One-Stop Shopping for Forest Managers SIFERP was a success right from the start, because our partners and clients see the need for sharing technical, experiential and traditional knowledge,

Chris Hollstedt

One-stop information shopping is now a reality for forest managers, with the launch of the Southern Interior Forest Extension and Research Partnership (SIFERP).

The Partnership, partially funded by a $2.3 million multi-year grant from Forest Renewal BC, brings together over thirty government agencies, Crown corporations, First Nations groups, research and educational institutions and non-government agencies in a unique and co-operative partnership.

The development of SIFERP was spearheaded by Chris Hollstedt, a former extension scientist with the Ministry of Forests and now SIFERP Managing Director. Chris saw gaps in the information flow between forest scientists, policy makers and operational people, and decided to do something about it.

Incorporated in late 1998, SIFERP now has field staff in five locations in the southern interior, and a head office in Kamloops. Ecosystem management and forest practices extension specialists are located in Nelson and Williams Lake, an aboriginal forestry specialist is in Penticton, an early stand dynamics specialist is in Kelowna, and a social forestry and information management specialist works in Kamloops.

SIFERP was a success right from the start, because our partners and clients see the need for sharing technical, experiential and traditional knowledge,” said Hollstedt. “They all need access to good information to support sound forest management decisions. Our role, in cooperation with our partners, is to gather that information, put it into a format that suits the end-users, and get it out to them in a timely fashion.

Information requests coming to the Partnership have been very diverse, ranging from cedar oil extraction to wildlife biodiversity.

Some of the projects already undertaken have been workshops on regeneration success, ungulate management, management in fire-maintained ecosystems, and First Nations forestry. Other projects include a research summary on pine mushrooms, an extension plan for one of the partnering agencies, and the development of an information-sharing website.

Active projects include an Aboriginal forestry needs assessment, a community-based tenures workshop and a Science to Management Forum planned for November 1999.

Hollstedt added, “We are convinced there is a long-term future for our collaborative approach to generating and sharing information to support resource management decisions. The tremendous response we’ve had in these first few months shows us there’s a real need for objective resource management information out there.

For further information contact the SIFERP office in Kamloops at (250) 371-3746 or visit their web site at http://www.siferp.org.

Submitted by:
Mary Ann Leach and Don Gayton
Communications Officer SIFERP Extension Specialist
Kamloops Forest Region
Nelson Forest Region.
Ph: (250) 828-4170
Ph: (250) 354-6244