VICTORIA – A multi-value pilot audit by the Forest Practices Board found good performance by forest companies in the Kazchek operating area of the Fort St. James Forest District.

The audit focused mainly on the practices of Apollo Forest Products within the operating area. The board assessed the licensee on biodiversity, stream riparian management and soil conservation values and used a broad framework based on biodiversity indicators to assess Apollo’s environmental management system and stewardship practices.

“This licensee not only meets the requirements of provincial legislation, but has also obtained third-party certification,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “Legislated standards are only part of the overall framework for protecting forest values, and Apollo has taken significant additional measures to track performance and ensure accountability to the public.”

The pilot audit examined practices by Apollo and Brave Holdings Ltd between Sept. 1, 2004 and Sept. 24, 2006. The audit found full compliance by licensees with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act.

The multi-value audit is the latest in a series of board pilot audits that focus on the results for specific forest values, such as soils, streams, visual quality and biodiversity, which go beyond a strict focus on legislative compliance. Today’s board report is the first to review multiple values in a single audit.

“While the licensee has effective systems in place, the next step is to develop the framework needed to ensure monitoring of the status of key forest values,” said Fraser. “We encourage Apollo to work with other licensees in the area on a co-ordinated monitoring framework to track indicators such as wildlife reaction to harvesting approaches and effectiveness of tree retention, for example.”

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.

VICTORIA – Gaps in monitoring by the Ministry of Forests and Range (MOFR) put an East Kootenay fish stream at risk, the Forest Practices Board reported today.

Since the incident occurred, MOFR and BC Timber Sales (BCTS) have taken measures to reduce the risk of future occurrences of this nature.

The board’s special investigation focused on government management of roadwork by a timber sale licence holder (TSL) in the Lamb Creek area of the Rocky Mountain Forest District, southwest of Cranbrook. The TSL holder introduced substantial sediment into a fish-bearing stream while upgrading the Little Lamb Creek road and other roads near fish streams.

The MOFR district manager approved work on the Little Lamb Creek road in August 2004, subject to the TSL holder taking special measures to protect the creek. The board found MOFR compliance and enforcement staff did not do any monitoring to verify that those commitments were kept, despite the potential risk to fish habitat.  Internal confusion about the legal status of Little Lamb Creek road led to a breakdown in MOFR’s normal inspection planning procedures.

“High-risk road work near a fish stream would normally trigger recurring ministry inspections to check for non-compliance, but none of that work was done here,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “MOFR did investigate the TSL holder’s roadwork after notification by the board, but by that time the stream sedimentation had already occurred.”

The board first learned of this issue while auditing BCTS in the Rocky Mountain Forest District. BCTS issued the timber sale licence discussed in this report.  BCTS discovered the potential damage while preparing for the board audit and attempted to mitigate the damage, without immediately notifying MOFR enforcement staff of the serious problem with the road.

“While BCTS was acting in good faith in trying to minimize impacts to the stream, it made two errors in judgment,” said Fraser. “First, BCTS failed to notify MOFR compliance and enforcement staff immediately upon discovering the infraction. Secondly, by attempting to mitigate the damage without coordinating with the MOFR district office, BCTS compromised evidence and hindered the MOFR investigation of this non-compliance.”

In the three years since the incident occured, BCTS has formalized an internal protocol with MOFR compliance and enforcement staff to ensure information is shared promptly and promote clear understandings of the roles and responsibilities of the two branches. Also, BCTS has been approved for third-party certification, which should help improve future environmental management practices.

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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VICTORIA– Forest Practices Board auditors will audit British Columbia Timber Sales (BCTS) operations in the Kootenay Lake Timber Supply Area (TSA) for approximately one week starting June 25, 2007. BCTS is an independent organization, within the Ministry of Forests and Range, created to develop Crown timber for auction.

Auditors will examine operational planning; timber harvesting; construction, maintenance and deactivation of roads; silviculture; and fire protection activities carried out between June 1, 2006, and June 29, 2007, to assess compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.

The four-member team will examine BCTS operations located throughout the TSA, which extends predominantly north and south of Nelson.

The board conducts periodic independent audits to see if government and forest companies are complying with the province’s forest practices legislation. The board randomly carries out periodic independent audits to see if government and forest companies are complying with the province’s forest practices legislation. The audit area was chosen randomly, and not on the basis of location or level of performance.

