Communications with stakeholders are important to the smooth and efficient operation of the company. Providing ongoing information about the company’s plans and activities can increase stakeholder confidence and support.

To achieve our objective Spray Lake Sawmills maintains communication programs in each of the following areas:

• Public Awareness (Public Education)
• Response to Information Requests
• Communications with Stakeholders & Government Agencies

Various tools are used to keep the public informed and to promote input. Spray Lake Sawmills encourages anyone with an interest in our operations to contact us.

Spray Lake Sawmills holds an annual open house during the first week of May, in both the Crowsnest Pass and Cochrane locations. The public is welcome to view the Woodlands General Development Plan, Five Year Access Plan, Final Harvest Plans and Annual Operating Plans. Participants are invited to provide input into the various stages of plan development. Knowledgeable staff is available to respond to comments or questions and record input.

As critical benchmarks are reached during planning processes, additional open houses may be held for stakeholders to review developments, ask questions and provide comments for further consideration.

SLS first established a Public Advisory Committee (PAC) in 1995 to assist SLS in the development of a harvest plan for the McLean Creek Area. In 2001, SLS signed a Forest Management Agreement with the Province of Alberta. An integral component of the FMA is the Detailed Forest Management Plan (DFMP). A requirement of DFMP development was to have a meaningful public involvement process. SLS set-up a public advisory group in 2002 to help define DFMP objectives, guide and coordinate public involvement activities and critique plan development. This group’s mandate ended with the approval of the DFMP in 2007.

Based on these past successes, SLS has established two standing Public Advisory Committees. For the northern, FMA operations, a PAC was established with the mandate “to act as a review panel and sounding board for the company’s monitoring program, provide feedback on development of the company’s operating ground rules, and provide advice on on-going stakeholder communications”. In the south, SLS established the Crowsnest Pass PAC with the mandate “to act as a review panel and sounding board for the company’s operating plans within the C5 Forest Management Unit”.   

PAC members represent a broad spectrum of interests including:

• Environmental
• Motorized and Non-motorized recreation
• Ranching
• Oil and Gas
• Community members
• Municipal Districts
• Fish and Game
• Alberta Government (Sustainable Resource Development)

To view the Terms of Reference, Committee membership and meeting notes for each of the PACs, please see side panel of this page.

A variety of methods for accommodating public input have been evaluated and used by SLS over time. Communication tools need to be open, transparent and accessible. The key is to promote dialogue and appreciation for varying points of view. Participants in a public involvement process are not expected to be technical experts, but to provide insight on how a broad spectrum of societal values might be integrated with natural landscape developments.

Other communication tools considered include surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, workshops and newsletters. Spray Lake Sawmills have selected several of these public involvement tools in the past to garner a more complete scope of public opinion and will continue to use the entire tool box. Tools are selected for their ability to:

• Be effective and meaningful for the participants
• Be time efficient in meeting strategic planning benchmarks
• Be cost effective

If you have any interest, concerns or comments about our plans or operations please contact us at anytime by phone (403)932-2234 or by email woodlands@spraylakesawmills.com