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.
