The Mission Municipal Forest has logged its best year yet.
In 2023, the City of Mission’s forestry department reached a record-breaking $7.5 million in net profit from timber sales.
Forestry director Chris Gruenwald presented a quarterly report to council on March 4 that also recapped 2023 as a whole.
The funds will be transferred to the Forest Legacy Reserve, which can be used by council to invest in future capital projects. Previous forestry profits have resulted in contributions towards the Boswyck Seniors Centre, a portable mill at Mission Secondary School and a CT Scanner for Mission Memorial Hospital.
“While forestry returns fluctuate year over year, our forest has proven a consistent source of revenue for the City over the last 66 years,” Mission Mayor Paul Horn said in a news release. “Our forebears demonstrated remarkable foresight when they acquired the Tree Farm Licence so our council’s aim will be to invest those resources in a way that similarly serves our future.”
Gruenwald said the strong 2023 came despite falling timber markets.
“While markets overall were down significantly in 2023, we were able to take advantage of strong utility pole markets early in the year,” he said. “This was combined with significantly lower stumpage prices compared to 2022, which created ideal financial conditions in 2023. It’s also important to acknowledge the hard work of our staff, contractors, and timber buyers, as their commitment to our community is one of the major reasons we were able to achieve these results.”
According to Gruenwald’s report, there are both positive outlooks and challenges for 2024. Timber markets remain soft and the department will be monitoring them this year.
The report also indicates a lack of snowfall and warmer winter weather is a concern with the wildfire season approaching.
“The hard work continues for our team and we are working on a number of new initiatives in our department, which we will be discussing with council over the next year. These initiatives are aimed at moving our operations forward into the future and cover a number of items, including community growth and shifting forest values, climate change, community safety, old growth recruitment, and establishing a forestry culture in Mission,” Gruenwald said.
Mission Tree Farm Licence #26, also known as the Mission Municipal Forest, has been managed by the city since 1958.
“We are extremely grateful for Mission’s Municipal Forest and to our small but dedicated team who manage it,” Horn said. “They have done an exceptional job of stewarding the forest as an ecosystem, as a recreational resource, and as a source of revenue for our city.”
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