A forester from Ladysmith will head the council of the Association of BC Forest Professionals.
The 65th council of the Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) officially took office today at The Art of Forestry, the ABCFP’s annual forestry conference and AGM in Victoria, and this year’s president is Steve Lorimer, a Registered Professional Forester (RPF) from Ladysmith.
Lorimer worked his way through university with summer jobs including forest fire fighting, work at a plywood mill and timber cruising in various coastal B.C. locations, according to his biography.
After graduating from the University of British Columbia, Lorimer worked for BC Forest Products as a timber cruiser and assistant forester in Port Renfrew. He then worked for TimberWest and its predecessor companies Crown Zellerbach, Crown Forest and Fletcher Challenge in a variety of forestry, land use, First Nations and community relations roles, the most recent being as manager of public affairs and government relations.
Lorimer now works as a part-time consultant and serves on the boards of FORREX and the BC Forest Discovery Centre.
The Association of BC Forest Professionals is responsible for registering and regulating British Columbia's professional foresters and forest technologists. Today, it is the largest professional forestry association in Canada and the first to include forest technologists.
The ABCFP council governs the affairs of the association and works to fulfill the ABCFP’s mandate as defined in the Foresters Act. The ABCFP council is made up of 10 elected councillors and two lay councillors who are appointed by the provincial government.
The 65th council includes forest professionals from around the province who have a variety of backgrounds that will enhance the work of the ABCFP, according to a press release.
This year’s council includes representatives from government, large forest companies and independent consultants.