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Nackawic, a community highly dependent on the health of the forest industry, will be the site of an important forestry information session this Friday, Sept. 19, at the Nackawic Lions Club.

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CNB PHOTO

The authors of two separate task-force reports on forestry recently presented them to the government. From left are Business New Brunswick Minister Greg Byrne; Don Roberts CIBC World Markets Inc., author of Future Opportunities for the Forest Products Industry in New Brunswick; Thom Erdle, University of New Brunswick, author of Management Alternatives for New Brunswick's Public Forest - A Report of the New Brunswick Task Force on Forest Diversity and Wood Supply; and Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault. The reports will be discussed at a public information session in Nackawic on Friday.

The meeting, to run from 7 to 9 p.m., is one of several sessions across the province being held by the provincial government to provide information and garner public input in regards to a pair of recently released task force reports.

The reports examined the forestry sector in New Brunswick and its prospects for the future.

The first report, Management Alternatives for New Brunswick's Public Forest – A Report of the New Brunswick Task Force on Forest Diversity and Wood Supply, was prepared for the Department of Natural Resources by Thom Erdle of the University of New Brunswick. The task force was charged with developing alternatives that would encompass a wide range of means by which to manage New Brunswick's public forests.

"It is very important to New Brunswick's plan for self-sufficiency to examine how we can best manage our Crown forests, while taking into account economics, the environment and social well-being of our province," said Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault.

The second report, Future Opportunities for the Forest Products Industry in New Brunswick, was prepared for Business New Brunswick by Don Roberts of CIBC World Markets Inc. and Peter Woodbridge of Woodbridge Associates Inc. The mandate was to focus on the future of the forest products sector as a viable industry in New Brunswick and on issues around investment opportunities for the traditional and emerging segments of the industry.

"Although challenges remain, the future of New Brunswick's forest industry is strong and, with the adoption of new technologies, the sector will be a growth industry for the province," said Business New Brunswick Minister Greg Byrne. "The insight revealed in these reports will help guide industry and government as the forest sector continues its transformation. The forest industry will be integral to achieving our goal of self-sufficiency, and we will continue to support the industry to be more innovative, to be more productive, and to be more efficient."

The government expects to respond to both reports before the end of the year.

The Nackawic meeting will be the final of five sessions, which began in Saint-Leonard of Sept. 15, and stopped in Dalhousie, Miramichi and Sussex, before coming to Nackawic.

Copies of the reports may be obtained at www.gnb.ca/consultations. The public is invited to submit comments on the reports at dnrcomments@gnb.ca.