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(PIFS) PHOENIX INTERPRETIVE FOREST SOCIETY
The PIFS was initiated in 1995 following several years of background work and is incorporated under the Societies Act. Its main objective is to foster cooperation among the many forest land users with the long-term objective of enhancing the management of the Phoenix Interpretive Forest and associated values. Such values include those related to heritage, mining, forestry, agriculture, tourism and recreation. The board of the society consists of representatives of a wide range of interests. Early on, considerable attention was given to establishment of an outdoor camp in the area of the Phoenxi Ski Hill. This was considered essential for a first-class interpretive program. However, an independent feasibility study concluded that development of a camp would involve a significant capital investment and that the market for camp services would be limited. Based on this, the society has abandoned the camp idea at this time.
The society continues to work on projects that will promote awareness of the resources, resource management, ecology and history of the Phoenix Interpretive Forest. Accomplishments include; 
development of a driving tour and an accompanying brochure, a survey
of the railroad grades including the location of dangerous or impassable sections and acquisition of Forest Renewal B.C. funds to rebuild and clear portions of the grades to allow better access for hiker, bikers and skiers. The group produced a trail brocure and map that are currently being revised. And of course the current web site. With funds from Forest Renewal B.C., the Phoenix Foundation and Pope & Talbot, the group cooperated with the Phoenix Foundation Alpine Ski Society to install an all-weather, deep-well supply at the ski hill. The society organizes work parties and an annual Fun Day in the forest. It has contributed many articles for publication in the Grand Forks Gazette and Boundary Bulletin. It has also sponsored an equine endurance trail ride in the past.
Future Goals of the Society
For the first 20 years of the 20th Century, mining supported the City of Phoenix with its population. It was once considered the most important mining town in the British Commonwealth. the city was situated below Knob Hill in the centre of the present Interpretive Forest. Major legacies of that mining are the old railroad grades that intersect the Phoenix Road and finally wind their way to the Phoenix mine site. Tracks on most of the grades were removed in the 1920's. Open pit mining in the 1960's and 1970's left only vestiges of the town; but the cemetery and Cenotaph have survived.
Logging has been carried on in the forest for at least as long as mining. Certainly, wood from the forest was used for railroad ties, mine timbers and buildings. Horses would have been used in the early days and this mode of logging is still being practiced. For instance, all of Woodlot License 477, in the Lind and Twin Creek drainages, is under a management plan that specifies horse logging. However, the greatest proportion of the timber cut in the forest is moved to roads by conventional skidders. A number of forest research and demonstration sites have been established within the forest. When the City of Phoenix was in existence, there were a few farms and ranches within the Forest that provided food for residents. Today, ranching is the only major farming activity and the Lind Creek Ranch is the only active cattle ranch still located and operating in the Phoenix Forest Range.
There are, however, several range permits in the area and it is not unusual in the summer and fall to see cows along the roads and trails. Range permittees pay a yearly fee and are responsible for many tasks including fence repairs, water source maintenance, weed control and grassland protection. Spinoffs from the ranching industry include roundups and tours and inspections by horseback or motorized vehicles.
In terms of recreation, the forest gives pleasure to skiers, both cross-country and alpine, hikers, bikers, horseback riders and snowmobilers. Mainly because of the early mining activity, the forest contains may sites of heritage interest. These include railroad grades and trestles, old cabins and mine sites, rock ovens, the major pit mine, a World War I Cenotaph and the Phoenix cemetery and Marshall Lake.