VICTORIA – As it audits forestry operations across B.C. this summer, the Forest Practices Board will be looking closely at how prepared the forest industry is to deal with accidental fire starts.
“The Wildfire Act requires a forestry operator to ensure an adequate fire suppression system is available on-site when conducting high-risk activities that could potentially cause a fire, including tree felling and skidding logs in a cutblock,” said board chair Al Gorley. “Board auditors pay close attention to this requirement when we audit forestry operations.”
In other years, the lack of proper fire tools and equipment has been an issue that has come up fairly often during board audits. The current dry conditions and high levels of forest fuels in some parts of the province make it especially important for people working in the forest to be prepared to put out a fire quickly.
Fire suppression equipment includes tools like shovels and mattocks, and a water source, such as back tank pumps or water tanks carried on trucks. An excavator or other machinery that can move soil is also helpful in extinguishing a fire quickly. The legislation does not specify what is adequate in a given situation, so good judgment has to be applied based on the conditions and the operating environment at a specific site.
The board will audit forestry operations throughout the province this summer, including harvest blocks, road construction and maintenance, replanting and other obligations associated with forest tenures.
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.
Media contact:
Helen Davies, Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
For more information on the Forest Practices Board, visit www.fpb.gov.bc.ca
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest practices of West Fraser Mills Ltd, Pacific Inland Resources Division, Forest Licence A16830, from July 5 to 10.
The forest licence is in the Bulkley Timber Supply Area, which is in the Skeena Stikine Forest District. Auditors will examine planning, harvesting, roads, silviculture and fire protection activities for compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. Forest Licence A16830 has an annual cut of 392,313 cubic metres per year.
Important resources and management issues in the area include salvage logging of mountain pine beetle-killed trees, and protection of fisheries, mountain caribou habitat and significant viewscapes around Smithers and the Bulkley and Telkwa rivers.
The audit area is subject to the Bulkley Land and Resource Management Plan, which provides broad direction for sustainable use of Crown land and resources, as well as the Bulkley Valley Sustainable Resource Management Plan, which presents objectives and strategies for resource management within the LRMP.
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 will then 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:
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit forest practices of Tembec Forest Industries in Forest Licence (FL) A19040 in the Cranbrook Timber Supply Area (TSA) from July 5 to 10.
The audit will examine planning, harvesting, roads, silviculture and fire protection activities for compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
The Cranbrook TSA lies within the Rocky Mountain Forest District and includes numerous parks and recreation areas, including portions of the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy, Height of the Rockies Provincial Park and Top of the World Provincial Park.
Areas subject to audit are located south and east of Cranbrook to the U.S. and the Alberta borders, and around the communities of Elko, Fernie and Sparwood, as well as northwest of Cranbrook around Kimberley.
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 will then 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:
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 British Columbia Timber Sales (BCTS) and timber sale licensees in the Seaward-tlasta Business Area on the Central Coast of B.C. found that planning, silviculture, fire protection, harvesting on 27 cutblocks, and more than 500 kilometres of road were in compliance with legislation, with one exception.
“During the audit, a number of road issues were found. While these incidents were not significant on their own, what really concerned the board was the lack of a system for road maintenance,” said board chair Al Gorley. “This same issue was identified in previous ISO 14001 audits, but it had not yet been remedied when our auditors were looking at forest practices on the ground.”
BCTS’s operating areas are located throughout the mid-coast of B.C., from Knight Inlet north to Finlayson Channel. The area is also subject to ecosystem-based management under the Great Bear Rainforest agreement between environmental groups and the forest industry, as well as the government- and First Nations-approved Coast Land Use Decision.
Fieldwork took place from June 22 to 25, 2009.
Since the audit, BCTS has increased road inspections and has nearly completed a report recommending schedules for conducting road maintenance. The board has requested a progress report from BCTS by the end of October 2010.
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 report released today upholds a public complaint about proposed logging in a rare forest type near Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island.
Local residents filed a complaint with the board when they discovered about one-third of the 64-hectare parcel of coastal Douglas-fir forest, known as DL 33, was slated to be logged, contrary to provincial government promises.
”In order to meet an Interim Measures Agreement with the Nanoose First Nation, the Province did not abide by its commitment to defer issuing new forest tenures until its stewardship strategy was in place,” said board chair Al Gorley.
As part of its stewardship strategy for the coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) ecosystem, the Province identified 1,600 hectares of Crown-owned forest for potential protection. However, the Ministry of Forests and Range issued the tenure for DL 33 before the proposed protection order was approved, on the basis that it did not include DL 33. The ministry has not yet issued a permit to begin logging.
“Taken in isolation, DL 33 is important, but is not the real issue,” said Gorley. “It is a symptom of a problem that has been more than 100 years in the making. Given the large proportion of CDF on private land, and competing interests and priorities on provincial land, there may be little the Province can do on its own to ensure long-term viability of this ecosystem.”
The Province controls just 23,500 hectares (about nine percent) of the remaining CDF forests, and has protected 7,600 hectares to date. The proposed order would protect another 1,600 hectares. The board’s report notes that the stewards of private, federal and local government lands will have to participate further in conservation if greater viability of the ecosystem is desired.
