30-million fund established by the government in 1999. More than $15 million has been spent on the program.
