VICTORIA, BC –A panel called The Future of Forestry on Vancouver Island and Coastal BC at the annual convention of the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) , was chaired by North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas… with an audience of about 60 municipal leaders …A panel of forestry sector representatives tackled what is likely only the surface of a multi-faceted problem. They looked at how to protect forests for all the right ecological reasons while still maintaining or even strengthening the wood-production sector for the benefit of jobs and the economy. …The four panelists were Klay Tindall, general manager, Lilwat Forestry Ventures, Geoff Dawe, former president of the Public and Private Workers of Canada, Chris McGourlick, manager with the FESBC and Younes Alila, Professor of Forest Hydrology at UBC Forestry. The panel did not have a representative of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) or any provincial government forestry representatives.