VICTORIA – An audit of enforcement of forest practices legislation in the Columbia Forest District concludes that government’s enforcement was appropriate, according to a report released today.
In the audit report, the board commends the Ministry of Forests and Range (MFR) staff in the district for their good compliance and enforcement practices during the audit period. They completed a large number of inspections, demonstrating that they were out on the ground, extensively monitoring forest activities. They also conducted numerous investigations and took appropriate enforcement actions when problems were identified.
The audit also examined the enforcement component of government’s new resource management co-ordination project (RMCP) in the district. RMCP applies available compliance and enforcement resources across several natural resource agencies to government’s priorities for monitoring and enforcement.
“The RMCP initiative had been implemented for only six months when the audit occurred, so more time and assessments in other areas of the province are required to judge its efficacy,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “However, the audit did find that the joint agency initiative has helped to resolve gaps in compliance monitoring of recreation sites and trails in this district.”
The ministries audited were Forests and Range; Environment; and Tourism, Culture and the Arts. Each of these ministries is responsible for enforcing aspects of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. Enforcement activities from Sept. 1, 2007, until Oct. 8, 2009 were audited.
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 – An audit of Coast Tsimshian Resources (CTR) forestry operations in Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 1 near Terrace found that planning and practices met all legislative requirements, according to a Forest Practices Board report.
The board examined CTR activities for compliance with government forestry legislation as well as with objectives for biodiversity, grizzly bear management, visual resources and community watersheds, established in the Kalum Sustainable Resource Management Plan.
The board’s audit fieldwork took place August 17-21, 2009.
“This tree farm licence has changed hands four times since 1986,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “CTR inherited some silvicultural issues when they took over the licence. They have made good progress in conducting surveys and treating stands where necessary.”
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
March 9, 2010
Ministry of Forests and Range
VICTORIA – Al Gorley will assume the role of chair of the Forest Practices Board effective May 1, 2010, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell announced today.
“The Forest Practices Board serves as the public’s watchdog on forest practices in British Columbia,” said Bell. “I’m confident that Al Gorley will serve British Columbians with the same level of diligence that Bruce Fraser did over the past six years.”
Gorley is currently a part-time board member, originally appointed in October 2009. His three-year appointment as board chair is effective May 1, 2010.
Raised in northern B.C., Gorley went on to become a professional forester and had a long career with the Ministry of Forests and Range in both operations and management positions in Houston, Prince George and Victoria. He also worked with Forest Renewal BC for three years, first as the vice-president for land and resources, then as the chief operating officer.
Gorley served on the Association of BC Forest Professionals’ Council for four years, including as president in 1992. He is a past president of the McGregor Model Forest Association, was a founding director of the Canadian Model Forest Network, and was a member of the Province’s Environmental Appeal Board and Forest Appeals Commission from 2004 to 2009.
The other members of the board are vice-chair John Dunford of Kamloops, Dr. Rachel Holt of Nelson, Andrea Lyall of West Vancouver, Mike Nash of Prince George, Dave Patterson of North Vancouver and Debbie Zandbelt of Vernon.
Created in 1995, the Forest Practices Board is an independent watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with forest practices legislation. The board’s main roles are:
• Auditing forest practices of government and licence-holders on public lands.
• Auditing government enforcement of forest practices legislation.
• Investigating public complaints.
• Undertaking special investigations.
• Participating in administrative reviews and appeals.
• Providing reports on board activities, findings and recommendations.
The appointed board members represent a broad range of expertise and experience in forestry and the environment from across the province. Its staff of professional foresters, biologists, accountants and lawyers conduct the audits and investigations and report to the board, which makes recommendations to the forest industry or government.
Media Contacts:
Cheekwan Ho
Ministry of Forests and Range
250 387-8482
Helen Davies
Forest Practices Board
250 213-4708
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit three government ministries to assess whether they are appropriately enforcing forest practices legislation in the Cascades Forest District, the Forest Practices Board announced today.
