Wayne Klein, W0478 and W1623, of Rock Creek, BC is the 2024 recipient of the Minister’s Award for Innovation and Excellence in Woodlot Management.
Klein was presented with a signed certificate and a $10,000 grant at the 2024 Woodlots Conference and AGM on October 5, 2024, in Quesnel.
“This family [Wayne and his son Garth] exemplifies what it means to be a woodlot family,” said Marley Chewter, Tenures Officer Selkirk District, Ministry of Forests. “Once I asked why he hand-falls on flat ground and his response was ‘well, I could hire someone to use a feller buncher for two weeks, or I could employ myself, my son and our friend all year long’.”
Klein’s harvesting practices focus on improving the stand rather than maximizing profits. He uses primarily partial cuts and intermediate stand improvement harvesting, resulting in park-like post-harvest stands. With care and thought, Klein takes the time and utilizes all fibre, sending the right log to the right mill.
A long-time member of the Boundary Woodlot Association and licensee for more than 30 years, Klein has a genuine interest in all phases of licence management. His son Garth manages the woodlots alongside him as a family operated business.
Gord Chipman, Executive Director of Woodlots BC, Tyler Hodgkinson, Woodlots BC South Region Rep, and Patrick Russell, Forest Tenures Branch (Ministry of Forests) were on hand to present the award.
In his acceptance speech, Klein humbly said, “Thank you. I simply can’t express how much this means to me.”
This is the 2nd year with the award being given to only one woodlot licensee, instead of three recipients as in previous years. In 2023, Jon Seinen of Houston, BC received the award. In 2022, the awards were given to the Carter family (Coast and Provincial overall), Del Williams and Mike Cummings (South) and Cliff Manning (North). The award program was first introduced at the AGM in Quesnel, September 2010.
