Cariboo woodlot owner Rod Krimmer has received two awards. Krimmer was awarded the $2,500 Minister’s Award for Innovation and Excellence in Woodlot Management, along with a separate $2,500 regional award for his work in B.C.’s southern Interior, during last weekend’s Federation of B.C. Woodlots Association and the Woodlot Product Development Council joint AGM in Campbell River,
Krimmer only learned of the awards on Monday evening because he attended a wedding in Francois Lake and was not at the AGM.
“I was aware of the regional award because it recognized that I’ve been with the Cariboo Woodlot Association for 18 years and recently moved to Hagensborg,” Krimmer said Tuesday in Williams Lake. The minister’s award, however, was a complete surprise and a “huge honour,” he added.
Krimmer’s 600-hectare woodlot, located at Big Lake, was awarded to him in 1985 and he has been managing it ever since. It has always been an inspiration, and part of his identity, he said.
“I do many things, but when people ask me what I do, I always say I’m a woodlot owner,” he said. “It’s the most rewarding thing I do.” Krimmer runs all facets — the planning, logging and reforestation.
“B.C.’s woodlot licence program is a unique way to give British Columbians the opportunity to manage small-scale forestry operations on Crown land,” said Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, in a press release issued Monday. “Rodney Krimmer is a worthy recipient of this award, who demonstrated province-wide leadership when it comes to forest stewardship and innovative practices.”
Brian McNaughton, general manager of the Federation of B.C. Woodlots Association, praised Krimmer for his dedication to his woodlot license and said he was entirely deserving of award.
“He is exemplary because he manages his woodlot the way it was intended,” McNaughton said in Williams Lake Tuesday. “Not only does he manage the forest, sell logs, and reforest, but he manufactures from the trees he harvests. He makes log homes and he has a sawmill.”
Cariboo Woodlot Association president Ian Lanki and association director Rod Blake nominated Krimmer for the minister’s award. “We are very happy that he’s the recipient,” Lanki said. Blake, who attended the AGM, said it was a record turnout with about 160 people.