Once the fieldwork is complete, the audit 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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VICTORIA– The Forest Practices Board will audit the harvest practices and associated planning of Western Forest Products on the Quatsino tree farm licence (TFL 6) on northern Vancouver Island.

This licensee was selected from those within the North Island – Central Coast Forest district because it is the most active. Selection was not influenced by level of performance or location.

TFL 6 covers nearly 200,000 hectares of land base. Its annual allowable cut is about 1.3 million cubic metres. Forestry is a main source of industry for the communities near and within the tree farm, including Port Hardy, Port McNeill and Port Alice.

The audit will examine areas harvested between June 1, 2005, and June 1, 2007. Particular attention will be given to assessing the integrity of reserves, which protect areas of social and ecological significance. Auditors will be on site the week of June 25.

The board carries out periodic independent audits to see if government and forest companies are complying with provincial forest practices legislature. Once the analysis is complete, an audit 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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VICTORIA – Poor communication among government agencies led to approval of logging plans that put mule deer winter habitat at risk, the Forest Practices Board reported today.

The board investigated a complaint by a group of property-owners at Anderson Lake, between Pemberton and Lillooet. The complainants were concerned that logging on Crown land south of McGillivray Creek would harm mule deer winter habitat.

The board found the responsible government agencies – the BC Timber Sales program, the ministries of Forests and Range and Environment – allowed higher levels of harvesting than scientific advice and planning guidelines recommended.

The advice and guidelines stated that harvesting should retain snow-intercepting Douglas-fir trees as they are a key element of mule deer winter habitat. The winter range at Anderson Lake already has fewer snow-intercepting trees than needed, and the board found the approved harvesting will make the existing deficit worse.

“While the cutblocks within the mule deer winter range have not been logged as yet, the board concluded the approved logging does not represent good stewardship of winter habitat for deer at McGillivray Creek,” said board chair Bruce Fraser.  “All of the guidebooks and planning directives clearly indicated that more protection of snow-intercepting trees is crucial to protect mule deer winter range in this area.”

The board found the licensee, N’Quatqua Logging Company Ltd., complied with provincial legislation and all parties acted in good faith with respect to deer habitat.  However, the agencies failed to provide current and usable maps to help the licensee plan its harvesting to protect deer habitat.  Further, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) provided ambiguous advice to the licensee on the impact of the proposed logging on mule deer winter range, despite requests for MOE to give an opinion as to whether the logging plans were acceptable or not.

“The Ministry of Environment has adopted a new business model where it does not provide detailed advice on specific logging plans,” said Fraser.  “Although the licensee and BCTS communicated with the Ministry of Environment, their combined efforts were ultimately ineffective at assuring that adequate habitat would be protected.

“The board hopes the parties involved will consider a voluntary agreement to protect the existing snow-intercepting trees, and consider ways to provide replacement timber for the licensee in a less sensitive area,” 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:

• 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.

They will examine each woodlot’s compliance with harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection activities and associated planning regulations during the period from Jan. 1, 2006 to the week of June 11, 2007.

The board conducts periodic independent audits to see if government and forest companies are complying with the Province’s forest practices legislation. This is the first board audit to focus solely on woodlots.

The five woodlots with the most harvest activity since January 2006 were selected from the 45 woodlots in the Arrow Boundary Forest District. The total volume harvested over the past 16 months for these five woodlots is approximately 30,000 cubic metres. They are all located in the southern portion of the Arrow Boundary Forest District.

Once the fieldwork is complete, the audit 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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VICTORIA – The provincial government is making good progress in addressing significant non-compliance by New Skeena Forest Products on Nisga’a lands, the Forest Practices Board reported today.

The board’s fifth audit of forest planning and practices on Nisga’a lands found that all licensees apart from New Skeena were compliant with Forest Practices Code and Nisga’a final agreement obligations.

In previous audit reports, the board had warned that government would need to take action to address outstanding treaty obligations, in the context of New Skeena’s continuing bankruptcy proceedings.  The current audit found significant non-compliance by New Skeena for silviculture, harvesting, road and bridge maintenance and road deactivation obligations.

