VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will examine forest planning and practices on five woodlots in the Peace Resource District, starting Sept. 17, 2018.
Auditors will examine whether harvesting, roads, bridges, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning carried out between Sept. 1, 2016, and Sept. 21, 2018, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
The Peace district was randomly selected for audit. The board then selected woodlots as the focus of the audit. The woodlots are located within an hour to two-hour drive from Fort St. John, in an area also known for oil and gas development and ranching. Of the five woodlots, two were affected by wildfires in 2016.
Once the audit work is complete, 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 land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.
Contact:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit planning and practices on five range tenures for grazing cattle in the Rocky Mountain Resource District during the week of Sept. 17, 2018.
Auditors will examine range activities for compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act. The grazing areas that will be audited vary in size from 524 to 29,287 hectares and are located throughout the district, from Golden to Elkford.
Once the audit work is complete, 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 land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.
Contact:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
MACKENZIE – The Forest Practices Board will be examining the activities of the McLeod Lake Mackenzie Community Forest Limited Partnership (the partnership), located in the Mackenzie Natural Resource District, starting Sept. 10, 2018.
The auditors will examine whether all operational planning, harvesting, roads and bridges, silviculture, and wildfire protection and associated planning carried out between Sept. 1, 2016, to Sept. 14, 2018, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
The District of Mackenzie and the McLeod Lake Indian Band jointly operates the partnership. Under Community Forest Agreement K2M, the partnership is granted the right to harvest up to 30,000 cubic metres of timber per year on 24,664 hectares of public forestlands in the Mackenzie timber supply area. The community forest has five separate parts. The largest is 8,296 hectares and located north of McLeod Lake, with the remaining parts located near the community of Mackenzie.
Once the audit work is complete, 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 then will 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 land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.
Contact:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will examine the activities of Skeena Sawmills Ltd. On tree farm licence 41 and forest licences A16882 and A16885 in the Coast Mountains Natural Resource District during the week of Aug. 13, 2018.
Auditors will examine whether harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning, carried out between Aug. 1, 2016, and Aug. 17, 2018, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
Operations on tree farm licence 41 and forest licence A16885 are located near Kitimat, and operations on forest licence A16882 are located south of Meziadin Lake. The total annual allowable cut for the licences is 316,000 cubic metres. During the two-year audit period, Skeena Sawmills Ltd. harvested about 414,000 cubic metres.
Once the audit work is complete, 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 then will 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 land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.
Contact:
Kairry Nguyen
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4707 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – An audit of forestry activities on seven woodlots, in the Nadina Natural Resource District, has found all seven had some type of non-compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act and/or the Wildfire Act, according to the audit reports.
“The auditors found that woodlot licensees did not meet obligations related to reforesting previously logged sites on three woodlots, and did not meet requirements for reporting their activities to government on four woodlots,” said Bruce Larson, vice-chair, Forest Practices Board.
On three woodlots, the licensees did not meet requirements for preparing fire-hazard assessments, although they did abate fire hazards by piling and burning logging debris. One woodlot licensee neither assessed nor abated fire hazards, and failed to meet the requirements of the Wildfire Act.
“Assessing fire hazard is a legal requirement, and must be completed at required intervals after harvest has started,” said Larson. “Any identified hazards must be abated to reduce the risks of a forest fire starting or spreading.”
The audit found that all of the woodlot licensees met requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act for operational planning and timber harvesting, as well as road and bridge construction and maintenance. All activities carried out between October 2015 and October 2017 were examined.
The board audited a total of 11 woodlots in the district. Reports on the results for the other four woodlots can be found on the board’s website.
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.
Contact:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will examine the activities of Western Forest Products Inc. on tree farm licence 39, in the Campbell River Natural Resource District, during the week of July 23, 2018.
Auditors will examine whether harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning, carried out between July 1, 2017, and July 27, 2018, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
Tree farm licence 39 is made up of four geographical areas called blocks. This audit will examine activities in blocks 2 and 5. Block 2 is located northwest of Campbell River, near the community of Sayward, and Block 5 is located about 65 kilometres north of Campbell River, on the mainland coast.
In the past year, Western Forest Products Inc. has harvested approximately one million cubic metres of timber from Block 2. While there has been no recent harvesting in Block 5, auditors will examine roads and silviculture.
Once the audit work is complete, 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 then will 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 land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.
Contact:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA - The Forest Practices Board has released its 2017-18 annual report, which summarizes the board's work over the past fiscal year and highlights its current projects.
During the year, the board published 18 reports: eight complaint investigations, six audits, two special reports and one special investigation. Part of the board's role is to receive concerns from the public about matters pertaining to the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. This year, the board received 83 concerns, eight of which are now complaints under investigation.
A variety of topics were reported on this year, including the management of at-risk plant communities, grizzly bear habitat, and biodiversity at the landscape level. Other examples include potential impacts from forestry on water quality and supply, road construction on steep slopes and the efficacy of government initiatives.
The annual report also highlights responses from both government and industry to recommendations made by the board in reports published in the past couple of years.
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.
Find the 2017/18 Annual Report, along with past reports here: https://www.bcfpb.ca/reports-publications/annual-reports/
Contact:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will examine the activities of A&A Trading Ltd. (A&A) and Terminal Forest Products Ltd. (Terminal) on forest licence A19229, in the Sunshine Coast Natural Resource District, during the week of July 9, 2018.
Auditors will examine whether harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning, carried out by A&A and Terminal between July 1, 2016, and July 13, 2018, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
The audit area is located near Sechelt and Powell River, in the Sunshine Coast Timber Supply Area (TSA). Forest licence A19229 has an allowable annual cut of 125,966 cubic metres per year, and is located on rugged and remote terrain, accessible only by helicopter and boat. The TSA is home to several species at risk, including the marbled murrelet and the northern goshawk.
Once the audit work is complete, 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 then will 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 land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.
Contact:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA - Kevin Kriese has been appointed chair of the Forest Practices Board.
His three-year appointment is effective Aug. 7, 2018.
"The board serves a critical role in overseeing forest and range practices in British Columbia," said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. "Kevin's experience will be a significant asset, as he brings his extensive contacts and relationships with industry, northern communities and First Nations with him."
Kriese is coming to the board from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, where he was assistant deputy minister for the North area.
Kriese has degrees in natural resource management and forestry. He briefly worked for the forest industry and as a consultant, but the majority of his career has been with the provincial government. He has a long history of working on resource management issues in the North with the Integrated Land Management Bureau and the ministries of sustainable resource management and forests. Kriese lives in Smithers, where he is an active member of the Bulkley Valley Cross-Country Ski Club.
The other members of the board are vice-chair Bruce Larson of Vancouver, Ken Higginbotham of Surrey, Marlene Machmer of Nelson, Tara Marsden of New Hazelton, Rick Monchak of Campbell River and Norma Wilson of Langley. Created in 1995, the Forest Practices Board is an independent, arms-length agency that reports to the public about compliance with forest and range practices legislation.
Contact:
Media Relations
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operation and Rural Development
250 356-7506
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will examine forest licence A89984, held by Adams Lake, in the Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District, during the week of June 25, 2018.
Auditors will examine whether harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning, carried out between June 1, 2016, and June 29, 2018, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
The area of the audit is located on the north side of Adams Lake near Agate Bay, approximately 60 kilometres northeast of Kamloops.
Once the audit work is complete, 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 then will 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 land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.
Contact:
Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
