VICTORIA – In a special report released today, the Forest Practices Board reports that B.C. has between 400,000 and 500,000 km of resource roads – the distance from the earth to the moon – yet the provincial government’s management of these roads is not as effective or co-ordinated as it should be.
The report, entitled Access Management: Issues and Opportunities, found there is no process for industrial road users to co-ordinate road access, minimize environmental impacts and costs associated with road building, and reduce the number of roads built overall.
“We anticipate another 20,000 to 30,000 km of new road will be built each year for the next 10 years,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “This increase in the road network is driven by expanded oil and gas and mining activities, as well as salvage of trees killed by the mountain pine beetle.”
“The board understands that government is looking at consolidating resource road legislation. This is an opportunity to address key issues in our report, such as improving co-ordination in order to reduce the amount of new roads and their environmental impacts.” said Fraser. “We are recommending that the legislation be completed as soon as possible.”
Other issues raised in the report include:
The report also recommends that government develop a policy on public access restrictions on Crown land. The board requests that the provincial government respond to the recommendations by Dec. 31, 2006.
The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles under FRPA are:
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250-356-1586 or 1-800-994-5899
VICTORIA – The Ministry of Forests and Range is enforcing forest practices legislation appropriately in the Fort St. James Forest District, the Forest Practices Board reported today.
“The Ministry of Forests and Range is doing a good job at enforcement in this district, and the minor concerns identified in the audit have since been corrected,” said board chair Bruce Fraser.
The board’s enforcement audit reported on a new Environment Ministry stewardship model, which relies on the Ministry of Forests and Range to enforce environmental standards on Crown forest lands. The Ministry of Environment will focus on setting standards and policy for licensees to follow, and the Forests Ministry to monitor, as well as providing assistance in the field on request.
“The board believes the proposed stewardship model will require Forests Ministry staff to have the proper training and local knowledge to identify threats to environmental values, such as wildlife habitat and water quality, which are under the Ministry of Environment’s mandate,” said Fraser.
The audit covered enforcement activities in the district from Sept. 1, 2003, to Sept. 17, 2004. The board found a high level of compliance with forest practices legislation by the district and licensees, and cases of non-compliance were dealt with promptly and appropriately.
The Ministry of Environment distributed guidelines for protecting wildlife in the district, specifically winter range guidelines for mountain caribou and mule deer; standard operating procedures for beaver dam removal; and best management practices for interior grizzly bear and Arctic grayling, to licensees and Forests Ministry staff.
The audit found the Ministry of Forests and Range conducted 602 inspections during the audit period, and requested field support from the Ministry of Environment in eight cases. The Environment Ministry responded to only three of those eight requests, and conducted no other inspections or investigations in the district during the audit period.
”The board expects a higher level of follow-up by Environment Ministry staff on requests for field support from the Ministry of Forests and Range,” said Fraser. “Future board enforcement audits will track whether ministries are living up to their obligations under the new stewardship model.”
The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles under FRPA are:
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250-356-1586 or 1-800-994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will conduct a pilot audit examining effectiveness of forest practices at protecting water quality. The audit will examine two community watersheds in the Arrow Boundary Forest District.
Two principle objectives of this audit are to assess compliance with the water management requirements of forest practices legislation, and to assess the effectiveness of managing for drinking water where forest practices have occurred.
The audit will examine three companies’ forest practices in two watersheds, carried out from April 2003 to the present. These companies are:
The Atco and Kalesnikoff operations are located within the Norns Creek Community Watershed, which is made up of Ladybird, Matt and Norns Creeks. This watershed is located north of Castlegar, across the Columbia River, and is about 20,000 hectares in size. It serves the communities of Robson, Pass Creek, and nearby areas.
Springer Creek Forest Products’ operations are in the Springer Creek Community Watershed, immediately east of the village of Slocan. The watershed is about 5,000 hectares in size, and provides part of the village of Slocan’s water supply.
The Forest Practices Board carries out periodic independent audits to see if government and forest companies are complying with the Province’s forest practices legislation. The Arrow Boundary Forest District was selected randomly from districts that had recent harvesting activities in community watersheds, and not on the basis of location or level of performance.
The audit team is made up of two registered professional foresters, one chartered accountant, and two professional geoscientists, both of whom are water management experts. They will be in the area for one to two weeks, beginning Oct. 17, 2005. Once the fieldwork is done, 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 board is testing new audit procedures that examine effectiveness of forest practices as it adjusts to the new result-based Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA). Other pilot audits have addressed soils, riparian values, and visual quality.
The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with the FRPA and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles are:
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 356-1586 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest planning and practices of SWC Holdings Ltd., in the North Island-Central Coast Forest District.
The audit will examine SWC Holdings’ operations on forest licence A16848, located in Smith Inlet, approximately 70 km north of Port Hardy on the Central Coast.
