Lennard (Suxʷsxʷwels) Joe speaks about forestry as someone shaped by it long before he led an organization.
Joe, CEO of the B.C. First Nations Forestry Council since August 2022, brings more than 30 years of natural resource and business experience to the role. A Registered Professional Forester and member of the Nlaka’pamux First Nation, he grew up on the Shackan Indian Reserve and was among the first dozen Indigenous graduates of UBC’s forestry school. That background helps explain why he speaks of forestry not only as an industry, but as a responsibility.
Raised in the forest
Joe’s story begins on the land.
“My personal story with forestry is that … I was raised in the forest.”
He described a childhood shaped by ranch life, logging and the daily use of the forest for gathering, foraging and learning. That early experience later became a profession. He began in conservation before moving into forestry.
For Joe, forestry is a system that must hold several things together at once.
“Forestry is many things. I see it sitting in the spectrum.”
That spectrum includes jobs and revenue, but also food security, social well-being and environmental health. In his view, forestry only works when those needs stay in balance. That makes his argument broader than a standard industry defence. He is asking people to understand the forest’s ecological value more fully.
More than extraction
Rural B.C. still depends on forests in ways many city residents no longer see, and Joe’s sharpest message for urban audiences was clear on that.
“Forests are important. Forests are everything in rural B.C.”
He talks about how forests anchor local economies and support the services many communities rely on, including schools, hospitals and jobs. But he also pushed back against the idea that forestry is only about extraction.
“It’s not all just about extracting. It is about forest management.”
That phrase is central to his argument. Joe linked forestry to fuel reduction, wildfire mitigation, wildlife enhancement and biodiversity. He also pointed to the harder questions around species at risk, invasive species and old growth. In other words, he framed forestry as active stewardship, not simply resource removal.
That helps explain why he resists slogans that flatten the debate. His language was careful and often reflective. Forestry, he suggested, should be judged by what it sustains, not only by what it takes.
A future built on trust
Joe returned often to the idea that forestry’s future depends on who is in the room.
“A strong future for forestry is when it hits a level of acceptability at a local to a global image.”
He argued the sector has not yet reached that point because too many conversations still happen without enough voices at the table. In particular, he said trust remains the missing ingredient.
“We need trust to have the unfiltered dialogue and conversations.”
That trust, in his view, is essential to better decisions and more durable policy. He warned policymakers not to become trapped in overlapping rules and short-term thinking while real work on the ground goes undone. Policy matters, but he suggested it must stay connected to practical outcomes.
Joe also sees a larger shift underway. As First Nations take on a greater ownership role in forestry, he believes the sector can move toward longer-term investment, stronger stewardship and broader community benefit. His interview did not present forestry as a finished model. It presented it as an unfinished relationship, one that still needs work, honesty and room for more people to shape it.
Ian Biana writes for the Resource Works Accelerate team and can be reached at [email protected].
Resource Works News
