Invitation for proposals to control mountain pine beetle

Richmond, BC – The federal government says it is inviting proposals for projects that address the impact of the mountain pine beetle infestation under the Mountain Pine Beetle Program. A total of more than $2 million is available for funding, and a further $2.1 million in contracts will be awarded in the future for geoscience surveys in areas affected by the beetle.

Specially, it is seeking projects that:

– explore alternate uses for trees killed by the beetles (available funding: $900,000), that also determines the characteristics and “shelf life” of beetle-killed wood for different products, as well as increases the use of “beetle wood” in existing mills and looks at how it could be used in the production of panel board or as a source of bio-energy;

– develop new, long-term approaches to timber harvesting and forest management (available funding: $140,000) that take into account the impact of the infestation on the forest ecosystem;

– assess the impact of the beetle infestation on non-timber forest resources (available funding: $1.007 million), including watershed hydrology, landscapes and wildlife habitat, and developing strategies to manage these impacts.

Eligibility requirements and other details of the request for proposal process are available on the Mountain Pine Beetle Program Web site, at http://mpb.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/index_e.html.