The ministries to be audited are Forests and Range; Environment; and Tourism, Culture and the Arts. Each of these ministries is responsible for enforcing aspects of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. The audit will take place during the week of March 1.
The areas being audited are located primarily in the Merritt and Lillooet areas, and include the Merritt Timber Supply Area (TSA) and the Lillooet TSA. Merritt, Princeton, Lillooet, Lytton and Gold Bridge are all located within the Cascades Forest District.
The audit will review the enforcement activities, systems and procedures used by government to encourage compliance with forest practices legislation. These activities include risk assessments, inspection of forest operations, investigations of possible contraventions, determinations (e.g., remediation orders and penalties) and follow-up.
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 carries out periodic independent audits to see if government is appropriately enforcing provincial forest practices legislation.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1-800 994-5899
VICTORIA – Communities that have carried out fuel reduction projects are commended for their leadership in dealing with B.C.’s growing forest fire risk, said a Forest Practices Board report issued today.
The report addresses a major ongoing issue of public safety arising from the risks of wildfire where communities have extended into the forest, known as ‘wildland urban interface areas’. Provincial estimates are that 685,000 hectares (or 6,850 square kilometres) are at high risk of an interface fire.
“While there is an enormous amount of work that needs to be done to reduce fuel levels in high-hazard areas, many communities are rising to the challenge by both developing the necessary plans and prescriptions, and making use of the supporting funds provided by the Province through the Union of BC Municipalities, and other sources,” said board chair Bruce Fraser.
“Fuel management is a huge and urgent task and obviously more must be done. To support that, the report provides communities with tips on how to proceed with their own fuel-reduction program, along with references to resources that could help them get started.”
“It also points out that communities bear some responsibility to consider and mitigate forest-fire risk when approving new developments in the urban wildland interface, and that individual homeowners have a responsibility to FireSmart their properties.”
The investigation reviewed 50 fuel treatment projects across the province and identified what approaches are working for communities and what lessons can be learned from the work done to date. The report includes recommendations to provincial and municipal governments, as well as those involved in fuel-reduction projects.
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
Victoria – An investigation into a complaint by a number of Slocan Park residents about logging of four cutblocks above the community has found that BCTS acted appropriately in planning and overseeing the proposed logging and road building.
“Our investigation found that BCTS met all the legal requirements, and in fact did more than was required by law in planning these four cutblocks,” said board chair Bruce Fraser.
“However, we recognize that some local residents remain concerned that the legal requirements are not sufficient and they are opposed to any logging in watersheds that supply drinking water. No matter how diligent the work that goes into planning and implementing harvesting, the water users bear the risk and the consequences if something goes wrong. This is an issue that frequently comes up in complaints to the board, and is something the provincial government should consider,” added Fraser.
The complainants were concerned that BCTS had not consulted with them effectively, and that BCTS would not monitor road building and harvesting. The complainants were also worried that the logging would impact water supply, terrain stability, visual quality and fire risk.
The investigation found that BCTS’s consultation methods complied with legal requirements, but were not as effective as they could have been. Appropriate monitoring of the logging activities will take place. The investigation also found that appropriate assessments were carried out and concluded that the likelihood of negative impacts to water quality and viewscapes, and the likelihood of a landslide occurring, are all low. While the fire risk may be elevated for a short time following logging, the risk of a fire occurring is also low.
In response to the complaint, BCTS has since improved it procedures for consultation and sharing of information with the public.
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.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708 / 1-800 994-5899
VICTORIA – Last month’s heavy rainstorms heighten concerns that large rainfall events are occurring more often than predicted, and that forestry standards need to be revisited to ensure roads and harvest areas are designed to withstand them, according to a report released today.
The Forest Practices Board looked at landslide occurrence on Southern Vancouver Island following two major storms that took place in November 2006. It found that many more landslides occurred following those storms than did in the two years leading up to the storms.
