VICTORIA – An audit of J.H. Huscroft Ltd.’s forest operations around Kootenay Lake found they met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act, according to a report released today.
“Most of Huscroft’s harvesting was of mixed-species stands containing beetle-infested wood, and was well-managed,” said board chair Al Gorley. “There were three small landslides that occurred at Huscroft’s forestry roads, but they did not have serious environmental impacts. Auditors concluded that Huscroft’s maintenance of its forestry roads could be improved.”
Huscroft’s forest licence A20213 lies within the Kootenay Lake timber supply area in the Selkirk District, and nearby communities include Creston, Nelson, and Kaslo. The area is subject to the 2002 Kootenay Boundary Higher Level Plan Order.
The audit field work took place from July 25 to 29, 2011.
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 forest planning, harvesting and road practices at family-owned Troll Resort Ltd., found that the resort met the requirements of provincial forestry legislation, according to a report released today.
“The Board includes all types and sizes of forest licences in its audit program,” said board chair, Al Gorley. “In this case, the ski hill harvested trees on public land in a controlled recreation area as part of its operations, and the Board decided to check if it was meeting the legal requirements.”
Troll Resort is a ski hill within the Troll Mountain controlled recreation area, located 45 kilometres east of Quesnel on Highway 26. Over the past two years, Troll harvested approximately 14 000 cubic metres of timber from occupant licences to cut L43043 and L48493. These harvests were conducted to address forest health and safety concerns and to enhance skiing opportunities.
Audit field work took place on August 9 and 10, 2011.
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 BC Timber Sales and 15 timber sale licensees in the Squamish area found that forest planning, silviculture, fire protection, harvesting and road activities were mostly in compliance with legislation, according to a report released today.
“The audit found that a timber sale licence holder designed and built a bridge on a main forest service road that was inadequate to withstand significant rainfall or a flood, which is not in compliance with the legislation,” said board chair Al Gorley. “The board was concerned because of the potential risk to public safety if the bridge was to wash out.”
“Despite this non-compliance, the board recognizes that BCTS’s operating area includes substantial First Nations interest, high recreational use and natural values that create significant challenges for industrial forestry activities in this area. Overall, the audit found that BCTS and the timber sale licensees did a good job at meeting these challenges and the board acknowledges their efforts.
The 1.1-million hectare Squamish district includes the communities of Lions Bay, Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.
The board looked at harvesting, road construction and maintenance, silviculture, fire preparedness, environmental protection activities and associated planning done between August 2009 and August 2011.
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 investigation into the state of fire management planning has found that fire management plans have been prepared in all forest districts in the province, and that they provide the basic information needed to help plan a response to a wildfire, according to a report released today.
“The plans prepared to date identify values at risk, such as dwellings, infrastructure, wildlife habitat and timber,” said board chair Al Gorley. “However, the initial plans are narrow and need to be improved to include local priorities for protecting values as well as areas where fire may be allowed to burn under certain conditions. It will be important to involve First Nations, local governments and the public in setting these priorities.”
The report makes seven recommendations aimed at improving fire management planning and response.
The report also recommends that government fully implement its 2010 Wildland Fire Management Strategy, which will move the province toward more proactive fire management.
“Globally, we see a trend toward more severe and costly fires,” said Gorley. “Other jurisdictions have found that simply adding more fire fighting capacity alone doesn’t solve the problem. We need proactive policies and programs that account for the inevitable occurrence of fire in the forest environment.”
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 by contacting:
Darlene Oman, Director, Special Projects
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250-213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – An audit of Weyerhaeuser Company Limited’s forest operations near Princeton found they met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act, according to a report released today.
“Virtually all Weyerhaeuser’s harvesting was salvage of beetle-killed pine and was well-managed,” said board chair Al Gorley. “Auditors did find one problem with gravel on bridge decks, and the board is pleased that Weyerhaeuser immediately corrected the practice.”
Weyerhaeuser’s forest licence A18698 lies within the Merritt timber supply area in the Cascades District, and nearby communities include Princeton, Tulameen and Hedley.
The audit field work took place from Oct. 17 to 20, 2011.
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 – Forest practices in the Sechelt and Powell River Community Forests, and two community forest licences held by the Sliammon and Klahoose First Nations, all complied with provincial forestry legislation, according to a Forest Practices Board audit report released today.
“All four of these operations are small, community-based forest tenures and we are pleased to see that they are following the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act,” said board chair, Al Gorley.
A community forest is a forestry operation managed by a local government, community group, First Nation or community-held corporation for the benefit of the entire community.
