The Thompson-Nicola Regional District is looking into acquiring a Community Forest license.

Chief administrative officer Scott Hildebrand says other local governments in the area, including Barriere, Clearwater and Logan Lake, already have a community forest license.

“They take them on as almost like a business, and they do with it the same processes that any forestry business would do. But they own the land, and they are responsible for the harvesting of the forest. And the whole process around that.”

Hildebrand says communities that have a Community Forest license reinvest revenues from harvesting timber into their local economies.

“They spend it on economic opportunities, they spend it on educational opportunities within their region or within their municipalities. Projects or initiatives that just make it a more vibrant community.”

Board members with the TNRD voted last week to spend up to $20,000 on a feasibility study.

“Next steps would be simply reaching out to an expert or a consultant that can help guide us through that process and what that may look like, and bring something different to the TNRD that may be successful in the future,” Hildebrand says.