This is the board’s third complaint investigation involving management of the CDF by the Province. In 2005, the board recommended a conservation protocol be developed before any further logging of CDF on Crown land. Then, in 2007, the board recommended the Province finalize a stewardship strategy for management of this ecosystem.
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.
A backgrounder follows.
Media contact:
Helen Davies
Forest Practices Board Communications
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest practices of International Forest Products Ltd. on Forest Licence (FL) A18969, in the Arrow Boundary Forest District, for compliance with forest practices legislation.
The audit will examine planning, harvesting, roads, silviculture and fire protection activities carried out in the two years since Interfor acquired the licence in May 2008.
The areas being audited are to the south of Kelowna in the Kettle and West Kettle Rivers, to the north of Grand Forks in the Granby River and Burrell Creek drainages, and in the area surrounding Christina Lake.
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 will then 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 recommendtions directly to the public and government. The board audits forest and range practices on public lands and appropriateness of government enforcement. It can aslo make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies
Communcications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250-213-4708 / 1-800-994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit forest practices of Terminal Forest Products Ltd. in Forest Licence (FL) A19215 in the Squamish Forest District, from June 7 to 10.
The audit will examine planning, harvesting, roads, silviculture and fire protection activities for compliance with forest practices legislation.
The licence lies within the Sea to Sky Corridor and includes activities from Furry Creek in the South to the Lillooet River Valley northwest of Pemberton.
The FL is in the process of being transferred from Terminal Forest Products to Black Mount Logging. Under an agreement with Terminal, Black Mount is currently logging in the Furry Creek area, while Terminal continues to hold all permits and the forest licence.
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 will then 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:
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 tree farm licence (TFL) 26, held by the District of Mission in the Chilliwack Forest District, found good planning and forest practices, according to a report released today.
“Given the proximity of their forestry activities to Mission residential areas, the District of Mission did a commendable job of communicating its operations to local residents,” said board chair Al Gorley.
The audit was conducted in fall 2009. The board audited forest planning and practices since September 2007, including activities on 57 cutblocks, over 90 kilometres of road and 17 bridges.
Although the district’s activities on TFL 26 are not subject to any land-use plans, forestry activities were found to be consistent with government objectives for scenic areas and old-growth values.
A tree farm licence is an area-based tenure that grants the licensee virtually exclusive rights to harvest timber. TFL 26 was the first and only municipally held TFL in British Columbia from 1958 until the early 1990s.
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:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1-800 994-5899
VICTORIA – An audit of recreation in the Central Cariboo Forest District found that government’s management of authorized recreation sites and trails in the district has been good, says a report released today.
“Our audit found that authorized recreation sites and trails were generally well maintained, and resource features were protected,” said Al Gorley, board chair. “Forest practices near recreation sites and trails complied with the legislation.” The overall enforcement of recreation activities was also appropriate, with the exception of unauthorized mountain bike trails.
The audit found a lack of enforcement relating to hundreds of unauthorized mountain bike trails within the district, specifically around Williams Lake, that are promoted locally, as well as through Tourism BC. Under the Forest and Range Practices Act, approval from government is required before a trail can be built on Crown land. The board is aware that the existence of unauthorized trails is a common issue in many areas of B.C., especially close to communities where recreation is a popular pastime.
Subsequent to the audit, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts (MTCA) legally established one of the trail systems and it continues to work on getting legal approval for other unauthorized trails in the district.
The audit, the board’s first to focus exclusively on forest recreation, looked at dozens of recreation sites and trails located in the district, as well as adjacent forestry cutblocks and roads. Auditors also examined how effectively MTCA and the Ministry of Forests and Range enforced recreation requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act.
Recreation sites and trails are public campgrounds and trails located on Crown land. Formerly known as ‘forest recreation sites,’ they are areas outside of parks that are available for recreational use, often as campgrounds, trails or day use areas.
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 carries out periodic independent audits to see if government is appropriately enforcing provincial forest practices legislation.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – Planning and forestry activities on a woodlot in the Quesnel Forest District, in central British Columbia, met all legal requirements, according to an audit report released today.
As part of the Forest Practices Board's 2009 compliance-audit program, the board selected five woodlot licences in the Quesnel Forest District for audit. This report is for the final woodlot licence; results for the other four woodlot licences are provided in separate audit reports.
“While we found two areas requiring improvement related to harvesting waste and regeneration obligations, the findings were not considered significant as they were limited in scale,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “Since the audit, the licensee burnt some of the harvesting waste and has said he will address the remaining obligations.”
It is important to ensure harvesting waste is removed in a timely fashion as it can be a fire hazard. It is also important to know if previously harvested areas now have enough healthy trees growing on that site. Ensuring post-harvest and reforestation obligations are met on the woodlot is the legal responsibility of the licence-holder, and is necessary for sound forest management.
In this case, the licensee was not aware of all of his obligations, so some were not met. The board has recently published an information bulletin for woodlot licensees describing their obligations.
The audits of woodlot licence W1050 took place in June 2009, and looked at forest practices going back to January 2007 for compliance with the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act, Wildfire Act, woodlot licence forest management regulation, and woodlot licence planning and practices regulation.
The audit examined the woodlot licensee’s planning, timber harvesting, road construction and maintenance, and silviculture activities and obligations, such as planting harvested sites and achieving free-growing stands of new trees.
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.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1-800 994-5899
