This audit examined the activities of Ka-Bar Resources Limited (Ka-Bar) on 10 cutblocks located northeast of Princeton, near the community of Bankeir in the Cascades District, from September 1, 2012, to September 16, 2013.
In 2006, government created a new category of forest licence to enable harvesting of trees to protect communities from wildfire. Five of Ka-Bar's forestry licences to cut were issued for that purpose—to protect local residents from wildfire. This is the first time the Board has audited this type of tenure.
The Board conducted a limited scope compliance audit of BC Hydro’s OLTCs L48655, L48700, L48750 and L48751, in which all fire protection activities carried out between January 1, 2011, and June 5, 2013, were included. These activities and associated planning were assessed for compliance with the Wildfire Act and related regulations.
As part of its 2012 compliance audit program, the Forest Practices Board selected community forest agreement K1H, held by the McBride Community Forest Corporation for audit. A community forest pilot agreement was first issued to MCFC in August 2002, and MCFC was awarded the 25-year long term CFA K1H in 2007.
The McBride community forest surrounds the Village of McBride, which lies in the Robson Valley, about 210 kilometres southeast of Prince George.
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.
This audit examined the activities of the BC Timber Sales (BCTS) program and timber sale licence (TSL) holders in the Fort St. James District.
The communities in this district depend heavily on the forest industry but also rely on resourcessuch as water, fish, and wildlife to provide economic diversity and to meet cultural and tourism needs. At a time when mountain pine beetle infestations and subsequent timber salvage are high, BCTS and TSL holders face many challenges when balancing resource interests with salvage operations.
In August 2012, the Forest Practices Board (Board) conducted a full scope audit of forest planning and practices on Canadian Forest Products Ltd. (Canfor) Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 48 near Chetwynd in the Peace District.
This is the second time the Board has audited this TFL. The Board is pleased to see that Canfor is doing a good job meeting its forestry obligations and has met its legislative requirements. However, the Board is concerned about the tremendous increase in other resource extraction activities now taking place on this TFL.
This mix of developments is outside of Canfor’s control and is an issue for government to deal with, as discussed in our bulletin on cumulative effects management,1 but it is important for Canfor to be made aware of all of these other activities so it can continue to manage the TFL appropriately.AC
