August/September Business View Magazine

214 215 services in their area.Williams Lake is the largest center with a population of 11,000, and Quesnel has 10,000.The cities of Kamloops (three hours south of Williams Lake) and Prince George (two and a half hours north) are the biggest centers outside the District. Situated in a territory laden with natural resources is both a gift and a challenge to businesses, citizens, and the 16-member CRD Board of Directors. Recent forest fires and pine beetle infestations have caused substantial losses, but the resilient people in the region want the world to know the benefits of living here far outweigh the struggles, because they face and conquer them together. MargoWagner, Chair of the CRD, shares an over- view on the region’s economic status.“Logging and the by-products thereof is our biggest economic driver: OSB mills, plywood lumber mills, hauling of pulp to the lower mainland for paper products, specialty wood manufacturers that do laminate and hardwood flooring.We have a lot of successful log home builders in the area, in fact,we’re considered the main log home building area in western Cana- da.Williams Lake is also home to the Timber Kings CARIBOO REGIONAL DISTRICT, BRITISH COLUMBIA of the HGTV television series.They used to bring in cedar for their amazing projects, but now they’re using local fir.” There are also some substantial mining compa- nies in the area, including a new business in the area, Barkerville Gold Mines.A potential new gold mine, the Blackwater project, is hoping to go ahead, once they’ve worked through wildlife legislation to protect the caribou herd. Tourism is a very big driver, also, even though harsh winters make it a relatively short season. Visitors do come for the snowmobiling and skiing, including heli-skiing; spring has the Indoor Rodeo in April, and Alaska Traffic in May; there’s a lot to do in July and August; and autumn brings an active group of hunters from out of province and the lower main- land who contribute to the tourism coffers, as well. The CRD also has a large agricultural community with sizable ranching operations in the grasslands. Transportation links are an asset to the region’s industrial base.“Our wood production areas are definitely industrial,” says Wagner.“Raw logs are trucked in and the finished products go out by truck, and sometimes train.There’s a very good trucking