MRM alumnus honoured with medal for her commitment to advancing community forestry in B.C.

In September, Jennifer Gunter, MRM alumnus and executive director of the BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA), received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her 20 years of impactful work in community forestry.

Gunter enrolled in SFU’s MRM program in the late 90s after doing her undergraduate degree in geography and environmental studies at McGill University. As an undergraduate student, she completed an honours thesis on fisheries co-management agreements in New Brunswick. It was her interest in co-management that prompted a friend to suggest she look into recent developments in community forestry agreements in Canada’s westernmost province.

Seeing it as a great opportunity, she moved to B.C. to study under the supervision of late Professor Emeritus Evelyn Pinkerton, a leading scholar in co-management.

“I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Evelyn Pinkerton,” Gunter says. “She was unwavering in her support of my work in community forestry. The research I conducted under her guidance truly laid the foundation for the career path I have followed to this day.”

Back when Gunter was a graduate student, the provincial government’s community forest pilot program was initiated, and only a few communities were involved in community forestry, she recalls.

“It just so happened that it was created right during the time that I was doing my thesis.”

As part of her research, she did a case study on community forestry in Kaslo, British Columbia. After graduation, she moved to Kaslo to work with its Community Forest Society, and it was during this time that she came to be part of the group that collectively founded the BCCFA.

The BCCFA represents both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities that have community forest agreements through B.C.’s forest tenure system. These area-based tenures grant communities the right to harvest timber in a set area long-term (25 years) and to manage the forest around them according to their values, for their direct social, environmental and economic benefit.

“It’s about the community setting their own priorities for the forest,” says Gunter. “They focus on managing watersheds, reducing wildfire risk, enhancing ecosystem resilience, supporting wildlife and biodiversity, while also fostering recreation, education, and of course creating local jobs.”

Establishing a new community forest can be challenging, she explains, as it requires obtaining timber harvesting rights. All of B.C.’s timber harvesting rights are currently fully allocated and hold significant value. Additionally, the process requires a lot of time and energy from the interested community.

“[Community forests] need to be run as a business, so you need a range of skills, expertise and commitment within the community in order to make it a success,” she says.

The BCCFA not only supports the success of these community forests, but also works to advance community forestry in the province. Since it was founded, the association has grown from 10 members to nearly 50, representing over a hundred different communities, as many community forests involve partnerships.

It is in recognition of Gunter’s time and commitment to working with communities to build the program that she received the King Charles III Coronation Medal this fall.

“I feel like I really share it with all the people working in community forestry in the province,” she says. “They are my inspiration, and there are so many people around the province that are dedicated and working on the ground to help make communities more sustainable and more resilient.”

As of today, Gunter says that B.C. is leading the way on community forestry in Canada, with 62 agreements in place.

And while the forest sector is facing a difficult time with numerous challenges, she says it is also an exciting time to be involved in forestry management.

“There’s so much happening to shift to more co-management, more Indigenous-led forestry, working to restore more ecosystem resilience and using a combination of western science and Indigenous knowledge to find solutions.”