In February 2007, Canadian Forest Products Ltd. informed the Nak’azdli Indian Band that it planned to salvage forest stands killed by the mountain pine beetle in part of the Fort St. James Forest District. The Ministry of Forests and Range asked to consult with the Band about the potential effects of harvesting, road construction and other forest practices so as to resolve potential impacts to aboriginal interests and, if necessary, accommodate potential infringement.
The Band and members of a First Nations extended family in the area explained that the Band, as a whole, has almost no authority to consult about resources on the family-used area, because it was recognized that the family had traditional authority there, even though family members are also registered band members.
The head of the family in question asked MFR to fully assess, explain and justify what she perceived as potential infringement of the proposed forest practices on the family’s aboriginal interests in the area, and to compensate the family for any infringement.
This Forest Practices Board report presents the results of an investigation of fish passage at stream crossings in 19 watersheds in the central and northern interior and on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In total, 1,159 crossings of fish-bearing streams were examined. Each watershed had a mix of crossings built before the implementation of the 1995 Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act (the Code), after the implementation of the Code, and also after the replacement of the Code with the 2002 Forest and Range Practices Act.
The number of stream crossings within British Columbia is constantly increasing due to new road development. Government estimates that there are approximately 370,000 stream crossings in the province, of which about 76,000 are culverts on fish streams (BC MOE, 2008). For this reason, fish stream crossings may be the single most important habitat impact affecting fish.
There have been numerous studies of stream crossings in the province. Nearly all of these studies have focused on fish passage through closed bottom structures (CBS). However, watersheds also contain a variety of other crossing types, including open bottom structures (OBS) such as bridges, log culverts, arch culverts, and open box structures. This study is the first to examine fish passage in context: on a watershed scale, in a large number of watersheds, reporting on the overall fish passage through road crossings.
In January 2008, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint from four residents of the Robson Valley (the complainants) about the McBride Community Forest Corporation (MCFC) and the Ministry of Forests and Range (MFR) regarding forest practices being carried out by the MCFC. The complainants view MCFC’s as unsustainable, harmful and in violation of legislation.
A complaint filed by several public groups about the management of biodiversity in the interior cedar-hemlock rainforest near Prince George, and forest management adjacent to the Driscoll Ridge and the Ancient Forest hiking trails. The complainants asserted that approved cutblocks and harvesting practices did not address government’s biodiversity objectives.
Carrier Lumber Ltd.’s operations on non-replaceable forest licence A70174, located in the Prince George Forest District, complied with forest practices legislation in all significant respects. However, the audit identified a bridge that was not built as designed; therefore bridge construction practices should be improved.
