The Southern Interior community of Grand Forks has completed a major rebuild and relaunch of its original tourism strategy, shifting the community from being a quick stopping point on Highway 3 to a tourism destination. With support from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC), the strategy served to develop new tourism assets attracting more visitors and generating increased revenue for local businesses.
A strategy for harnessing new business opportunities through forestry is a pivotal step for the ?aq’am First Nation, ensuring the long-term economic resilience of the East Kootenay community.
The recent Forestry Business Scan was developed by ?aq’am Community Enterprises (ACE), the economic development arm of ?aq’am. A significant opportunity came in 2023 as the Provincial Government began increasing forest harvest allotments in First Nations communities. As the allocations are made, ?aq’am’s forest license within the Cranbrook Timber Supply Area is expected to triple in size by 2030.
ACE engaged consultant Stan Hadikan, a Professional Forester who works specifically with First Nations, to create the Business Scan. ETSI-BC spoke with Stan about the project.
ETSI-BC: What is a Business Scan and how will it benefit ?aq’am?
Stan: A business scan is a process used to monitor and analyze the environment in a region, industry, or business to identify opportunities, threats, and emerging trends. ACE initiated this project as a means of diversifying its forestry activities, increasing revenue, and creating jobs for ?aq’am Community members. Projects with the greatest potential for success from 2026 to 2030 were identified.
Our business scan is more than a transactional document; many components are implementation-ready, demonstrating ?aq’am’s commitment to sustainable economic development through forestry. From the outset, inclusivity has been embedded into our planning, ensuring that decisions are informed by a broad range of experiences and priorities. The scan also provides a template for future forestry initiatives as the industry evolves.
What are some highlights of the project?
- The strategy highlights the complexities of today’s forestry environment including regulatory requirements and market volatility. As part of the business scan, the completed SWOT analysis was a highlight in itself, revealing numerous untapped opportunities in value-added forestry and the importance of proactive planning in uncertain economic times.
- Face to face communication is central to the First Nations’ way of doing business, but this was challenged during the COVID era. We are now engaging more often and effectively with ?aq’am community members, regional and provincial government and the forestry industry through business development groups that meet regularly to share information and monitor trends and issues.
- An emerging joint venture between ACE and an external forestry business called “kapuk” is underway which will focus on core activities such as road construction, timber harvesting, and trucking. This is a significant venture, moving ?aq’am from being an administrative operator to a multi-faceted enterprise directly engaged in forest management.
- A Request for Proposal issued by ACE in 2024 encouraged industrial users of forest products to collaborate with ?aq’am on business development goals. This resulted in a partnership between Peak Renewables, a natural resource company that works with Indigenous and rural communities, and forest products manufacturer, Canfor Corporation. The new mickik Collaborative is dedicated to creating economically viable and sustainable businesses through collaboration and innovation.
- We are looking at creating an area within the Community Reserve that will attract investment in forestry-based initiatives. We’ve already had an investor interested in selling their forestry business reach out to us and are exploring this opportunity.
- ?aq’am has provided an in-depth review of three forestry-related businesses under the ACE umbrella to pinpoint program improvements and operational efficiencies. These include ACE itself, ?aq’am Resources LP, and ?aq’am Flagging and Safety.
What’s Next for ACE?
Although the Forestry Scan has not yet resulted in new capital investment, it has equipped ACE staff with critical tools and insights to manage and market the community’s forest license assets. Over the next five years, ACE projects approximately $1.9 million in revenue in forest product sales which will be reinvested into other wealth-generating initiatives for ?aq’am. We’re grateful to ETSI-BC for the support.