The audit will examine forest practices carried out between Oct. 1, 2004, and Oct. 4, 2005, to assess compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA).
The Forest Practices Board carries out periodic independent audits to see if government and forest companies are complying with the Province’s forest practices legislation. SWC Holdings Ltd. was selected randomly, and not on the basis of location or level of performance.
The two-member audit team will be in the area for two days, during the first week of October 2005. Once the fieldwork is done, 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 an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles are:
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 356-1586 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will investigate the impact of large-scale salvage of mountain pine beetle-killed timber on reforestation objectives, biodiversity, watershed protection and accumulation of forest fuels over the coming months.
Fieldwork for the special investigation will begin this week, and the findings are expected to be released in early 2006.
“Just as the scope of the mountain pine beetle outbreak is unprecedented, so is the extent of salvage logging currently taking place in B.C.’s Central Interior,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “This investigation will allow us to look at the early impacts on key forest values, and, if warranted, recommend improvements to address concerns and identify immediate research needs.”
The project will focus on two landscape units in the Quesnel forest district. Most of the district is beetle-infested, so forestry operations are focused on salvage logging. If not well planned, large-scale salvage operations could cause significant negative effects on wildlife and watersheds, beyond the damage from the beetle outbreak itself.
“The beetle outbreak is so widespread that a considerable amount of beetle-killed timber will remain unlogged, despite the increase in the annual allowable cut in these regions,” said Fraser. “The investigation will examine prospects for regeneration and future biodiversity values in these infested but unlogged areas.”
The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles under FRPA are:
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250-356-1586 or 1-800-994-5899
VICTORIA – B.C.’s Forest Practices Board celebrated its first 10 years of existence with the release of its 2004/2005 annual report today. The board, B.C.’s independent forest watchdog, was established in 1995 to report to the public about compliance with the forestry laws.
"Now in its eleventh year of operation, the board is well into making the transition from assessing compliance with a prescriptive Forest Practices Code, to measuring the effectiveness of forest practices under the new Forest and Range Practices Act," said board chair Bruce Fraser.
The report reviews recent board work on a number of high-profile public issues, including integrating non-timber forest products into forest planning and practices in British Columbia; management of the mountain pine beetle epidemic; the need to protect threatened species such as the mountain caribou, marbled murrelets, and mountain goats; and the rehabilitation of damage from fighting forest fires.
“In 2004/2005, the board tested criteria and indicators to measure the effectiveness of forest practices at protecting key forest values, such as streams,” said Fraser. “These pilots will pave the way for future board work to assess the results of ecosystem-based management, and other emerging practices, as they are developed and integrated into forest stewardship plans.”
Some 2004/2005 report highlights:
In 2004/05, the board published 11 audit reports, nine complaint investigation reports, six special reports and three special investigation reports. The prevailing finding in board reports is a high level of compliance, by licensees and government, with forest legislation.
The board issued a special report on the conservation of the mountain caribou, which called for quick action from government to deal with the immediate threat to the vulnerable mountain caribou population. The provincial government created the Office for Species at Risk shortly after the report was released.
Five new board members were appointed in 2004: Geoffrey S. Battersby as vice-chair, Mark Haddock, Dr. Darcy Mitchell, Barbara Shirley, and Guenter Stahl. Continuing members were Dr. Bruce Fraser as Chair; and board members Fred Lowenberger and David Mannix.
The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog, established in 1995, that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles are:
This news release, the full report and more information about the board are available on the Forest Practices Board Web site at www.fpb.gov.bc.ca or by contacting:
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250-356-1586 or 1-800-994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will conduct its fifth and final annual audit of forest planning and practices, as well as its third and final audit of government enforcement of forestry legislation on Nisga’a lands, beginning Sept. 12, 2005.
The Nisga’a lands cover about 2,000 square kilometres in the Nass River Valley, about 90 kilometres north of Terrace.
The audits will examine compliance with forestry legislation and the Nisga’a Final Agreement, by licensees and the Ministry of Forests and Range, on Nisga’a lands. The Nisga’a Final Agreement requires the board to undertake a compliance audit of all existing forest licences, in each year of the five-year transition period (May 2000 to May 2005), as well as audits of government enforcement.
The compliance audit will assess operational planning; construction, maintenance and deactivation of roads; timber harvesting; silviculture; fire protection activities; and district manager obligations, for the period of July 10, 2004, to May 10, 2005. The purpose is to determine whether the following auditees complied with the legislation and with forestry-related Nisga’a Final Agreement requirements:
The enforcement audit will examine the appropriateness of enforcement of forestry legislation on Nisga’a Lands, for the period from July 19, 2003, to May 10, 2005, by:
The five-member audit team will be in the area for about five days beginning Sept. 12. Any party that may be adversely affected by the audit findings will be given 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 an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles are:
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 356-1586 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest planning and practices of C&C Wood Products Ltd., in the Quesnel Forest District.
