On new ground: first nation advances sawmill project.

• Author: Ross, Ian

Anorthwestern Ontario First Nation community has been painstakingly assembling the wood building blocks for a community revival. Forest products will be the economic.comerstone behind the development of Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (BNA), an Ojibway community once displaced by the Ontario government in the 1950s.

Last August, the community held a land designation vote to ratify and proceed with a sawmill proposal.

"It was a long time in the making," said Jordan Hatton, BNA's lands and resources manager. "It's a positive step for the people that want to see the community move ahead."

Located on the southeastern shore of Lake Nipigon, the former Sand Point First Nation is a community that's still very much in the planning stages. There is no current infrastructure in place for housing and the community's population of 250 off-reserve members.

Originally, there were ambitious plans calling for a large volume cedar sawmill, a wood pellet mill and a one-megawatt co-generation plant to power the community.

But the members told the leadership that was too much, too soon.

Instead of having a two-shift, 20-employee sawmill, the leadership are re-examining the business and marketing plan.

"They want us to start small and if it's successful we can expand. We'll build it incrementally rather than go big," said Hatton.

Hatton said those forestry players that survived the industry downturn seemed to be smaller niche operators specializing in value-added products like saunas, gazebos, even non-timber forest products like cedar oil.

"If the U.S. housing market continues to improve we can look at producing actual lumber."

In preparation for that, a 16,000-square-foot sawmill building was erected this winter by Bur-Met Contracting. housing two portable Woodmizer sawmills to use on site or in the field.

"We're not set up for a finished product just yet," said Guy Gladu, general manager of the Papasay Management Corporation.

"We'll let the marketing plan dictate the direction that we go with the sawmill," said Hatton, who could not disclose a price tag for...