As part of the Forest Practices Board’s 2013 compliance audit program, the BC Timber Sales (BCTS) program and timber sale licence (TSL) holders in the Prince George District portion of the Prince George Business Area were randomly selected for audit.
The audit area falls within the Prince George and Robson Valley Timber Supply Areas (TSA) and includes the communities of Prince George, McBride and Valemount. The TSAs contain flat and rolling terrain in central areas and steeper slopes to the east along the Rocky Mountains. Together they include the Fraser, Nechako, McGregor and Parsnip River systems, as well as numerous lakes.
The audit found, with two exceptions, that the planning and field activities undertaken by the TSL holders complied in all significant respects with the requirements of FRPA, WA and related regulations, as of July 2013. The one exception involved construction of a bridge and the other fire protection.
As part of its 2012 compliance audit program, the Forest Practices Board selected community forest agreement K1H, held by the McBride Community Forest Corporation for audit. A community forest pilot agreement was first issued to MCFC in August 2002, and MCFC was awarded the 25-year long term CFA K1H in 2007.
The McBride community forest surrounds the Village of McBride, which lies in the Robson Valley, about 210 kilometres southeast of Prince George.
This audit examined the activities of the BC Timber Sales (BCTS) program and timber sale licence (TSL) holders in the Fort St. James District.
The communities in this district depend heavily on the forest industry but also rely on resourcessuch as water, fish, and wildlife to provide economic diversity and to meet cultural and tourism needs. At a time when mountain pine beetle infestations and subsequent timber salvage are high, BCTS and TSL holders face many challenges when balancing resource interests with salvage operations.
The Forest Practices Board selected community forest agreement K2T, held by the Valemount Community Forest Company Ltd. (VCFC) for audit. Community forest agreement K2T surrounds the Village of Valemount, which lies in the Robson Valley, about 300 kilometres southeast of Prince George.
The VCFC harvested approximately 250 000 cubic metres of timber during the two-year audit period. Harvesting was focused on salvaging lodgepole pine trees affected by the mountain pine beetle. Field work was carried out from September 24 to 27, 2012.
In September 2010, Batnuni Lake Guides and Outfitters (the complainant) submitted a complaint to the Forest Practices Board that L&M Lumber Co. Ltd. (the licensee) was not seasonally-blocking motorized access to the road system in their Davidson Creek operating area (the Davidson). This caused the complainant to lose a key business opportunity guiding hunters by horse in a non-motorized area.
Since 1994, when not being used for industrial purposes, the Davidson road system has been closed every winter to motorized use by putting concrete barriers in front of the bridge at the start of the road. In 1997, the Vanderhoof Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP)formalized this practice by designating access into the Davidson as ‘semi-primitive, nonmotorized’(SPNM), and specifying that recreationalists, including hunters, could not use vehicles in the area between April 1 and November 30 each year.
