Victoria - Government approval of logging in a contentious area of the Queen Charlotte Islands has been set aside, as a result of an appeal brought by the Forest Practices Board.

"This decision demonstrates that the public can hold government decision-makers accountable under the Code. The Review Panel emphasizes the importance of public participation—as well as the importance of having a public watchdog agency to oversee government Code decisions," said John Cuthbert, Vice-Chair of the Board.

The Board had appealed the government's approval of two cutblocks in the Government Creek area. The Government Creek watershed is a largely unlogged area with significant values of interest to conservationists, the Haida First Nation, the licensee and the community itself. The area has been contentious for some years, and a stakeholder negotiation process had been initiated to determine its future.

"By setting aside the approval of these cutblocks, the Review Panel has set an important precedent for the way that government deals with forest development plans," continued Cuthbert. "In addition, the decision makes some very important statements about the importance of the public consultation process for such plans."

The problem in this case was that the proposed plan that went out for public consultation described the two cutblocks as being "deferred" from logging. In spite of this, last October when the local Ministry of Forests' district manager approved the plan, she failed to "defer" harvest for the cutblocks, but instead gave them final plan approval.

When the Board was approached by the Gowgaia Institute (a local conservation group), the Board considered the issue and launched an appeal to the Review Panel that issued today's decision. The Board was concerned that the plan approval seemed to contradict the document that had gone out to the public.

The Review Panel has now ruled that the plan submitted to government and the public showed that the cutblocks would be "deferred"—and that they should not have been approved for harvest.

The Panel went on to rule that the cutblocks must retain a "deferred status" until there is a public review process—a process "with the intentions for those areas clearly spelled out and made known to the public."

The Review Panel stated, "The public consultation process is a fundamental principle that underlies the Forest Practices Code." They also emphasized, "The general public has the right to accurate, clear, and unambiguous information in proposed plans."

Created in 1995, the Board is BC's independent watchdog for sound forest practices. The Board provides British Columbians with objective and independent assessments of the state of forest planning and practices in the province, compliance with the Code, and the achievement of its intent. The Board's main roles are: auditing forest practices, undertaking investigations in response to public complaints, undertaking special investigations of any Code related forestry issues, participating in administrative reviews and appeals and providing reports on Board activities, findings and recommendations.

Victoria - Doman-Western Lumber's operations on the west side of Vancouver Island are complying with the Forest Practices Code, according to a Forest Practices Board audit released today. The Board’s audit examined Doman's Tree Farm Licence 19 which is located near Gold River, Tahsis and Zeballos.

"Doman-Western complied with the Code in all significant respects. In many instances, the company's practices next to non-fish bearing streams met or exceeded the practices recommended in the Code and its guidebooks. These practices included the retention of trees and other vegetation, which help protect stream ecosystems and the diversity of wildlife habitat and vegetation. The Board notes the high degree of compliance and commends Doman-Western’s practices in areas next to streams," said Board Chair, Keith Moore.

The Doman-Western audit is the fifth to receive a clean opinion on timber harvesting and road activities since the Board began auditing in 1996. Sixteen audits have been completed to date. A clean opinion indicates that all of the timber harvesting, and road construction, maintenance and deactivation activities examined during the audit complied with the Code in all significant respects. "These results support the Board’s observation that compliance with the Code is generally high and has improved each year since it came into effect," said Moore. "However, we are still seeing significant non-compliance in some of our other audits."

This audit examined timber harvesting, construction, maintenance and deactivation of roads, and the associated planning carried out between August 1997 and August 1998. TFL 19 is managed by three divisons within Doman-Western's Nootka Region: the Gold River, Nootka Contract and Zeballos forest operations. The TFL was selected for audit randomly, not on the basis of location or level of performance.

Created in 1995, the Board is BC’s independent watchdog for sound forest practices. The Board provides British Columbians with objective and independent assessments of the state of forest planning and practices in the province, compliance with the Code, and the achievement of its intent. The Board’s main roles are: auditing forest practices, undertaking investigations in response to public complaints, undertaking special investigations of any Code related forestry issues, participating in administrative reviews and appeals and providing reports on Board activities, findings and recommendations.

VICTORIA - The Ministry of Forests' Small Business Forest Enterprise Program (SBFEP) in the South Island Forest District complied with the Code in some areas, but showed poor performance in others, according to a Forest Practices Board audit released today.

The audit examined the full range of forest planning and practices for compliance with the Code. "Operational planning, silviculture and fire protection practices complied with the Code in all significant respects," said Board Chair, Keith Moore. "However, significant non-compliance was identified in some timber harvesting and road construction practices."

The non-compliance involved unauthorized timber harvesting and poor marking of cutblock boundaries. The audit also found reserves along streams that were narrower than the Code requires, and loss of wildlife habitat due to instances of harvesting in riparian management areas. In one instance, one end of a bridge was placed 15 metres from where it was planned, resulting in more material than necessary being exposed and an increased risk of sediment entering a fish stream.

The audit was unable to conclude whether road maintenance and deactivation practices complied with the Code because the South Island Forest District could not identify all roads that are the responsibility of the SBFEP to maintain and deactivate. "The lack of accurate records for the SBFEP roads makes it impossible for the district to know where to maintain and deactivate roads, and therefore to meet its Code obligations," said Moore.

Some of the roads that were identified and examined in the audit were not adequately maintained or deactivated. Roads were not inspected on a timely basis and sediment has entered fish streams as a result of erosion. Other problems identified include plugged culverts, missing and ineffective cross ditches to direct water away from the roads, and cracks in the road surface which indicate a risk of future landslides. The district has advised the Board that it is striving to improve its records and its procedures for inspection and scheduling of road repairs.

The Board has made a number of recommendations to the district to improve its procedures and ensure that operations under the SBFEP comply with the Code in the future.

The audit examined all operational planning, timber harvesting, silviculture and fire protection practices, and construction, maintenance and deactivation of roads carried out under the SBFEP between May 1996 and June 1997.

Created in 1995, the Board is BC’s independent watchdog for sound forest practices. The Board reports to the public and government about compliance with the Forest Practices Code and the achievement of its intent. The Board’s main roles are: auditing forest practices, undertaking investigations in response to public complaints, undertaking special investigations of any Code related forestry issues, participating in administrative reviews and appeals and providing reports on Board activities, findings and recommendations.

Victoria - Tolko Industries’ Questwood Division and Riverside Forest Product’s Armstrong Division are complying with the Forest Practices Code, according to two Forest Practices Board audits released today. The audits were both "clean", meaning no significant non-compliance was found.

Last month, the Board released audits of an Interfor operation on the coast and a Slocan Forest Products Ltd., operation in the Kootenays, which were the first clean audits the Board has seen.

"The fact that we have had four clean audits so far in 1998 supports the Board’s observations that compliance with the Code has improved each year since it came into effect," said Board Chair, Keith Moore. "Not all the 1998 audits are likely to be clean, but the clean ones can be completed quickly because there are few issues for the auditor and the Board to deal with."

Both audits examined timber harvesting, construction, maintenance and deactivation of roads, and the associated planning, carried out between summer 1997 and summer 1998. Tolko's forest licence is located west of Quesnel and Riverside's forest licence is near Armstrong.

The licences were selected for audit randomly, not on the basis of location or level of performance. The Board has undertaken nine compliance audits in 1998.

Created in 1995, the Board is BC’s independent watchdog for sound forest practices. The Board reports to the public and government about compliance with the Forest Practices Code and the achievement of its intent. The Board’s main roles are: auditing forest practices, undertaking investigations in response to public complaints, undertaking special investigations of any Code related forestry issues, participating in administrative reviews and appeals and providing reports on Board activities, findings and recommendations.

VICTORIA - Plateau Forest Products’ operations in the Vanderhoof area are generally complying with the Forest Practices Code, according to a Forest Practices Board audit released today.

"Plateau’s forest practices complied with the Code in all significant respects, with the exception of a number of small streams that were incorrectly classified," said Board Chair, Keith Moore. "Correct classification is important because it determines the width of required riparian management areas and the practices that may occur there."

"The Board has also seen problems with classification of small streams in other parts of the province, most notably on the coast" said Moore. "Plateau has advised us that it has taken steps to improve its stream classification practices since the audit".

The audit examined timber harvesting, construction, maintenance and deactivation of roads, and the associated planning, carried out between August 1996 and August 1997 on Plateau’s Forest Licence A18157. The licence was selected for audit randomly, not on the basis of location or level of performance.

Plateau Forest Products is a division of the Slocan Group of Companies. Plateau’s operating areas are located southwest of Vanderhoof between the Blackwater and Nechako Rivers. A small operating area is also located near Takla Lake, northwest of Fort St. James.

The audit was one of nine in the Board’s 1997 audit program. Another nine audits were done in 1998.

This is the Board’s third audit of a Slocan operation, one of the largest companies in the province. In August 1998, the Board reported the results of an audit of Slocan’s Radium Division, near Invermere. That audit found operations generally complied with the Code, except for several instances where excess rock was placed on a steep slope below a road during construction (referred to as "sidecasting"). Last month, Slocan’s operation in the Slocan Valley received one of the first clean audits of timber harvesting and road practices. The Board found that forest practices in that licence area complied with Code requirements in all significant respects.

Created in 1995, the Board is BC’s independent watchdog for sound forest practices. The Board reports to the public and government about compliance with the Forest Practices Code and the achievement of its intent. The Board’s main roles are: auditing forest practices, undertaking investigations in response to public complaints, undertaking special investigations of any Code related forestry issues, participating in administrative reviews and appeals and providing reports on Board activities, findings and recommendations.

VICTORIA - Prettys' Timber's operations in the Chilliwack Forest District complied with most requirements of the Forest Practices Code, according to a report released by the Forest Practices Board today. The exceptions are some forest practices near streams and practices to manage risks from timber blow down.

"Prettys' timber harvesting operations generally complied with the Code," said Board Chair, Keith Moore. "The company's road construction and deactivation practices took place in steep terrain and were well implemented with a high level of compliance."

In a number of instances, Prettys' did not comply with Code requirements to identify and classify streams, and to leave the required trees and vegetation along some streams. The audit also found that the company did not always plan harvesting to avoid blow down of trees left in reserves or along the edge of cutblocks.

Prettys' has advised the Board that it has already taken some steps to address the problems identified by the audit. The Board has recommended Prettys' continue its improvements to operating procedures to ensure compliance with the Code in the future.

"Although the Board has seen significant improvements to protection of riparian areas since the Code was created, we have also identified similar problems associated with stream misclassification in other areas of the province, notably on the coast," said Moore. Misclassification of streams can result in inadequate protection of riparian areas. Recommendations for improvements to stream classification were made to government and industry in the Board's report on forest practices near coastal streams, released in June of this year.

The audit also identified two other issues that Prettys' Timber is not responsible for under the Code: 1) deteriorating old roads in the operating area; and 2) inadequate maintenance of forest service roads. The old roads problem was also identified during an audit of Cattermole Timber, which is also located in the Chilliwack Forest District. That audit was released in January 1998.

The old roads are beginning to cause significant harm to the environment as a result of erosion and sediment being deposited into fish streams. Prettys' is not responsible for the roads under the Code because it has not used them since the Code came into effect.

The Board advised the Chilliwack Forest District of the situation when the audit work was conducted. The district advised the Board that it agrees there are problems on these roads, but it does not have sufficient funding to address all the roads that are a problem in the district in the near future. There are a number of other roads that have been given higher priority for rehabilitation with the limited funds the district has available.

The Board feels these old roads are a significant problem in this area and will be advising the ministers of the significance of this problem.

The second issue involves inadequate maintenance of forest service roads that resulted in erosion and sedimentation of streams. This occurred because permits for the roads did not clearly state the maintenance responsibilities of government and Prettys' Timber. Since the audit, the permits have been corrected to clearly define inspection and maintenance responsibilities. The Chilliwack Forest District is also considering measures to address the sedimentation and erosion problems identified.

The audit examined timber harvesting and construction, maintenance and deactivation of roads carried out between August 1996 and September 1997.

Created in 1995, the Board is BC’s independent watchdog for sound forest practices. The Board reports to the public and government about compliance with the Forest Practices Code and the achievement of its intent. The Board’s main roles are: auditing forest practices, undertaking investigations in response to public complaints, undertaking special investigations of any Code related forestry issues, participating in administrative reviews and appeals and providing reports on Board activities, findings and recommendations.