Mosaic Forest Management has provided qathet Regional District directors with an update on the company’s activities.
At the July 9 committee of the whole meeting, Mosaic land user forester Colin Koszman and vice-president sustainability and chief forester Jimmie Hodgson outlined what the company has been doing, both locally and on a larger scale.
Hodgson said the company is 100 per cent Canadian owned.
“We’re managing lands up and down the coast, primarily on Vancouver Island, with some on the Sunshine Coast, essentially from Victoria to Haida Gwaii,” said Hodgson. “We’ve been managing these properties for a long time. We’re looking to build long-term relationships with all the communities we work in and around.
“We do manage lands both private and public, so we’re interested in our sustainable operations. Part of our management is not only our staff, but our contract crews. We’re in the range of 2,000 folks employed, so it is a pretty meaningful number.”
Hodgson said a lot of Mosaic’s operations are serving local mills. He said there are more than 50 mills between the coast and the Interior of BC that Mosaic serves, as well as international customers.
“We’ve been managing these lands for more than 100 years now,” said Hodgson. “If you look at our footprint across the coast, in recent years, the volume that comes off supplying local mills, about 50 per cent of that has been coming from Mosaic lands, so it’s a huge contribution to the coast.”
Hodgson said in 2025, Mosaic was recognized as a top employer and has been contributing to community organizations, with more than $1 million having been donated, including to the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Marmot Recovery Foundation. Mosaic money is also going to First Nations, including scholarships and training programs, he added.
“They are pretty extensive contributions, touching a lot of different aspects in a lot of different communities,” said Hodgson.
Koszman said in terms of the company’s sustainable forestry initiative, last year, Mosaic planted nine million seedlings on its land base. He said Mosaic has had a seed orchard since 1979 on the Saanich Peninsula, producing about seven million seedlings annually.
“It’s an important part of sustainability,” said Koszman.
He pointed to private forest managed lands in the qathet region. He said some are rural and some are within City of Powell River boundaries.
“During 2022 and 2023, we harvested some of our rural properties around Horseshoe Lake and Lois Lake,” said Koszman. “We worked closely with Tla’amin Nation and their economic arm, which is Thichum Forest Products.
“In 2024 and 2025, we also harvested on part of our Okeover properties. Since that time, planting commitments have been happening.”
Koszman said Mosaic does professional assessment on all its lands and notifies neighbours and adjacent stakeholders, depending on the activities and how they evolve.
He said regarding Okeover private managed forest lands, there has been extensive outreach and communication. He said 1.5 times the harvest area was set aside and retained as mature forest.
“Activities were adjusted based on wildlife values, recreation values, terrain stability and a number of other variables,” said Koszman. “Engagement occurred before our activities, during our activities and after.
“We take our commitment to sustainability and environmental management seriously and our professionals guide how we act and manage our land base.”
Locally, Koszman said Mosaic has supported organizations such as Powell River Junior Forest Wardens, Powell River Salmon Society, Powell River Logger Sports, Lund fire hall, the Sunshine Coast Trail and Powell River Search and Rescue.
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