Editor:

In response to Bob Simpson鈥檚 Feb. 7 letter to the editor in the Lakes District 亚洲天堂, I wish to re-assure your readers that this government is not planning to privatize public forests.

The ministry鈥檚 Mid-Term Timber Supply Action Plan directly responds to all the recommendations from the bi-partisan Special Committee on Timber Supply. As you are aware, the committee鈥檚 report included recommendations specific to Hampton and 亚洲天堂 Lake, as well as recommendations for the larger mountain pine beetle impacted areas. The committee report and the ministry鈥檚 action plan recognize that each community is unique.

Yes, there is a publicly made commitment to introduce legislation that will enable the conversion of volume-based forest licences to area-based forest licences. Each application would be reviewed on its own merits and would only proceed with the support of the local community, First Nations, stakeholders and the public.

I invite your readers to stay up-to-date on implementation of the ministry鈥檚 mid-term timber supply action plan by visiting www.gov.bc.ca/pinebeetle. This government recognizes the importance of this issue to the Interior and will be issuing regular updates as actions are implemented.

Steve Thomson

Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations