The Fraser Headwaters Alliance (the complainant) complained to the Forest Practices Board about a plan to harvest trees to reduce the threat of mountain pine beetle in the Horsey Creek to Small River area of the Rocky Mountain Trench, about 50 kilometers southeast of McBride.
Balancing Community Needs and Pine Beetle Logging in the Robson Valley
Closing Letter – Bonaparte Lake
CLOSING LETTER: Bonaparte Lake
The complaint is about forest development near the south end of Bonaparte Lake, 65 kilometres northwest of Kamloops. An individual complained to the Board that logging and road building is contaminating drinking water, harming fish habitat and reducing water availability during drought periods. The complainant is also concerned that logging is harming biodiversity and damaging moose habitat.
The complaint issues are broad and potentially involve two forest districts and four forest companies. The Board therefore focused the investigation on what the complainant said was the most important issue – the management of water resources at the southwest end of Bonaparte Lake.
Effects of Cattle Grazing near Streams, Lakes and Wetlands: A results-based assessment of range practices under the Forest Practices Code in maintaining riparian values
Effects of Cattle Grazing near Streams, Lakes and Wetlands: A results-based assessment of range practices under the Forest Practices Code in maintaining riparian values
The Forest Practices Board has completed an assessment of the health of riparian areas subject to cattle grazing on Crown land across four forest districts in the southern half of British Columbia. Ten indicators of riparian health, or proper functioning condition, were measured at 391 sites in Cranbrook, Kamloops, Horsefly and Penticton districts. Half of the sites were on streams and half on wetlands and lakes.
Cattle lightly use the majority of riparian areas. Approximately 12 percent of riparian areas are heavily used based on our estimates of forage utilization. Overall, 71 percent of the sites are at proper functioning condition, 16 percent are functional at risk and 13 percent are non-functional. Significant differences were found between districts, with the percentage of sites at proper functioning condition ranging from 49 percent to 97 percent. The largest proportion of sites at proper functioning condition occurred in the moister biogeoclimatic zones, while the drier zones had the greatest proportion of nonfunctional sites. Riparian health scores and faecal counts in riparian areas were better in community watersheds than elsewhere. Individual pasture management was found to be a significant factor in maintaining riparian health.
Approval of Large Cutblocks to Control Mountain Pine Beetle in the Robson Valley
This reports deals with a complaint that large clearcuts, approved to address a mountain pine beetle outbreak, contravened the maximum cutblock size requirements of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and its regulations (the Code).
The complaint was submitted by the Fraser Headwaters Alliance (the complainant) in July 2000. The complainant believes that the district manager approved more harvesting than necessary to address a mountain pine beetle outbreak. The complainant is concerned that the large clearcuts will change hydrological flows and cycles, resulting in increased soil instability, erosion and harm to fish habitat.
Approval of Large Cutblocks to Control Mountain Pine Beetle in the Robson Valley
Approval of development over the Goat River trail and near the Goat River
This investigation examines a complaint by the Fraser Headwaters Alliance (the complainant) about whether operational plans prepared by Zeidler Forest Industries Limited (the licensee) met the requirements of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and its regulations (the Code). McBride Forest Industries Ltd. now holds the licence. The complaint involves two issues:
Was approval of a road next to the Goat River, a fish-bearing stream, appropriate and consistent with the Forest Practices Code?
Was approval of a cutblock over and near a trail used for recreation appropriate and consistent with the Forest Practices Code?
