The Stuart Nechako is a sub-region of the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako and is home to 21,771 people living in small towns, rural settings and remote communities, including seven First Nations communities.

The largest centre is the District of Vanderhoof followed by the District of Fort St James and the Village of Fraser Lake. Prince George - located 97 km east of Vanderhoof - is the regional service centre for post-secondary education, government services and health care.

Table 1. Population of Stuart Nechako Region's Communities

Community – Urban and Rural
Population (2001)
District of Vanderhoof
4,390
Electoral Area F “Vanderhoof Rural”
3,823
District of Fort St James
1,999
Electoral Area D “Fort St James Rural”
2,891
Village of Fraser Lake
1,366
Electoral Area C “Fraser Lake Rural”
2,108
First Nations Communities (2001 - Total On and Off Reserve)
Nak’azdli First Nation
1,560
Tl’azt’en First Nation
1,399
Saik’uz First Nation
817
Takla Lake First Nation
587
Nadleh Whu’ten
391
Stella’ten First Nation
370
Yekooche First Nation
70
Total Population (2001)
21,771



Table 2. Age Distribution of Major Communities of Stuart Nechako

 
Vanderhoof
Fort St James
Fraser Lake
Subtotal
%
% BC
All Ages
4,390
1,927
1,268
7,585
100
100
0-14
1,055
420
305
1,780
23.6%
18.1
15-24
705
310
175
1,190
15.8%
13.2
25-44
1,315
645
385
2,345
31.1%
30.1
45-64
870
430
270
1,570
20.8%
25.1
65+
430
125
105
660
8.7%
13.6
Total*
4,375
1,930
1,240

 

 

 

 

Area residents are generally younger than the BC average. The sharp difference in the over 65 years age group is directly related to the quality of senior's care and housing, negligible public transportation, as well as ready access to specialist and geriatric medical services. The Aboriginal population is much younger than the general population of the region and the province. Based on provincial averages, the average age of the Aboriginal population in 1996 was 25.5 years, 10 years younger than the average of 35.4 years in the general population. Children under 15 accounted for 35% of all Aboriginal people, compared with only 20% of Canada's total population. Children in this age group accounted for 38% of all Aboriginal people on rural reserves, the highest share for any geographical area, compared with 32% in census metropolitan areas. Over the next decade 60% of the first nation population will be prime working age (Prince, 2005).


Table 3. Experienced Labour Force by Primary Industry

Primary Industry Participation
Vanderhoof
Fort St James
Fraser Lake
Subtotal
%
%BC
Agriculture, Food & Beverage
40
10
0
50
3.52%
3.0%
Logging & Forest Products
495
510
205
1210
85.21%
4.7%
Mining & Mineral Products
55
0

105

160

11.27%

2.0%



From the total number of participants in primary industries in Vanderhoof, Fraser Lake and Fort St James over 85% are involved in logging or forest products manufacturing, 11% are involved in mining and mineral production and 3.5% are employed in agriculture. The final category, agriculture is most likely under represented by employment category, as most farmers in the region would be classified as self-employed or have family members working within a family operation that are not classified as workers. The table below provides the breakdown of the labour force by industry (2001) for the three main communities of the region, and the percentages of each area for the Stuart Nechako Region aggregated. The limitation of this data is that it is a subset of the Bulkley Nechako Regional District, without the data from the First Nations communities or the rural areas.


