TSX: WEF
VANCOUVER, Feb. 7 /CNW/ - The British Columbia Government today announced
land use decisions for the Central and North Coast that detail a vision for
the use and management of public lands and resources in the region. The
decisions pave the way for finalizing government to government land use
agreements with First Nations. This decision is the outcome of negotiations
over a number of years and involved interested stakeholders including the
Government of BC, First Nations, environmental groups, local communities and
forest industry representatives. Western Forest Products (TSX:WEF) interests
have been represented through its membership of the Coast Forest Conservation
Initiative, an industry group involved in the Plan negotiations. The decision
affects approximately 6.4 million hectares of land along the Central and North
Coast areas of BC and will result in more than one third of the land area
being unavailable to logging. The areas available to logging will be managed
under an ecosystem-based management framework.
Commenting on the Plan, Reynold Hert, President and Chief Executive
Officer noted "The certainty of knowing where we can operate, the certainty of
knowing what areas are permanently protected, and the certainty for our
customers that we will continue to produce forest products from the BC Coast
free from market campaigns is a hallmark of success."
Western's current Allowable Annual Cut of timber ("AAC") in the Central
and North Coast region is approximately 615,000 cubic metres. It is
anticipated that this will be reduced once Protected Areas are established and
ecosystem based management is fully implemented. Western has not been
harvesting its full AAC in this region for a number of years due to temporary
reductions put in place during the negotiation period and uncertainty around
operating areas. Western does not anticipate a significant change in the
current harvest rate in comparison to the harvest in recent years as a result
of this decision. The land use decision, which will include ongoing
negotiations with stakeholders, is expected to be fully implemented by 2009.
Western Forest Products
Western is an integrated Canadian forest products company and currently
the second largest coastal woodland operator in British Columbia. Principal
activities conducted by Western and its subsidiaries include timber
harvesting, reforestation, sawmilling logs into lumber and wood chips, and
value-added remanufacturing. Over 95% of Western's logging is conducted on
government owned timberlands in British Columbia. All of Western's operations,
employees and corporate facilities are located in the coastal region of
British Columbia and its products are sold in over 25 countries worldwide.
Following the completion of Western's previously announced acquisitions of
Cascadia Forest Products Ltd. and Tree Farm Licence 37, both of which are
subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in the first quarter of
2006, Western expects to be the largest Coastal woodland operator and lumber
producer with an AAC of approximately 7.7 million cubic meters and lumber
capacity in excess of 1.5 billion board feet. The final pulp production run at
the Squamish pulp mill on January 26, 2006 followed by its closure on March 9,
2006 will also result in the Company exiting the pulp business.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that are forward-looking in
nature. Those statements appear in a number of places herein and include
statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Western,
primarily with respect to market and general economic conditions, future
costs, expenditures, available harvest levels and future operating performance
of Western. Such statements may be indicated by words such as "estimate",
"expect", "anticipate", "plan", "intend", "believe", "will", "should", "may"
and similar words and phrases. Readers are cautioned that any such
forward-looking statements are not guarantees and may involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ from those
expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements as a result of various
factors, including general economic and business conditions, product selling
prices, raw material and operating costs, changes in foreign-currency exchange
rates, changes in government regulation, fluctuations in demand and supply for
Western's products, industry production levels, the ability of Western to
execute its business plan and misjudgments in the course of preparing
forward-looking statements. The information contained under the "Risk Factors"
section of Western's Annual Information Form, under the "Risk Factors" section
of Western's Form 20-F/A and under the "Risk Factors" section of the final
prospectus identifies important factors that could cause such differences. All
written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Western or persons
acting on behalf of Western are expressly qualified in their entirety by the
foregoing cautionary statements. Western does not expect to update
forward-looking statements as conditions change.
