As part of the Forest Practices Board’s 2014 compliance audit program, the Board randomly selected the Coast Mountain Resource District as the location for a full scope compliance audit. Within the district, the Board selected Community Forest Licence K1X held by Terrace Community Forest Limited Partnership (TCF). The audit assessed all harvesting, roads, silviculture, protection activities, and associated planning, carried out between August 1, 2012, and August 28 2014.
TCF conducts operations in three distinct operating areas located close to the City of Terrace. TFC conducted spacing activities in the northern operating area and second-growth management, including harvesting spruce weevil damaged stands and commercial thinning, in the southern operating area which was previously harvested in the early 1970’s. TCF has an allowable annual cut of 30,000 cubic metres and harvested approximately 54,000 cubic metres during the two-year audit period.
The audit found that the planning and field activities undertaken by Terrace Community Forest complied in all significant respects with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and related regulations, as of July 2014.
As part of the Forest Practices Board’s 2013 compliance audit program, the BC Timber Sales program and timber sale licence holders in the Coast Mountains Resource District portion of the Skeena Business Area were randomly selected for audit.
The Skeena Business Area within the Coast Mountains Resource District conducts operations in the Kalum, North Coast, Nass, Pacific and Cascadia timber supply areas and Tree Farm Licences 1 and 41. The district includes the communities of Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Stewart, New Aiyansh and Port Edward, as well as several villages
In July 2012, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint that a BC Timber Sales (BCTS) logging operation in the Hunaker Creek Watershed had affected the flow of a seasonal stream, which in turn caused damage to the complainant’s property. The complainant also claimed that the logging operations led to contamination of a well and that the BCTS public consultation efforts were inadequate, both for harvest planning and for notification about burning waste wood piles.
The Hunaker Creek Watershed is small—less than 500 hectares in size—with the portion upstream of the complainant’s home covering 289 hectares. The watershed is relatively flat with a slight northern aspect and elevation ranges from 550 to 600 metres above sea level.
As part of its 2012 compliance audit program, the Forest Practices Board selected Cassiar Forest Corporation (Cassiar) Forest Licence (FL) A64561 and Coast Mountain Hydro Corporation (CMH) Occupant Licences to Cut (OLTC) L46959, L49021 and L49136 for audit.
Both operations are located in the Skeena-Stikine District. Forest Licence A64651 is near the community of Bob Quinn Lake, which is approximately 380 kilometres north of Terrace. CMH’s licences are located approximately 37 kilometres west of Bob Quinn Lake, within the mid reaches of the Iskut River. The licences are for a run-of-river hydroelectric project and a related transmission line right-of-way.
In September 2011, the Board conducted a full-scope compliance audit of forest planning and practices on Babine Forest Products’ (BFP) Forest Licence A16823. This is the first time this forest licence has been audited by the Board. The audit assessed over 80 cutblocks and close to 300 kilometres of road activities and obligations, as well as operational planning, and found that BFP complied with the legislated requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act, as well as the Lakes District Land and Resource Management Plan and the Lakes North Sustainable Resource Management Plan.
