Deep Roots 1 — the Harrop-Procter Community Forest story
Harrop-Procter Forest Manager Erik Leslie
Harrop-Procter Community Forest, located on the rugged eastern shore of Kootenay Lake’s West Arm, is one of Canada’s most innovative — and intriguing — community forest operations.
Harrop-Procter Community Forest’s 11,300 ha community forest tenure comprises 100-year-old mixed forests, domestic watersheds, and steep, sensitive terrain. The HPCF takes an ecosystem-based approach to management which is based on the principles of landscape ecology and conservation biology. From their beginnings in 1999, Harrop-Procter Community Forest took an approach to protecting water quality, wildlife habitat, old growth forests and structures, and biodiversity that restricted harvesting in many areas that traditional forestry would have considered operable. Additionally, certification of their operations under the strict Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles and criteria leverage the local social capital necessary to operate in the land surrounding the community.
They take direct responsibility for their operations with 100% of their planning, layout, and supervision conducted in-house.
Over its years of operation, HPCF has demonstrated it’s possible to protect local watersheds and environmentally sensitive areas while creating local jobs well above the provincial average.
In this video, Harrop-Procter Community Forest founders and workers explain its history, and describe its forestry operations. For any jurisdiction with a community forest or contemplating the establishment of one, this is must-see viewing.