The Board randomly chosen 2002 audit of TFL 23, held by Pope & Talbot Ltd. (P&T), enabled the Board to develop and test its auditing procedures for a certified company. P&T’s operations under TFL 23 are certified under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).
An Example of Long-Form Audit Reporting
Audit of Forest Planning and Practices: Pope and Talbot Ltd. – Tree Farm Licence 23
This is the Board’s report on the full scope compliance audit of TFL 23 held by Pope & Talbot Ltd. The primary operating area of TFL 23 is located between Castlegar in the south, and Revelstoke in the north.
Pope and Talbot Ltd. – Tree Farm Licence 23
Cattle Grazing near the Kettle River in the Boundary Forest District
In July 2002, a Christina Lake resident submitted a complaint about the control of cattle within a range adjacent to the Kettle River, east of Grand Forks. A Grand Forks resident (the licensee) grazes cattle on the range, which is known locally as the Oxbow-Boothman range. The complainaint claimed there have been multiple contraventions of the range use plan (RUP) for the area. The complainant maintained that the licensee did not follow the grazing schedule, allowed too many cattle on the range, did not maintain the irrigation system, and allowed cattle within the riparian area adjacent to the Kettle River. The complainant also asserted that the Ministry of Forests failed to enforce the requirements of the RUP.
Cattle Grazing near the Kettle River in the Boundary Forest District
Closing Letter – Tangier River Road Deactivation
CLOSING LETTER: Tangier River Road Deactivation
On October 17, 2002, a complaint was submitted to the Board about planned road deactivation in the Tangier River and Woolsey Creek watersheds. Deactivation plans included imminent removal of a bridge over the Tangier River. The complainant is a trapper, and he said the deactivation would prevent him from safely accessing his registered trap line. The complainant believed that the Ministry of Forests had not given him enough time to move his trap line cabin across the bridge so that it would be accessible after the bridge was removed.
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.