The audit will examine C&C Wood Products’ operations on non-replaceable forest licence A55477, located within the Quesnel timber supply area. For this licence, C&C Wood Products operates predominantly in the Narcosli East and West supply blocks, which are located west of the Fraser River.
The audit will examine forest practices carried out between Sept. 1, 2004, and Sept. 23, 2005, to assess compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA).
The Forest Practices Board carries out periodic independent audits to see if government and forest companies are complying with the province’s forest practices legislation. C&C Wood Products Ltd. was selected randomly, and not on the basis of location or level of performance.
The four-member audit team will be in the area for four to six days, beginning Sept. 19, 2005. Once the fieldwork is done, 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 an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with FRPA and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles are:
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 356-1586 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – No further logging approvals should be awarded in the coastal Douglas fir ecosystem on Southeast Vancouver Island until site assessments for endangered plants are completed, the Forest Practices Board recommended today.
The recommendation is the result of a board investigation of a complaint by the Carmanah Forestry Society. The society complained about an April 2004 approval of a BC Timber Sales Program plan to log on southeast Vancouver Island. The society was concerned that logging would lead to the elimination of endangered plant communities.
The approved logging involved two different ecosystems: the coastal Western hemlock and the coastal Douglas fir. The latter was of most concern to the board. The provincial Conservation Data Centre has identified 20 red-listed (endangered or threatened) plant communities that are likely to occur in this ecosystem. The coastal Douglas fir ecosystem is very rare as a result of urban development and past logging.
“Very little coastal Douglas fir remains on Crown land, and this small land base has a strong potential for endangered plant occurrences,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “That’s why the board believes a comprehensive site assessment must be conducted before logging is approved in this area.
“For these reasons, the board found the district manager’s decision to approve logging in the coastal Douglas fir ecosystem, without such an assessment, was not reasonable.”
Although government has a number of options for protecting these red-listed plant communities, they are greatly restricted by current government policy. The majority of the coastal Douglas fir ecosystem in this area is located on private land, where government is not able to control logging practices in order to protect endangered species.
“The tools needed to protect endangered or threatened plant species on southeast Vancouver Island are either lacking or inadequate,”said Fraser. “The board found there is currently no effective mechanism in place to adequately conserve red-listed plant communities on Crown forest lands in this area.”
The board asks government to report progress on implementing the following recommendations by October 31, 2005:
Government agencies should require assessments to identify red-listed plant species, before any further logging is approved in the coastal Douglas fir zone on southeast Vancouver Island.
The Minister of Environment should promptly designate the appropriate red-listed plant communities in the coastal Douglas fir zone as species-at-risk, and establish wildlife habitat areas to conserve them.
The South Coast Inter-Agency Management Committee should assess whether old-growth management areas will be adequate for long-term conservation of red-listed plant communities.
The board reaffirms an Inter-Agency Management Committee’s recommendation that government review, and consider increasing, the one per cent timber supply cap for creating new wildlife habitat areas in the South Island Forest District.
The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles under FRPA are:
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250-356-1586 or 1-800-994-5899
Audit Gives Good Marks for Streamside Forest Practices
VICTORIA – A Kootenay forestry operator has received good marks for protecting streams from the effects of logging, the Forest Practices Board reported today.
The pilot effectiveness audit of Wynndel Box and Lumber Company Ltd. examined operational planning, timber harvesting and road crossings above streams from Jan. 1, 2000, to Sept. 30, 2004. In addition to evaluating compliance with forest practices legislation, the pilot audit used a checklist of 14 questions to determine whether logging practices are impacting the proper functioning of streams.
“The board found that Wynndel’s forestry practices were in full compliance with the legislated requirements for all streamside activities,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “Furthermore, the harvesting practices audited generally did not disturb the proper functioning of nearby streams and minimized sediment deposits in streams resulting from the road crossings.”
The audit examined the impact of forest practices on individual stream features such as free movement of fish, and streamside vegetation, as well as the level of sediment introduced into streams at road crossings. The audit looked at individual stream sections; it did not examine the cumulative impact of Wynndel’s forest practices on streams at the landscape level.
“The audit evaluated the impact of forest practices on streams on a site-by-site basis, but this was not sufficient for the board to draw conclusions on the overall effect of forest practices on streams in the audit area,” said Fraser. “We received valuable feedback from Wynndel staff, which will help the board refine its approach for future effectiveness audits.”
The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles under FRPA are:
Auditing forest practices of government and licence holders on public lands.
Auditing government enforcement of FRPA.
Investigating public complaints.
Undertaking special investigations of forestry issues.
Participating in administrative appeals.
Providing reports on board activities, findings and recommendations.
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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250-356-1586 or 1-800-994-5899