Table 4. Labour Force by Industry for Vanderhoof, Fort St James, Fraser Lake, BC

Labour Force by Industry (NAICS)
Vanderhoof
Fort St James
Fraser Lake
Subtotal
% Stuart Nechako
BC %
Total labour force
2,305
1115
700
4,120
-
100
  Industry – n/a
30
10
15
55
-
2.2
All Industries
2,275
1105
685
4,065
-
-
Farms
15
0
0
15
0.37
1.9
Forestry and Logging
125
85
35
245
6.01
1.2
Support activities for forestry
55
25
10
90
2.21
0.5
Mining, Oil/Gas Extraction
25
0
105
130
3.19
0.7
Utilities
15
0
0
15
0.37
0.6
Construction
150
0
25
175
4.29
5.9
Manufacturing
60
-
0
60
1.47
9.6
Food manufacturing
25
10
0
35
0.86
1.1
Wood manufacturing
310
395
155
860
21.10
2.3
Wholesale Trade
60
-
0
60
1.47
4.1
Retail trade
305
120
85
510
12.52
11.6
Transport & warehousing
105
20
10
135
3.31
5.7
Info & Cultural Industries
15
10
10
35
0.86
3.1
Finance & insurance
70
15
0
85
2.09
4
Real Estate & Rental/Leasing
20
0
0
20
0.49
2.1
Professional, scientific/tech
80
10
15
105
2.58
6.8
Admin/support, waste mgmt
30
20
10
60
1.47
4
Educational services
275
90
95
460
11.29
6.9
Health care & social assist
180
85
25
290
7.12
9.9
Arts, entertainment, recreation
25
35
0
60
1.47
2.3
Accommodations/food services
130
50
55
235
5.77
8.3
Other service (exc. public)
115
50
15
180
4.42
4.9
Public admin
85
85
45
215
5.28
5.6
Total labour force
2,275
1,105
695
4,075
100%
-

 

Socio-Economic Profile

The RDBN is one of the least diversified and most vulnerable regions in the province, according to the Socio Economic Index produced by BC Stats (2004). Communities in the Fort St. James Forest District depend heavily on the forest industry. Forestry is responsible for 46% of basic employment and 39% of basic incomes in the district, with approximately 1,000 direct jobs in harvesting, processing, silviculture and non-rail transportation.

The Nechako Valley (Vanderhoof and Fraser Lake) has a strong dependence on forest industry jobs (39%). The region receives the lowest rank in the province for having a diversified economy and the highest rank for its dependence on the forest sector. The Socio-Economic Index has been calculated for the Stuart Nechako region, as part of the RDBN by BC Stats (2004) The Index model measures human economic hardship, crime, health, education, children at risk and youth at risk as indicators of social well-being of our community. The RDBN overall ranks in the middle of the regions in all areas except educational attainment, health and income dependency, and for all these three scores the RDBN ranks in the bottom 3 of 27 areas. Heavy dependency on the primary sector increases the vulnerability of this region to swings in economic cycles resulting in economic hardship.

The recent study called the "Social Dimensions of Community Vulnerability to Mountain Pine Beetle" (MacKendrick and Parkins, 2005) concludes that vulnerability is not simply a function of exposure to a hazard (mountain pine beetle), but also of various social, economic and political factors that contribute to community adaptive capacity. The study ranks Vanderhoof as having medium to high vulnerability overall with respect to its adaptive capacity to handle the natural disaster state brought about by the Mountain Pine Beetle, but as BC Stats information indicates the socio-economic concerns existed prior to the onset of the current emergency state of the forest sector in the region.

This most recent Canadian Forest Service study is very relevant to CFSNs goal setting and priority planning, as it addresses the highest value for socio-economic vulnerability for Vanderhoof (10), a median index for both physical and economic dimension (5.7-5.8) and a moderate-low index for the political dimension index. A heightened awareness of the mountain pine beetle epidemic is said to work to engage actions that lead to adaptive strategies. In a recent article by BC Stats titled "Mountain Pine Beetle - Mania" the Ministry of Forests and Range have updated their projections of the annual destruction. Both the amount and rate of beetle-killed timber has multipled far faster than expected. Where pine makes up 73% of the volume of the timber supply area and accounts for 27% of the working population (2000) in the Vanderhoof Forest District, it is recognized that significant employment impacts will result from the MPB infestation. By 2013, 80% of the merchantable pine in the BC's interior could be killed, with over half destroyed by 2007.


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