VICTORIA – An audit of the BC Timber Sales program and timber sale licensees near Hazelton found most planning and forestry activities complied with forest practices legislation. Sixteen timber sale licensees and BCTS all fared well in the audit, however, one timber sale licence holder caused significant amounts of soil disturbance on two cutblocks.

“The soil disturbance was considered significant because excessive soil disturbance can reduce soil productivity and limit growing conditions for new trees,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “However, we commend BCTS for appropriately responding to the situation once they discovered it, and for rehabilitating the affected sites when the licensee failed to do so.”

The board’s audit fieldwork took place in June 2009, examining activities conducted since June 2008. The audit looked at forest planning and practices of BCTS and 17 timber sale licence holders in the Skeena Business Area’s Hazelton Field Unit, located in the Skeena Stikine Forest District.

The audit assessed compliance with the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act, Wildfire Act, and related regulations, as well as consistency with the Kispiox Land and Resource Management Plan.

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.

VICTORIA – A study released today says that government needs to ensure areas are set aside for biodiversity and wildlife before salvage logging of mountain pine beetle timber clears the forests close to roads and communities in the central interior of B.C.

“At least seven very large openings have emerged on the landscape through a series of relatively isolated, but well-intentioned, decisions about where to place individual salvage cutblocks,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “These large openings have much less old forest reserved from logging than was recommended by B.C.’s chief forester.”

“There is enough old forest remaining in the area to meet the chief forester’s recommendations,” added Fraser, “but government needs to act quickly to ensure it is not logged as the salvage effort proceeds, and as other uses for the wood, like bioenergy, are developed.”

In 2004, when the allowable annual cut was increased in central B.C. to help salvage the dead pine trees, B.C.’s chief forester advised professional foresters to develop landscape level plans for where to retain mature forest and where to place salvage cutblocks. He also recommended that individual salvage cutblocks should include more patches of mature trees to provide a range of forest types and ages for wildlife and biodiversity and reduce flood risks.

The board examined whether that advice was followed in an area stretching from Burns Lake through Prince George, and south to Quesnel.

The study found that, for a variety of reasons, landscape level planning for the salvage harvesting was not completed. Foresters did leave more trees standing in salvage cutblocks, as the chief forester recommended, but when looking at the big picture across the landscape, it did not achieve the desired result.

“Without a plan for how much mature forest to leave intact, and more importantly, where to leave it to provide the most biological value, these large openings will continue to increase in both size and number, “ said Fraser.

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 issues and make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.

Victoria – The Forest Practices Board will investigate maintenance of forestry roads and bridges in the southwest part of the province this fall. Current forestry legislation requires government and forest companies that have road permits to maintain roads and bridges to ensure public safety and to protect the environment.

Three teams of investigators will look at forestry roads in the Squamish, Campbell River and South Island Forest Districts. The focus is on roads and bridges under road permit, road-use permit or cutting permit, where maintenance obligations exist.

Field work will be carried out in late October and a report will be prepared over the winter. Any party that may be adversely affected by the report will have a chance to respond before the report is finalized and published in spring 2010.

Roads and bridges are recognized as sources of erosion and sedimentation that may impact aquatic habitat, cause damage to licensed waterworks and remove valuable land from timber production. Additionally, they can require significant expense to maintain.

In recent years, concerns with road and bridge maintenance and safety have received attention and have been brought to the forefront through a number of projects by government agencies and associations, including WorksafeBC, the Auditor General and the BC Forest Safety Ombudsman, as well as the Forest Practices Board.

The investigation will examine road and bridge maintenance practices such as structural integrity, whether culverts are functional, whether fish passage is maintained, whether roads can be safely used by industrial users and whether systems are in place to track inspections and repairs. Road deactivation practices will also be examined, including establishment of barricades to prevent access to motorized vehicles, removal of bridges and culverts and signage to warn road users of deactivation.

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.

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VICTORIA – Planning and forestry activities on two woodlots in the Quesnel Forest District, in central British Columbia, met all legal requirements, according to an audit of their operations released today.

“Both woodlots have been in existence for over 10 years and are managed by individuals,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “We’re pleased to find that these two woodlot licensees have been demonstrating sound forest practices that comply with legislative requirements.”

The audits of woodlot licences W1412 and W1592 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 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.
• 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.

VICTORIA – Results of an audit focused on forestry practices in two community watersheds, one near Penticton and one near Kelowna, were released today by the Forest Practices Board.

Auditors examined harvesting, road construction and maintenance, silviculture, protection, and associated planning carried out by Weyerhaeuser in the Penticton Creek community watershed, and by Tolko Industries Ltd. and FortisBC in the Mission Creek community watershed. Fieldwork took place from July 7 to 11, 2008. All three companies complied with requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and related regulations.

