As part of its 2018 compliance audit program, the Board selected forest licence A19229 in the Sunshine Coast Natural Resource District as a location for a full scope compliance audit. A&A Trading Ltd. holds the licence, but some silviculture obligations are the responsibility of the previous licensee, Terminal Forest Products Ltd.
The activities audited are located in the Sunshine Coast Timber Supply Area, which is characterized by rugged mountains, lakes and numerous inlets, creating operational challenges for the licensees. The area is ecologically complex, supporting a rich and diverse array of wildlife and ecosystems and is subject to government orders for old growth management areas, recreation sites and trails and visual quality objectives and notices for species at risk, including the marbled murrelet, northern goshawk and coastal tailed frog habitat.
All activities complied with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
Elphinstone Logging Focus, an environmental group on the Sunshine Coast, complained that cutblocks sold by BC Timber Sales would impact at-risk plant communities and affect the integrity of the ecosystem near Mt. Elphinstone Park.
The Board investigated and determined that the mature forest stands in the cutblocks contained plant communities listed by the BC Conservation Data Centre as being in peril, or of special concern. There are no government objectives protecting the plant communities and BCTS’s protocol for managing species at risk only includes plant communities found in old forest, not the mature forest stands in this area.
The Board made two recommendations to government and BCTS to address the situation.
In mid-October, the Forest Practices Board audited the forest activities of Lakeside Pacific Forest Products Ltd. Lakeside operates on both sides of Harrison Lake in the Chilliwack Natural Resource District.
This was a full scope compliance audit and all activities carried out between October 1, 2015, and October 18, 2017, complied with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
The Board received a complaint that BC Timber Sales (BCTS) in the Chilliwack area was not doing enough to remove competing vegetation on their recently planted cutblocks. The complainant was concerned that it could result in plantations growing poorly due to competition with brushy vegetation and that BCTS might not meet its legal obligations for reforestation.
The Board examined BCTS’s post-planting silvicultural practices on the ground and reviewed records of brushing activities. The investigation concluded that BCTS did reduce its brushing in the Chilliwack operating area between 2013 and 2016. The Board also concluded that BCTS is undertaking adequate measures to reduce competing brush and comply with its legal reforestation requirements.
In May 2016 the Forest Practices Board audited the activities of SN Forestry Operations Ltd.'s Forestry Licence to Cut A82551 in the Sea to Sky Natural Resource District. SN Forestry is owned by the Squamish Nation, and the licence permits it to harvest 592 800 cubic metres of timber from within the boundaries of Tree Farm Licence 38.
The results were good – SN Forestry's operational planning, timber harvesting, road construction and maintenance, silviculture, and fire protection activities complied in all significant respects with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and related regulations.
In July 2015, the Forest Practices Board audited the activities of Teal Cedar Products Ltd.'s forest licence A19201 in the Chilliwack resource district. Harvesting activity is spread out across the district with operations at Pitt Lake, Norrish Creek, west Harrison Lake, Sowaqua Creek (north of Hope) and Boston Bar. The Norrish Creek operating area was of particular interest to auditors as it provides drinking water to Abbotsford and Mission, and it is critical that forest practices and roads do not negatively impact water quality.
The audit found that Teal Cedar Products Ltd.'s operational planning, timber harvesting, road construction and maintenance, silviculture, and fire protection activities complied in all significant respects with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and related regulations.
