VICTORIA – Tim Ryan, chair of the Forest Practices Board, has issued the following statement upon the announcement of the Cabinet appointment of new board member Norma Wilson by Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson today:
“The board is pleased to welcome Norma Wilson to our organization. She brings a welcome new voice to the table and we all look forward to working with her.”
A professional geologist currently working on a PhD in recreation planning at the University of British Columbia, Wilson brings, among other things, a public-interest perspective to the board.
Formerly, Wilson was executive director of the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC; a lay councillor with the Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals; a member of the McGregor Model Forest (Prince George); and the B.C. chair of the Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board audits forest and range practices and appropriateness of government enforcement on public lands, investigates public complaints and current forestry issues, participates in administrative appeals and makes recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
For further information contact:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA - The Forest Practices Board will examine the activities of Carrier Lumber Ltd.'s operations on Forest Licence A18158, located just east of Prince George and north of Fort St. James, during the week of June 16, 2014.
The audit will examine timber harvesting, road construction, maintenance, silviculture, fire prevention and associated planning activities carried out by Carrier Lumber for compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. Auditors will be on the ground collecting evidence from June 16 to 20, a total of five days.
The audit will focus on mountain pine beetle-impacted forests.
Once the audit work is completed, a report will be prepared, and any party that may be adversely affected by the audit findings will have a chance to respond. The board's final report and recommendations then will be released to the public and government.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.'s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government.
The board audits forest and range practices on public land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies, Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – An audit of Mackenzie Fibre Management Corporation in the Mackenzie District found that silviculture, fire protection, harvesting and road activities complied with forest practices legislation, but found two practices that could be improved according to a report released today.
“While the majority of Mackenzie Fibre Management’s forest practices were sound, auditors did find that some improvements were required related to soil disturbance and operational planning,” said board chair, Tim Ryan. “We are pleased that since the audit, the company has implemented soil disturbance training for logging supervisors, and developed a checklist and a stream classification field card to prevent these types of problems in the future.”
During the two-year audit period, MFMC harvested approximately 881,735 cubic metres of timber, primarily to salvage mountain pine beetle (MPB) infested timber. The audit fieldwork took place from September 23 to 27, 2013.
The Mackenzie District lies within the Northern Interior Forest Region and includes Williston Lake, a reservoir created by the W. A. C. Bennett Dam. The audit area is subject to the 2000 Mackenzie Land and Resource Management Plan, which defines sensitive areas and objectives for their management.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board audits forest and range practices on public lands and appropriateness of government enforcement. It can also make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – Nearly 20 years of public concerns and complaints about forestry and range practices on B.C.’s Crown land are summarized in a new report released by the Forest Practices Board today.
“Complaints and concerns provide a barometer of public acceptance of forest and range management, identifying trends and issues that the Board will sometimes examine in more detail,” said board chair, Tim Ryan. “They provide a measure of how well B.C.’s forest and range lands are being managed and how much confidence the public has in industry and government practices.”
Since 1995, the board has responded to over 1100 concerns and 300 complaints, leading to 181 formal recommendations for improvement to forest and range planning, practices and public consultation.
Topics most commonly complained about are conservation of forest values such as water, soundness of forest planning and practices and adequacy of both public involvement processes and government enforcement of the law. Complaints have come from many sources including individuals, water users, environmental and community groups, First Nations, trappers, ranchers and recreationists.
The report findings show that in 70% of cases, provincial legislation is appropriately followed but there is usually room for improvement, particularly when it comes to communication between those carrying out forest and range practices and those affected by them.
The board was created in 1995 to ensure industry follows provincial forest and range legislation and government adequately enforces it. The board can investigate public complaints and make recommendations for improvement, but it also tries to help resolve issues and improve resource stewardship whenever possible.
All complaint investigations are available on the Board’s website, along with this latest report.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708/ 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The ten-year-old Forest and Range Practices Act, aimed at reducing cost and complexity for industry while maintaining high environmental standards, has been partly implemented and is working in most situations. However, some aspects of implementation are not complete or are not working as well as expected and improvement is needed, according to a Forest Practices Board report issued today.
“Now that 10 years have passed, we felt it was timely to inform the public about how well the act is working, based on our audits and investigations,” said board chair Tim Ryan. “We have published over 250 reports as part of our oversight of industry practices and government enforcement of this legislation. That body of work says a lot about what’s working well and where the issues are.”
“Our work shows that forest practices generally comply with the legislation, subject to the recent increase in non-compliances we have been finding in audits and investigations,” said Ryan. “But the determination of whether those practices achieve government’s objectives is still a work in progress.”
The report provides observations and ratings for the components of the legislative framework concluding that:
The report also includes advice on what needs to be done to achieve the intent of the legislation and ensure B.C. has sound forest and range practices that warrant public confidence.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and governent. The board can investigate and report on current forestry and range issues and make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Darlene Oman
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – An investigation of how well the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA)protects drinking water in community watersheds has identified a number of improvements necessary to help ensure government objectives for drinking water quality and quantity are achieved.
“The status and management of community watersheds needs to be reviewed by government to ensure this resource is being properly managed in those places where it needs to be managed, in consideration of all types of development activity,” said board chair Tim Ryan.
