This is the Board’s report on a compliance audit of Forest Licence A20218, held by Atco Lumber Ltd. The audit examined Atco’s planning and field activities for the period of July 10, 1999, to July 12, 2000, related to operational planning (including forest development plans and silviculture prescriptions); timber harvesting; road construction, maintenance and deactivation; silviculture; and fire protection.
Atco Lumber Ltd. – FL A20218
Appropriateness of a Stop Work Order for a Woodlot near Midway, BC in the Boundary Forest District
The complainant is a professional forester in good standing, a former woodlot extension forester and former president of the local woodlot association. The complainant manages the forest on his own private land and 600 hectares of Crown land under a woodlot licence near Midway, BC. He has managed the woodlot for about 15 years. The complainant is proud of the woodlot and his forest practices, and he routinely conducts tours for students and interested individuals.
The complainant operated in the woodlot without incident for about 8 months in 1999 and 2000. In February 2000, the Ministry of Forests (the ministry) discovered that the complainant had built a short section of road in the woodlot without an approved road layout and design. On February 16, 2000, a ministry official called the complainant and told him that an approved road layout and design was required before the road could be built. Both parties agree that the conversation became heated and the complainant became upset. The official then issued a verbal stop work order that prohibited harvesting and hauling operations.
Appropriateness of a Stop Work Order for a Woodlot near Midway, BC
Adequacy of Repair and Maintenance of the Elk River Road, Near Elk Lakes Provincial Park
On January 6, 2000, the Board received a complaint from an Elkford resident about repairs that were made to the Elk River forest service road. The complainant said that the Ministry of Forests failed to repair the road properly after it was partially undermined by the Elk River.
The complainant requested that the steep cut slope on the west side of the road be reduced to prevent erosion and that large rocks be placed along the bank of the Elk River to deflect the current and prevent further erosion.
The Board decided to investigate whether the repairs to the road complied with the requirements of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act (the Act).
Adequacy of Repair and Maintenance of the Elk River Road, Near Elk Lakes Provincial Park
Audit of Timber Harvesting and Road Activities: Riverside Forest Products Ltd., Lumby Division – FL A20191
This is a report on a compliance audit of Forest Licence A201912 held by Riverside Forest Products Ltd., Lumby Division. The audit examined timber harvesting and road construction, maintenance and deactivation, and the related operational plans, for the period September 1, 1998, to September 20, 1999, to assess compliance with the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and related regulations (the Code).
Riverside Forest Products Ltd., Lumby Division – FL A20191
Audit of Timber Harvesting and Road Activities – Small Business Forest Enterprise Program (SBFEP) – Boundary Forest District
This is a report on a compliance audit of the SBFEP in the Boundary Forest District. The operations of the SBFEP are conducted in numerous locations around Grand Forks extending north from the Washington-British Columbia border to Big White Mountain, and east from the West Kettle River to Christina Lake.
The audit examined the district’s timber harvesting and road practices, including related operational planning, for the period September 1, 1996, to September 15, 1997, to assess compliance with the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and related regulations (the Code).