”Storms of the magnitude we saw in 2006, and again last month, are predicted to occur more frequently than was previously thought,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “Forest managers and practitioners need to consider the possibility of larger, more frequent storms when designing and constructing roads and bridges, as well as locating harvest blocks,” said Fraser.
More frequent large storms are predicted to be a consequence of climate change. Heavy rain and winds can cause soils to become saturated, trees to blow over and loosen soils, and landslides can result. While landslides can have positive impacts to streams, they can also bury productive land, cause large amounts of debris and sediment to enter streams and impact fish habitat and water quality, and can wash out highways, forest roads and bridges.
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
VICTORIA – A report released today says that planning requirements for grazing livestock on public lands are not being met, and the Forest Practices Board is recommending that government look at eliminating the preparation of detailed plans for most ranchers and giving them practice requirements that they must follow instead.
Under the province’s Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA), a person who grazes livestock on public land must prepare a range plan that describes how they will carry out practices consistent with government’s objectives for management of the range resource.
“Many plans did not meet even the basic requirements, but were approved anyway,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. ”We started this investigation because of previous findings that there were impacts to grasslands and streams from grazing,” Fraser continued. “What we found is that the current planning process is unlikely to improve that situation. What is needed is a more practical approach to range management.”
The investigation found that many plans were missing basic content, such as the number of livestock being grazed. Most plans did not show how range practices would be consistent with government objectives, and actions and commitments were unclear and unenforceable. Many ranchers appeared to have difficulty with key measures of grassland health in the legislation that governs when livestock can be put out to graze and when they should be brought in to prevent overgrazing.
The investigation looked at 200 range plans from 18 Ministry of Forests and Range districts across the province. There are over 1,500 range tenures in B.C. that require a range plan for grazing livestock or cutting hay, and the number of livestock on a tenure can range from just a few to several thousand.
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
VICTORIA – Planning and forestry activities on two woodlots in the Quesnel Forest District, in central British Columbia, generally met all legal requirements, according to an audit of their operations released today.
“We’re pleased to find that these two woodlot licensees have been demonstrating sound forest practices overall,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “While we found an area requiring improvement related to planting the wrong seedlings on several sites, the findings were not considered significant. On one woodlot, there were relatively few offsite seedlings, and on the other, the seedlings were quite close to the boundary of the proper seed zone.”
Seed transfer limits match seedlings with suitable environments so the planted trees can perform optimally based on the local climate, weather and soil. Planting trees outside identified seed transfer limits may cause the trees to grow at a slower rate or be more susceptible to insects, disease, and weather events.
The audits of woodlot licences W0512 and W1516 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. Three other woodlots were audited at the same time, and two were reported in October 2009.
The audit examined each 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 audit also considered whether activities were consistent with relevant sections of the Cariboo Chilcotin Land Use Plan, such as maintaining visual quality.
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.
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For more information, contact:
Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4708/ 1-800 994-5899
VICTORIA – Bruce Fraser, chair of the Forest Practices Board, issued the following statement upon the cabinet appointment of new board member R.A. (Al) Gorley, announced by Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell today:
“On behalf of board members and staff at the Forest Practices Board, we are pleased to welcome Al Gorley to our organization. Al brings an extensive knowledge of forestry-related issues to the table, and will make a significant contribution to our work. Al’s diverse background in government, as well as his consulting work in the natural resources sector, will bring a valuable perspective to the board’s deliberations.”
“However, while welcoming Al, we also bid a fond farewell to outgoing board member Guenter Stahl, who has been with the board since 2004. Guenter’s understanding of the role of a senior manager in the forest service has provided unique insight into field operations. His experience with development of the Forest Practices Code, and its later transition to the Forest and Range Practices Act, provided us with an understanding of the origin and history of the board. He will be missed.”
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:
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Helen Davies
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 356-1586 / 1 800 994-5899
