Dealing with the massive infestation of the spruce bark beetle in southwest Yukon is among the objectives set out in new forest management agreement.

Chief James Allen of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang signed the deal Friday.

It commits the Yukon government to a $100,000-contribution to develop an implementation plan for an overall forest management strategy currently being discussed by the parties.

The management plan will look at reducing fuel loads around communities to minimize the threat by wildfires, re-establishing a healthy forest and examining the potential economic opportunities related to beetle-killed white spruce.

'I think this is the first step in meeting the Champagne and Aishihik forest needs on our traditional territory,' Allen said at the signing ceremony.

The chief noted the implementation plan will also move the first nation down the road to establishing what is known internationally as a model forest.

A model forest is one that balances the environmental and economic considerations in a sustainable manner.

There are, Lang pointed out, just 11 such models in Canada today.

Lang said the government will also be seeking assistance from Ottawa to help cover the cost of managing the spruce-killed areas, which cover an estimated 250,000 hectares in the southwest.

The devastation from the spruce beetle was not accounted for in the devolution transfer agreement but certainly existed before the responsibility for land and resources was transferred to the Yukon from the federal government last April 1, he said.

Lang suggested there is some responsibility on the part of the federal government to assist with the effects of the beetle infestation, in the same way they remain responsible for mine sites that were abandoned before the transfer.

There is, however, no estimate regarding the cost of managing the beetle-killed areas.

Don Hutton, Lang's assistant deputy minister of resources, said a program in B.C. to tackle the problem of beetle-kill forests has been budgeted at $50 million. He was not sure, however, how much of the 2.2 million infested hectares would be managed by that amount.

Both Lang and Allen suggested managing the beetle-killed area in the Yukon could result in economic opportunities.

Trees killed by spruce beetles cannot be used for lumber after two years, but may provide economy in other areas such as the sale of firewood or as a source of fuel for a wood-fired generator in Haines Junction, it was mentioned Friday.

Lang and Allen expect that this summer there will be some cutting of beetle-killed trees around vulnerable community areas as part of the strategy to reduce the risk from wildfires.

Friday's was the second forestry-related announcement by Lang last week. Earlier, he had announced the creation of a new forest management authority formed jointly with the Kaska Nation to oversee management of the forest resources in the southeast.

Included in the proposal is a provision for the Kaska to receive the stumpage fee paid by companies for the right to harvest the wood, which could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually if there is any interest from industry.

Allen said Champagne and Aishihik have not pursued such a provision to retain stumpage fees because the wood in the southwest is substantially smaller and does not provide the same market opportunities as the wood in the southeast.

That's not to say, however, that Champagne and Aishihik will not pursue the same stumpage-fee provision at some time in the future, he said.