This special investigation looked at the level of soil disturbance caused by timber harvesting operations in a sample area of the Quesnel and Vanderhoof Forest Districts. Soil disturbance is important because it is an indicator of potential damage to soil and water. The investigation reviewed the activities of four major forest licensees – Canfor and West Fraser in both districts, Tolko in the Quesnel district, L&M Lumber in the Vanderhoof district – and British Columbia Timber Sales and its timber sale licence-holders in both districts. Forest practices conducted between July 1, 2006, and July 31, 2008 were investigated.
Soil Conservation Planning and Practices in the Quesnel and Vanderhoof Forest Districts
Audit of Enforcement of Forest Legislation in the Fort St. James Forest District
Logging and Lakeshore Management near Vanderhoof
Logging and Lakeshore Management near Vanderhoof
In May 2009, the Upper Nechako Wilderness Council (the complainant) submitted a complaint that Canadian Forest Products Ltd. (the licensee) had harvested timber within a lakeshore management reserve used by the complainant’s member businesses for guided-wilderness moose hunts and hike-in fishing. The complainant said the proximity of the cutblock to the lake has caused its member businesses to abandon the lake as part of their wilderness-business operations.
The complainant is concerned that, under the Forest and Range Practices Act, a forest licensee has the authority to make land use decisions that can negatively impact the values of its member businesses. As a result, the complainant is worried about what may happen in future to other lakes its members use for similar business purposes.
Quesnel Forest District – Woodlot Licences W0512 and W1516
Biodiversity Conservation during Salvage Logging in the Central Interior of BC
Biodiversity Conservation during Salvage Logging in the Central Interior of BC
British Columbia is engulfed in a province-wide mountain pine beetle outbreak. Salvaging value from the dead pine trees is a government priority. To facilitate the salvage effort, government increased the allowable annual cut (AAC) by 80 percent in the three most severely affected timber supply areas; the Lakes, Prince George and Quesnel TSAs, which are also the study areas for this project.
The increased AAC led to concerns about the stewardship of non-timber values such as wildlife and biodiversity. To accommodate these concerns, the “timber uplift” (AAC increase) was to be accompanied by a “conservation uplift” (an increase in retention of mature forest structure in harvested areas).
Construction of the McCorkall and Woodpecker Forestry Roads
On October 30, 2006 the Forest Practices Board received a complaint regarding the construction of two forestry connector roads and the impact that increased access to Crown land was having on farming and commercial recreation businesses. The area in question is located south of Prince George, BC.
The complainants assert that the actions of British Columbia Timber Sales (BCTS) violated previous commitments made by the Ministry of Forests and Range (MFR) when the complainants entered a statutory right-of-way agreement with MFR. The complainants believed they gave MFR an easement across their private property in exchange for a promise not to build alternate access into a core area that the complainants were using for commercial interests and as range land for grazing.
