British Columbia's Minister of Forests approved a forest tenure transfer from Weyerhaeuser to the Gorman Group, completing the final step in a $120 million investment by the West Kelowna family-owned forestry company. The combined tenure covers more than 682,000 cubic metres of fibre a year around Merritt, Oliver, Golden and the Okanagan, described as more than 15,000 truckloads, according to the British Columbia Ministry of Forests.
The tenure transfer is part of a sale Weyerhaeuser announced in May 2025 to Gorman Group, covering the Princeton lumber mill's manufacturing facility and all of its timber tenure agreements in British Columbia. The transferred tenures total approximately 682,000 cubic metres. They include 46,000 hectares in Tree Farm Licence 59 near Oliver, providing more than 57,000 cubic metres of harvest a year.
They also include two replaceable forest licences in the Merritt timber supply area, providing more than 538,000 cubic metres of harvest a year, and one replaceable forest licence in the Okanagan timber supply area, providing almost 87,000 cubic metres of harvest a year.
The transferred tenures provide a dependable supply of logs at a reasonable cost, secure Gorman Group's supply chain and value-added wood manufacturing business, and add to Gorman Group's existing tenure of approximately 734,000 cubic metres a year. The transfer supports continued stability for unionized workers at the Princeton mill and for independent forestry businesses and forestry professionals, including scalers, weighmasters, silviculture specialists, road construction and maintenance crews, loggers and haulers.
The ministry said forest tenure transfer requests undergo a review to consult with First Nations, assess the effect on the public interest and ensure forest tenure holdings are fairly distributed throughout British Columbia. It said it received nearly 300 letters supporting the transfer during the public comment period from individuals, businesses, First Nations, contractors, community forests and unions.
