The general area of interest for the Resources North includes a large portion of the central and northern interior of BC, and totals nearly 25.5 million hectares (ha). The key reasons for defining such a large area is the need to: (a) incorporate the diversity of communities and their current economic development planning; and (b) incorporate a range of resource management and development interests so that different pilot projects within this area will address different issues and opportunities and exchange results. The range of project sites will address the complexity of circumstances facing northern, rural and Aboriginal communities in boreal, sub-boreal, and montane regions of Canada.
Within the general area of interest, three specific project areas have been identified. It is at the project area level that local partnerships are being established to carry out projects suited to their unique circumstances. The project areas are located in the Peace, Mackenzie, and Vanderhoof/Fort St James Forest Districts. The successful results (e.g., knowledge, decision supports and management tools) obtained in these pilot projects will be extended to the other districts within this focus area, and to any other relevant locations in BC and adjacent jurisdictions. The pilot projects will focus on natural resource-dependent communities and First Nations, and their surrounding landscapes.
There are approximately 25 incorporated towns, numerous unincorporated communities and 30 First Nations settlements in the overall program area, nearly all of which are relatively small and heavily dependent on forest resources. In addition there are a number of rural settlement areas administered by Regional District governments. The largest community is Prince George with a population of 78,000. The other principal center of settlement is in the Peace River area with the communities of Fort St. John and Dawson Creek. Most of the population in the area of interest is concentrated along Highway 16 – the main east-west corridor, and along Highway 97 in the Mackenzie-McLeod Lake-South Peace area.
