Funding for a forestry project near Vernon is a positive step towards reducing wildfire risk, according to local MLA Harwinder Sandhu. “This innovative project led by the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) not only helped salvage a wildfire-affected area for safe replanting of trees but also reduced the carbon footprint of the cleanup,” said Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Lumby. …The OKIB received $89,795 for a fibre recovery project that supported the removal of burned fibre from the first approved Wildfire Salvage Opportunity Agreement in B.C. …Fibre recovery is the process of extracting as much valuable fibre as possible from logs, branches, and other residual materials to ensure sustainable and economical use of forest resources. The project is one of 14 from the provincial government in the Thompson-Okanagan region, where $6.5 million was invested from the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC).