The Board makes all its reports and recommendations public, including to the media, which has been an effective method to persuade the forest industry and government to act in response.

No – the Board cannot stop work or require remediation. But the Board’s experience has been that industry is quick to embrace changes and improve practices when recommended by the Board. Government also responds to our recommendations and has made improvements as a result of Board work.

No – the Board reports to government and to the public on the state of forest practices, but it is an independent agency and does not take direction from the Ministry of Forests or any other government ministry.

If the Board is not satisfied with the response to its recommendations, it can raise the matter with the Minister of Forests, or further, make a report to Cabinet. The Board can also require the ministry or licensee to explain why recommendations are not being followed.

To contact the Board:

• Greater Victoria:  (250) 213-4700
• Toll Free (BC only):  1-800-994-5899
• Email:  FPBoard@bcfpb.ca

The Board is made up of six people—a full-time Chair and five part-time members. Board members are appointed by Cabinet, based on their background and experience in forestry related areas. In addition, the Board has 17 full-time staff members, representing a range of professional backgrounds in forestry, biology, law, and geoscience. The Board is not a stakeholder board—it does not represent sectors.

Our work usually finds that forest and range operators are meeting the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act, although there are still some areas where improvements are needed. We have also found gaps in the legal requirements themselves, and have recommended government make changes to better ensure sound forest practices that address all forest values. The most common areas where we find non-compliance are conducting and documenting fire hazard assessments following logging, and reporting and tracking activities in government’s databases. One of the biggest gaps in the legislation that we have seen is requirements to preventing sediment from entering watercourses and impacting drinking water and fish habitat. We also recognize that climate change is affecting the land in significant ways and is creating new challenges, particularly for water and wildfire management. Government’s recent amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act may address some of the issues the Board has identified and we will continue to monitor and recommend further improvements to the legal requirements and to forest and range practices in the future.

The Forest Practices Board does not have jurisdiction on private land, except for some woodlots and tree farm licences. We recommend that you contact the Managed Forest Council, they may be able to help if the land is owned by one of their members. If logging is within city or Regional District boundaries then you could contact local government. Otherwise, you may consider writing to your MLA.

The Ministry of Forests has authority under the Wildfire Act to restrict areas and activities based on wildfire risks. The Wildfire Regulation restricts the timing of industrial activity based on the fire danger rating, specific to local weather stations in British Columbia. The restrictions are described in Schedule 3 of the Wildfire Regulation.

For more information please contact your local fire centre:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/contact-channels

Information is available at: http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca

For campsites and other outdoor recreation information you can visit:

BC Parks: https://camping.bcparks.ca/
Parks Canada: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/voyage-travel/reserve

Information is available on the BC Wildfire Service’s website: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/employment-and-contracts

You can report it to the nearest natural resource district office: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/managing-our-forest-resources/ministry-of-forests-lands-and-natural-resource-operations-region-district-contacts

Firewood and Christmas tree permits have mixed availability based on region. Free-use permits can be downloaded from the Ministry of Forests website.

Firewood: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/natural-resource-use/natural-resource-permits/firewood-permits
Christmas trees: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/natural-resource-use/natural-resource-permits/christmas-tree-permits

 And how do I know they have permits to cut down the trees?

This information can be obtained through the nearest forest district office:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/managing-our-forest-resources/ministry-of-forests-lands-and-natural-resource-operations-region-district-contacts