1945 – The concept of community forestry developed in BC when Gordon Sloan, in the 1945 Royal Commission on the Forest Resources of British Columbia, recommended that municipalities manage local forests.

1998 – BC Community Forest Pilot Program initiated, which has evolved into the current full program with 58 community forests operating across BC.

2002 – BC Community Forest Association formed.

2005 – The BC Ministry of Forests and Range offers the District of Squamish the opportunity to submit a formal application for a community forest with an annual allowable cut of 10,000m3 .

2006 – Presentation to council by JCH Forestry Consulting about the benefits of a community forest in Squamish and expressing concerns about the viability of a 10,000m3 annual allowable cut.

2006 to present – District of Squamish staff engages with Ministry of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations, the BC Community Forest Association, Squamish Nation, Sqomish Forestry (a local forestry operator owned by Squamish Nation), BC Timber Sales and the Resort Municipality of Whistler on how to move forward with the Community Forest in Squamish.

2011 – The District and Squamish Nation agreed in the Intergovernmental Cooperation Accord Agreement to “work together to create a joint Community Forest”. Squamish Nation agreed to contribute 10,000m3/year of timber volume from its Forest Licence to allow the Community Forest to increase in size to 20,000m3/year harvest.

2014 – Partnership agreement proposed between Squamish Nation and the District of Squamish for joint management of a Community Forest. Letter of Intent signed between the parties.

2017 – Invitation to co-apply for a CFA is extended to Squamish Nation and the District of Squamish by the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (BC MFLNRORD) .

2019 – Co-Governance agreement signed. Squamish Community Forest Limited Partnership and Squamish Community Forest Corporation formed. Information Open Houses held for general public (May and June 2019) and Squamish Nation (June 2019). Stakeholder meetings. Negotiated for a larger landbase – area expanded to include upper Stawamus River. Management Plan draft started.

2020 – Information Open House held in February 2020. Discussions with stakeholder groups. Draft Management Plan completed. The application for the CFA licence was submitted in September 2020 and began a review process with the BC government.

2022 – Squamish Community Forest Agreement (CFA K5Y) was issued by the Province of British Columbia on December 22, 2022. The CFA licence is valid for a period of 25 years with a replacement option every ten years.