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 / 1 800 994-589
VICTORIA – An audit of a Babine Forest Products (BFP) operation in the Nadina Forest District near Burns Lake showed a high standard of forest operations, according to a Forest Practices Board audit report released today.
“Our audit team found that, during the course of beetle-salvage logging, BFP effectively implemented its wildlife tree retention strategies, carefully managed its silviculture program and made sure roads, bridges and drainage structures were all well-maintained,” said board chair, Al Gorley.
The Nadina Forest District is located in the Lakes Timber Supply Area, which covers approximately 1.5 million hectares in north-central British Columbia, around Francois and Babine Lakes.
The audit, which took place from September 12 to 15, 2011, assessed over 80 cutblocks and close to 300 kilometres of road and found that BFP met or exceeded legislated requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act, the Lakes District Land and Resource Management Plan and the Lakes North Sustainable Resource Management Plan.
BFP, a joint venture between Oregon-based forest products company Hampton Affiliates and the Burns Lake Native Development Corporation , was certified in July 2011 by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative . This is the first time this forest licence has been audited by the board.
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 investigation into a complaint from a rancher in the Cariboo-Chilcotin about the effects of mountain pine beetle and salvage logging on water flows has not found any precise answers, but identifies salvage logging as one of a number of contributing factors.
In January 2011, the complainant experienced an unexpected loss of water when a stream his cattle regularly drink from inexplicably froze solid, and then later in the year two floods affected his pasture land. The complainant blamed the salvage logging of beetle-killed timber in the watershed.
“To some extent, forest practices likely influenced the situation,” said Board Chair Al Gorley. “However, there were numerous other factors including drought and cold weather that also likely played a role, so it’s not possible to attribute the problems solely to salvage logging.”
“This case underscores the need for greater knowledge about the effect of forest disturbance on watersheds, and for further assessment in the Twinflower Creek watershed before additional logging occurs,” added Gorley.
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 is required to investigate public complaints about forest planning and practices.
Media contact:
Darlene Oman
Forest Practices Board Communications
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – Al Gorley, chair of the Forest Practices Board, issued the following statement upon the Cabinet appointment of two new board members, and a new vice-chair, announced by Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson last week:
“On behalf of board members and staff at the Forest Practices Board, we are pleased to welcome Ralph Archibald and Dr. William McGill to our organization, and also to congratulate Dr. Rachel Holt on her appointment as vice-chair. These board members bring an extensive knowledge of forestry and environment-related issues to the table, which will help guide the board’s work into the future.
“Ralph Archibald has a strong government background and extensive experience in the natural resource sector, Bill McGill has expertise in sustainable land use, resource recovery and soil remediation, and Rachel Holt brings a big-picture, pragmatic approach to board discussions, particularly in the area of ecosystem management – all of which collectively ensure that many different facets of forest stewardship can be explored effectively by the board.
“At the same time, we extend sincere thanks to John Dunford and Debbie Zandbelt, whose terms have ended, for their contributions to the board and to the people of B.C.
“John Dunford has served a four-year term on the board, the last three as vice-chair, and has consistently worked to ensure the board provides a fair and balanced perspective. John’s involvement in a wide range of high-level industry initiatives allowed him to help the board focus its deliberations at a strategic level.
“Debbie Zandbelt served a five-year term and has energetically brought forward a practical, on-the-ground perspective. Debbie has worked particularly hard to ensure the board’s work is rigorous and relevant to practicing forest professionals.”
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.
Audits appropriateness of government enforcement.
Investigates public complaints.
Undertakes special investigations of current forestry issues.
Participates in administrative appeals.
Makes 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 investigation has found that government needs to improve its system for tracking changes in forest land condition in B.C.
“Keeping track of forests – what’s been harvested, what is growing back and what is set aside for wildlife – is essential to sound management of those forests,” said board chair Al Gorley. “The information has to be reasonably accurate and current to know if we are getting the results we expect from our forest management activities, and to inform decision-makers about what to do in the future.”
By law, forest licensees must report annually on their harvesting and reforestation activities. This investigation looked at compliance with that requirement and found that most reports were correctly submitted, but enough were incomplete, inaccurate or late to be of concern to the board.
In 2005, government moved to the digital world, and hundreds of forestry licensees now submit their information directly into the reporting database. However, there are few built-in system controls to ensure that the information is complete, and very little quality control is done by government staff to ensure it is timely or accurate. Training for users and support for the system are also of concern to the board.
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 by contacting:
Helen Davies, Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