“The FortisBC operation is unique in that it is the first time the board has looked at forestry activities involved in clearing a transmission line,” said board chair, Bruce Fraser. “These types of forest activities are authorized under the Forest Act, through a licence to cut. They do not require a forest stewardship plan, but they do have to meet the same practice requirements as a forest company would.”

The Penticton Creek community watershed, located above the city of Penticton on the east side of Okanagan Lake, is about 15,292 hectares. It supplies drinking water, which is treated, and agricultural water, which is diverted directly from the creek.

The Mission Creek watershed, also located on the east side of Okanagan Lake, is approximately 60,153 hectares in size and is the largest tributary watershed within the Okanagan basin, contributing approximately 40 per cent of the total water input into Okanagan Lake.

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.

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board’s 2008-09 annual report, detailing the board’s accomplishments and key findings during the past fiscal year, was released today.

The board carried out eight new audits; responded to over 50 inquiries, concerns and complaints from the public; and issued six special reports about issues in our forests that affect the whole province. Key topics were recreational impacts on ecosystems (Fraser Valley); protection of rare ecosystems (interior B.C.); and obstacles to fish passage (provincewide).

“Some of the more rewarding work done by the board in the past year has been resolving concerns at the community level,” said board chair, Bruce Fraser. “Public issues we have responded to over the past year include impacts to water supply and endangered plant and animal species, and questions about the Province’s response to the mountain pine beetle epidemic and salvaging of killed timber.”

“Our field-based audit program also saw us examining forest practices on 208 regular cutblocks and 423 salvage cutblocks, 194 kilometres of road construction, 728 kilometres of road maintenance, 28 bridges, regeneration on 853 cutblocks and fire protection activities at active sites.”

While the board’s primary role is to assess how well forest and range licensees, and government agencies, are complying with legislation, it also provides the public with objective information about the state of the Province’s forest and range practices, validates sound practices and recommends improvement based on direct field observation, consultation and research.

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.

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VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit three government ministries to assess whether they are appropriately enforcing forest practices legislation in the Columbia 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 October 5 to 9.

The areas being audited are located primarily in the Golden and Revelstoke areas, and include the Revelstoke Timber Supply Area (TSA), Golden TSA, Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 55, TFL 56 and the northwest portion of TFL 23.

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.

The board carries out periodic independent audits to see if government is appropriately enforcing provincial forest practices legislation.

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:

• 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.

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VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the District of Mission’s forest practices in Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 26 in the Chilliwack Forest District, from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.

The audit will examine planning, harvesting, roads, silviculture and fire protection activities for compliance with forest practices legislation.

Located in the northern part of Mission on both sides of the lower arm of Stave Lake, TFL 26 is approximately 10,000 hectares. It is one of only two B.C. tree farm licences held directly by a municipality, and is referred to locally as the Mission Municipal Forest.

When 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:

• 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.

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VICTORIA – Forestry auditors will be in the Headwaters Forest District from Aug. 24 to 28 to look at how well six forestry operators are protecting visual quality.

The audit area extends from Wells Gray Provincial Park east to the Columbia Mountains and includes the communities of Clearwater, Blue River and Vavenby. Scenic areas within the Yellowhead Highway corridor and near recreation sites, lakes and ski hills will be examined.

Under provincial forestry legislation, visual quality objectives may be established for areas with important scenic values. The audit area is notable for exceptional natural scenery, including mountainous terrain, lakes and rivers.

Auditors will look at whether logging operations meet legal objectives, and how effective they are at protecting visual quality.

The operators subject to the audit are BC Timber Sales’ Clearwater Field Office, Ainsworth Lumber Company Ltd, International Forest Products Ltd. Canadian Forest Products Ltd., the Wells Gray Community Forest and Gilbert Smith Forest Products Ltd.

The Headwaters Forest District was selected randomly for audit, and the theme of visual quality was chosen because of the important scenic values in the district. This is the second time the board has done an audit focused on visual quality impacts from forestry operations.

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:

• 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.

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VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit forest practices of the Coast Tsimshian Resources Limited Partnership in Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 1 in the Kalum Forest District, from August 17 to 21.

The audit will examine planning, harvesting, roads, silviculture and fire protection activities, carried out over the past two years, for compliance with forest practices legislation.

TFL 1 consists of four geographically separate blocks surrounding Terrace. North of Terrace, the licence extends into the Nass Valley, to the east it encompasses the Copper (Zymoetz) River Valley, and to the west it includes much of the area south of the Skeena River. The TFL was selected for audit randomly and was not chosen based on location or past performance.

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:

• 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; and
• Makes recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.

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