Audit of Timber Harvesting and Road Construction, Maintenance and Deactivation: West Fraser Mills Ltd. – FL A16827
This is the Board’s report on a compliance audit of Forest Licence A16827, held by West Fraser Mills Ltd. (West Fraser). Operations on Forest Licence A16827 are carried out by both Houston Forest Products Company and West Fraser Mills Ltd. The operating area for this licence is located in the Morice Forest District, primarily north and south of the town of Houston.
Managing Recreation Conflicts in a Forest Development Plan
On August 13, 1998, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint from a mountaineering school operator in the Bulkley/Cassiar Forest District. The complainant was concerned about impacts of proposed forest practices on his business and on an historic trail. The complainant asserted that Pacific Inland Resources (the licensee) failed to recognize and plan for recreation under the 1998-2003 Forest Development Plan for Forest Licences A16830, A46054, A57077 and Timber Sale Licence A16858.
The complaint had two parts. The first part asserts that the licensee did not locate the Moricetown-Cronin trail correctly on forest development plan maps and that proposed cutblocks were too close to, or on, the trail. The parties to the complaint met several times and resolved this issue. The Board encourages settlement of complaints at the local level and is pleased that the parties resolved this part of the complaint.
The rest of this report concerns the second part of the complaint, involving the same forest development plan, but in a different area. The licensee proposed roads and cutblocks in the upper Blunt Creek area that would allow snowmobile access to the alpine.
Managing Recreation Conflicts in a Forest Development Plan
Audit of Timber Harvesting and Road Activities: FL A16828 – Northwood Pulp and Timber Ltd.
This is a report on a compliance audit of Forest Licence A16828 held by Northwood Pulp and Timber Ltd., Houston Division. The audit examined Northwood’s timber harvesting and road practices, and the related operational plans for the period July 1, 1996, to July 1, 1997, to assess compliance with the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and related regulations (the Code).
Northwood Pulp and Timber Ltd. – FL A16828
Logging and Management of Cultural Heritage Values Near Babine Lake North of Burns Lake, BC in the Lakes Forest District
On June 11, 1999, the Board received a complaint from a member of a family that operates a registered trapline near Babine Lake. Babine Lake is about 60 kilometres north of Burns Lake, in the Lakes Forest District.
The complainant asserted that forest practices damaged fish habitat, culturally modified trees, trails, cultural heritage values and traplines near Babine Lake. The complainant also stated that a barge operated by Babine Forest Products (the licensee) routinely spills oil and gas into Babine Lake.
The complaint issues were very broad, so the complaint analyst met with the complainant early in the investigation to define specific issues.
Logging and Management of Cultural Heritage Values Near Babine Lake North of Burns Lake, BC in the Lakes Forest District
Road Slump Near Fiddler Creek, Northeast of Terrace, BC
Road Slump Near Fiddler Creek, Northeast of Terrace, BC in the Terrace Forest District
The Board received a complaint in September 1996 about a slump of a newly constructed road cutslope into a small, unnamed stream (referred to in this report as “No-Name Creek”) approximately 45 kilometres northeast of Terrace, BC in the Fiddler Creek area. The complaint asserted that a licensee’s road construction activities caused the slump and contravened the Code and that the Ministry of Forests had not enforced the Code appropriately.