As part of its 2019 compliance audit program, the Board selected Community Forest Agreement K4F in the 100 Mile House Natural Resource District as a location for a full scope compliance audit. Clinton & District Community Forest of BC Limited holds the licence.
The activities audited are located in the area surrounding Clinton. The community forest falls within the area covered by the Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan and must meet government objectives for OGMAs, scenic areas, wildlife tree retention, critical fish habitat, lakes management, grasslands, trails and high value wetlands for moose. All activities complied with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
As part of its 2019 compliance audit program, the Board selected Community Forest Agreement K2W in the 100 Mile House Natural Resource District as a location for a full scope compliance audit. 100 Mile Development Corporation holds the licence.
The activities audited are located to the east of 100 Mile House in the area surrounding Horse Lake, where the terrain is gentle to rolling and includes a number of small lakes. All activities complied with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
In August 2016, the Board received a complaint asserting that a timber sale licence holder (TSL holder) under the BC Timber Sales program had removed portions of a fence on the complainant’s range agreement area, within the 100 Mile House Natural Resource District, to accommodate road access for timber harvesting. The complainant alleged that the actions of the TSL holder put their livestock at risk and that the TSL holder did not obtain the required authorizations from the district manager to remove portions of the fence.
In December 2016, the district manager issued a policy on implementation of section 51 of the Forest and Range Practices Act. The complainant is satisfied with the new district policy on range developments and with BC Timber Sales’ commitment to ensure the fence repairs meet ministry standards.
In October 2016 the Forest Practices Board audited non-replaceable forest licences (NRFL) A81942 and A84952, held by Norbord Inc. in the 100 Mile House Natural Resource District. The 100 Mile House Natural Resource District is located in south-central BC and includes the communities of 100 Mile House and Clinton.
Norbord’s operational planning, timber harvesting, road construction and maintenance, silviculture, and fire protection activities complied in all significant respects with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and related regulations. The audit noted an area for improvement with Norbord’s fire hazard assessment procedures.
A rancher in the south Cariboo was concerned that West Fraser Mills Ltd. did not mitigate impacts to a natural range barrier when it harvested mountain pine beetle-killed stands on the ranchers’ Crown range tenure.
The Forest and Range Practices Act requires forest licensees to propose and carry-out measures to mitigate loss or impacts to natural range barriers on Crown range tenures. In this case, substantial harvesting occurred across the tenure by multiple licensees. Impacts to some range barriers were mitigated but the parties disagreed on whether one natural range barrier had been impacted by harvesting.
The investigation examined whether West Fraser complied with the measures in its forest stewardship plan and whether any licensees or government considered the cumulative effect of salvage harvesting of mountain pine beetle-killed stands by multiple licensees on natural range barriers across this range tenure.
