October 28, 1998 For Immediate Release

The University of Northern British Columbia will delay awarding of a contract to build the sophisticated Enhanced Forestry Laboratory on the Prince George campus. The contract will either be awarded within a month or re-tendered in the spring; it's also uncertain if construction will begin before winter. The Lab is still expected to be operational in 1999.

Last month, Wayne Watson Construction of Prince George was the low bidder for the project with a tender price of $847,900. Datoff Construction of Prince George was the only other bidder with a price of $929,759. Both tender prices were higher than the estimated budget for the entire project so the University has been seeking additional funding as well as investigating opportunities for reducing the cost of the project.

The University has submitted proposals to Forest Renewal BC for two endowed research positions, and the proposals include partial funding for the Lab. The Lab is an important element in the research to be carried out by the faculty members who will be appointed to the research positions. The combination of research positions and Lab will greatly enhance UNBC's capacity for research on northern forest management issues, but the funding has not yet been awarded by FRBC. "The viability and need for a project such as this is without question," says Dr Max Blouw, UNBC Associate Vice-President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies. "It has simply become a timing issue; it's getting very late in the construction season."

Slocan Forest Products and its President Ike Barber have already committed $500,000 towards the construction of the lab, which will investigate issues related to mixed-wood ecology and forest growth and yield. The 7170 square foot lab will have four separate compartments to allow the independent control of variables such as heat and light. The site preparation and servicing of the site have already been completed.