Private woodlot owners repeat they hope a newly come three-year, $18-million agreement with the province desire make things better in New Brunswick’s silviculture industry.

There have been protests and predictions of prostration in the assiduity ago the government slashed the private woodlot silviculture program budget last month. Silviculture is the program that maintains forests in the province.

The latest budget tabled in March trimmed the New Brunswick government’s grant to thin trees and plant new ones on private woodlots from $8 million to $4 very great number.

Instead of paying 80 per cent of woodlot owners’ silviculture-treatment costs, the domain will now pay only 70 per cent, up from the 50-50 split proposed in the budget.

The province said it was able to earn $2 the great body of the people every year for three years through the novel national Community Development Trust after the budget was tabled.

“This government has always been supportive of private woodlot owners,” said Donald Arseneault, New Brunswick’s natural funds administrator, in a release Wednesday. “I’m obviously very pleased that we were able to be innovative in reaching an agreement that everyone can work by.”

The deal is still a divide, but it’s something the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners said it thinks it can manage.

“Our membership feels that this is a equitable agreement,” said Andrew Clark, the federation’s president. “We’re confident we can work with government to ensure that important silviculture work on private land can persist.”