While most forestry licensees were following the legal requirements, the investigation identified several weaknesses in managing community watersheds under FRPA. Among the findings:
“We also found a disconnect where a number of watersheds are designated, but no longer provide drinking water to a community,” added Ryan.
The board has examined forest stewardship plans in 48 of the 131 designated community watersheds with forestry activity in recent years. Forest practices and watershed condition were examined in 12 of the 48 watersheds.
The board makes six recommendations to help improve the legislative framework and ensure government’s objectives for community watersheds are achieved.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and governent. The board can investigate and report on current forestry and range issues and make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board accepts the opinions of professional geoscientists that the risk of flooding or landslides resulting from logging activity at Duhamel Creek is low, according to a report released today.
“Primarily because of their location, the three specific cutblocks that were the subject of this complaint should not increase the risk to residents on the Duhamel fan,” said Tim Ryan, board chair. “However, the watershed has a history of natural flooding and slides, and previous reports have identified a high risk to residents on the Duhamel fan, so it’s understandable that they are very concerned about any forest development in the watershed.”
“In the board’s view, a local planning process that involves the provincial government and the regional district would be a good idea. At the very least, government should inform residents about how it is responding to the earlier reports that identified the high risks to homes on the fan,” added Ryan.
The Duhamel fan is at the mouth of Duhamel Creek on the west arm of Kootenay Lake near Nelson and is made of alluvial deposits in the lake ― material that has washed out of the creek over time. A residential community has developed on the fan over the past 100 years. There have been landslides in the watershed in the past and the fan has experienced major flooding from high water flows in the creek over the years.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board investigates public complaints about forest and range practices on public lands and appropriateness of government enforcement. It can also make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – A report on the forest industry’s harvesting of beetle-killed timber confirms that industry has been meeting government’s expectations for concentrating harvesting on dead pine trees, but says the harvest of other kinds of trees is increasing more than expected in some areas of the province.
“The switch from harvesting dead pine trees to live non-pine trees means the mid-term timber supply is starting to be cut now and not 5 to 10 years in the future,” said board chair, Tim Ryan. “The issue, simply put, is that the more live trees that are harvested now, the lower the sustainable harvest level will be after the salvage program is finished. We believe the chief forester needs to respond to the rapidly-changing situation with timely updates to the allowable annual cuts.”
The report looks at government's records of what was harvested throughout the area affected by the mountain pine beetle epidemic. “The majority of the pine trees harvested last year were dead, but over the last four years, the total amount of pine in the harvest has been steadily decreasing and was under 60% of the harvest last year,” said Ryan.
The situation in beetle-affected forests is changing quickly. The board is encouraging government to re-evaluate decisions about what should be harvested in those areas, taking into account the current dynamics of salvage harvesting.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board can investigate and report on current forestry and range issues and make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
More information can be obtained at www.fpb.gov.bc.ca
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-589
VICTORIA – An audit of the BC Timber Sales program and 26 timber sale licensees in the Prince George District found that the forestry activities of BCTS and 24 licensees complied with forest practices legislation, but two licensees had non-compliance issues, according to a report released today.
Auditors found that one licence holder installed an unsafe bridge, while another operated during a restricted period without an adequate fire suppression system in place.
“The board is concerned with the growing number of instances of unsafe bridges showing up in recent audits, and points out the requirement for licence holders and forest professionals to ensure bridges are structurally sound and safe for use,” said Tim Ryan, board chair. “We also wish to draw attention to the requirements to minimize the risk of starting a forest fire during high fire-hazard conditions.”
BCTS is responsible for operational planning, silviculture, and most road and bridge construction, as well as maintenance and deactivation outside cutblocks. Licence holders are responsible for harvesting, fire protection, and most road and bridge construction, as well as maintenance and deactivation within cutblocks.
During the one-year audit period, BCTS maintained 511 kilometres of road and 68 bridges, while TSL holders constructed 181 kilometres of road and two bridges. A total of 750 000 cubic metres of timber was harvested by TSL holders, primarily to address mountain pine beetle infestations. The board’s fieldwork took place from July 22 to 26, 2013.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board audits forest and range practices on public lands and appropriateness of government enforcement. It can also make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – An audit of woodlot licence W0033 held by Penelakut First Nation in the South Island District near Duncan found that, with two exceptions, forest planning, silviculture, fire protection, harvesting and road activities complied with forest practices legislation, according to a report released today.
Auditors found that the woodlot licence holder built a log culvert crossing that was not safe for industrial users. In addition, it did not submit the required annual reports on its activities to government.
“The board is concerned with the growing number of instances of unsafe bridges showing up in recent audits, and points out the requirement for licence holders and forest professionals to ensure bridges are structurally sound and safe for use,” said Tim Ryan, board chair.
Penelakut has managed woodlot W0033 ─ 800 hectares of Crown land ─ since 2007. Located west of Mount Prevost and south of the Chemainus River, W0033 has an allowable annual cut of 4,200 cubic metres per year.
The board’s audit field work took place on May 20, 2013.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board audits forest and range practices on public lands and appropriateness of government enforcement. It can also make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