“We had urged the Ministry of Forests and Range to develop an action plan to address New Skeena’s serious non-compliance, and we are pleased to report they have acted on our recommendations,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “The board congratulates the ministry for working co-operatively with the Nisga’a Lisims Government to make sure the remaining problems are identified and resolved in a timely manner.”

The audit examined the activities of five auditees: New Skeena Forest Products Inc., formerly known as Skeena Cellulose Inc.; Sim Gan Forest Corporation; West Fraser Mills Ltd.; BC Timber Sales, Skeena Business Area; and the Kalum Forest District Manager, for the period of July 9, 2004 to May 10, 2005.

This fifth compliance audit completes the board’s obligation under the final agreement to audit forest planning and practices, and government enforcement of forest practices legislation, on Nisga’a lands for the first five years of the agreement’s implementation.

“While our formal auditing role on Nisga’a lands is now complete, the board will review government’s performance in addressing the remaining New Skeena forestry obligations and we will report on this issue in 2008,” 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:

• 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.

VICTORIA– The Burns Lake community forest will be audited during the week of Oct. 15, the Forest Practices Board announced today.

The audit will look at timber harvesting, roads, silviculture, protection activities and planning in the community forest, which encompasses 120,000 hectares surrounding the Village of Burns Lake.  To the west and north, the community forest reaches Maxan Lake, and it extends as far south and east as Tchesinkut Lake.

Burns Lake received its 25-year community forest licence on Sept. 29, 2004, after successfully managing the community forest on a pilot basis for five years.  It was the first community in the province to receive a community forest licence, and it is the first community forest tenure to be audited by the board.

Over the past year, the Burns Lake community forest has yielded approximately 600,000 cubic metres of timber.

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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VICTORIA – Triumph Timber Ltd. received a clean audit for operations in the North Coast Forest District, the Forest Practices Board reported today.

The board audited Triumph’s activities near Prince Rupert, in seven separate areas between Chambers Creek and Princess Royal Island, and found the licensee was in compliance with legislative requirements for planning, harvesting, road management, silviculture and fire protection. The audit covered the period from Aug. 1, 2005 to Aug. 24, 2006.

“The board found full compliance by the licensee in this challenging terrain, with isolated operating areas accessible only by aircraft or boat,” said board chair Bruce Fraser.

“The licensee employed good environmental practices, such as using barges instead of dropping logs into the water from the helicopter. This reduces woody debris and minimizes the impact of logging on whales and other marine mammals.”

During the course of the audit, the board noted the licensee’s approach to applying ecosystem-based management (EBM) in the audit area. In February 2006, the provincial government established land-use zoning to guide final strategic land-use plans on the North and Central Coast, which apply to the area under audit. The zoning was based on the principles of EBM, an adaptive approach to forest management which maintains the key functions of ecosystems and species associated with them.

EBM involves retaining more standing trees than regular clear-cut harvesting. Concerns have been raised about the implications of higher-retention harvesting on future forest timber values. The board will examine these concerns in an upcoming special investigation report.

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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VICTORIA – Forest companies are making reasonable and appropriate amendments to their free-growing strategies, the Forest Practices Board reported today.

Following the logging of public land, forest companies are required to reforest sites with native tree species to establish a new crop of trees. The companies are then required to tend those trees for a number of years, to ensure they grow into a healthy new forest by a specified date. Once they reach this stage, called free-growing, the companies are relieved of their responsibility to look after the trees and they become the responsibility of the Crown.

Earlier board reports showed good performance by licensees in meeting free-growing standards, but also found a high number of amendments to free-growing plans.  The special investigation reviewed a sample of amendments in the Prince George, Quesnel and North Island Central Coast forest districts.

The board found that, excluding the 22 per cent of amendments where there was insufficient information to draw a conclusion, 94 per cent of the amendments surveyed were reasonable.  The amendments surveyed had little or no impact on timber values.

“Regenerating a complex forest ecosystem is not an exact science, and conditions are always changing on the ground,” said board chair Bruce Fraser.  “For example, amendments to account for new information on ecological suitability of species or varying site conditions represent sound stewardship of the forest resource.  The board is satisfied that the amendments are appropriate and will not be investigating this matter any further.”

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.