This report is about a complaint from three residents of the Chilliwack River Valley who were concerned about logging near their subdivision close to Post Creek. One concern was about potential impacts of logging to the sensitive wildlife values in the area.

The area around Post Creek presents challenges for timber harvesting for several reasons: it is adjacent to a rural/residential community, it is close to a provincial park, it is down-slope from designated mountain goat winter range and it is within a designated habitat area for one of Canada’s most endangered species, the spotted owl. The licensee was aware of these challenges and knew the logging would cause public concerns.

Forest licensees in BC are not legally required to consult with the public for every cutblock they plan to harvest, but there are legal requirements for public consultation, which the Board considers to be a minimum. In this case, those legal minimums were actually exceeded; however, the Board has previously expressed the view that licensees should exercise judgment and provide meaningful public involvement tailored to local needs to maintain and build confidence in the management of BC’s forest resources. In the Board’s opinion, Post Creek was a situation that warranted more communication than was provided.

The complaint lists a number of issues and includes a request that the cutblocks proposed by Tamihi Logging Co. Ltd. (licensee) not be allowed in the Post Creek area. Board staff investigated the complaint and consulted with all parties to try to resolve it.

There are a number of concerns in this investigation, the first being the licensee’s right to harvest given that a wildlife habitat area (WHA) for spotted owl exists in the proposed harvest area.

A WHA may be protected from logging through general wildlife measures associated with it, but not always. In this case, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and the Tamihi Logging Co. Ltd. agreed on an exemption for several of the licensee’s blocks as a way to mitigate for operating areas lost to Spotted Owl Management Plan #2.

In August 2010, the Board received a complaint about logging by Tamihi Logging Co. Ltd. in the Deroche Community Watershed, approximately 15 kilometres east of Mission, BC. The complainant was concerned about the impact Tamihi’s operations were having on water quality in the area and also that the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO)1 was not adequately overseeing the operation.

The complainant contacted the Chilliwack Forest District office with his concerns in May, at which point the district manager arranged for a field trip so compliance and enforcement staff, along with both the complainant and the licensee, could discuss operations in the area. However, remaining concerned—and wanting improvement in the quality of practices in the watershed—the complainant then contacted the Board.