The Future of Forestry project, part of the overarching Regional Workforce Development in Rural BC program, is focused on better understanding the fundamental issues facing the forest sector today. One of the project’s objectives is to try and understand what the future of forestry looks like in British Columbia, with a particular focus on the Columbia Basin-Boundary region.

Between August and December 2017, 18 targeted interviews were completed with participants from the forest sector in the Columbia-Basin Boundary region of British Columbia (BC). Participants included representation from academic, government, industry, and other civil organizations (e.g., professional bodies). Participants were asked a range of questions related to their personal experience, the general state of the forest sector, training and education, and technology and innovation. Participants were asked to reflect on major changes they have seen in the sector, as well as their expectations for the future.

This document has two objectives:
1) To summarize the initial impressions of the BC and Columbia Basin-Boundary specific data; and
2) To provide these initial impressions to participants for their review and comment.