Audit of Forest Planning and Practices: Sechelt, Powell River, Sliammon First Nation, Klahoose First Nation in the Sunshine Coast Forest District
As part of the Forest Practices Board’s 2011 compliance audit program, the Board randomly selected the Sunshine Coast District as the location for a full scope compliance audit. Within the district, the Board selected all four community forest agreements (CFAs) for audit: CFA licence K3F held by Sechelt Community Projects Inc.; CFA licence K3G held by Powell River Community Forest Ltd.; CFA licence K3P held by Sliammon First Nation; and CFA licence K4C held by Klahoose First Nation. A community forest is a forest tenure managed by a local government, First Nation, or community group for the benefit of the entire community.
Closing Letter – Post Creek
Closing Letter: Post Creek
The complaint lists a number of issues and includes a request that the cutblocks proposed by Tamihi Logging Co. Ltd. (licensee) not be allowed in the Post Creek area. Board staff investigated the complaint and consulted with all parties to try to resolve it.
There are a number of concerns in this investigation, the first being the licensee’s right to harvest given that a wildlife habitat area (WHA) for spotted owl exists in the proposed harvest area.
A WHA may be protected from logging through general wildlife measures associated with it, but not always. In this case, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and the Tamihi Logging Co. Ltd. agreed on an exemption for several of the licensee’s blocks as a way to mitigate for operating areas lost to Spotted Owl Management Plan #2.
Logging in the Deroche Creek Community Watershed
Logging in the Deroche Creek Community Watershed
In August 2010, the Board received a complaint about logging by Tamihi Logging Co. Ltd. in the Deroche Community Watershed, approximately 15 kilometres east of Mission, BC. The complainant was concerned about the impact Tamihi’s operations were having on water quality in the area and also that the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO)1 was not adequately overseeing the operation.
The complainant contacted the Chilliwack Forest District office with his concerns in May, at which point the district manager arranged for a field trip so compliance and enforcement staff, along with both the complainant and the licensee, could discuss operations in the area. However, remaining concerned—and wanting improvement in the quality of practices in the watershed—the complainant then contacted the Board.
Forest Resources and the Toba Montrose Creek Hydroelectric Project
Forest Resources and the Toba Montrose Creek Hydroelectric Project
Two organizations, Friends of Bute Inlet and the Sierra Club of BC, complained to the Forest Practices Board about the impact of a hydroelectric project on forest resources. The “run-of-river” Toba River and Montrose Creek Hydroelectric Project, located about 100 kilometres north of Powell River, is owned by Toba Montrose General Partnership (the proponent). It underwent an environmental assessment, was approved by both the provincial and federal governments in 2007, and began operating in August 2010.
The complainants asked the Board to assess:
- what the immediate, cumulative and long-term environmental impacts associated with the transmission lines and roads might be;
- whether the relevant regulations and policies are fair, are effectively protecting BC’s natural heritage, and are serving the immediate and long-term interests of the public; and
- whether planning and practices, government oversight and public consultation are adequate.
This is the board’s first investigation into a complaint about the impact a run-of-river hydroelectric project might have on forest resources. Understanding how forest resources were managed required consideration of the overall regulatory framework, including regulations and policies that fell outside of the Board’s authority. This “big picture” approach was made possible through the cooperation and support of various government agencies and the project proponent. The resulting report provides a learning opportunity to promote sound forest management for future run-of-river projects.
Road and Bridge Maintenance Obligations within three forest districts, Coast Forest Region
Road and Bridge Maintenance Obligations within three forest districts, Coast Forest Region
In the fall of 2009, the Forest Practices Board conducted a special investigation into how well forest companies are meeting their obligations to maintain roads and bridges under the Forest and Range Practices Act. The investigation took place in the Campbell River, South Island and Squamish forest districts in the Coast Forest Region.
The Board looked at how road maintenance obligations were being met by 8 licensees holding road permit tenures associated with 11 forest licences. The licensees were Aat’uu Forestry Limited Partnership and TimberWest Forest Corporation in the Campbell River Forest District; Coulson Forest Products Ltd. and Teal-Jones Group in the South Island Forest District; and C.R.B. Logging Co. Ltd., Northwest Squamish Forestry Ltd., Squamish Mills Ltd. and Halray Logging Ltd. in the Squamish Forest District.
