In June 2014, a landowner near Echo Lake, east of Lumby BC, complained to the Board that forest harvesting in the Bonneau Creek watershed was altering streamflows through his private land. During the spring, high flows were causing damage to his property and, by mid-summer, the stream was dry. As well, the complainant says that the woodlot licensee did not consider his concerns about harvesting effects on streamflows.
The report examined: 1) whether forest harvesting affected streamflows in Bonneau Creek; 2) whether licensees considered the risk of harvesting on streamflows; and 3) whether the woodlot licensee’s public consultation met FRPAs requirements.
A rancher in the south Cariboo was concerned that West Fraser Mills Ltd. did not mitigate impacts to a natural range barrier when it harvested mountain pine beetle-killed stands on the ranchers’ Crown range tenure.
The Forest and Range Practices Act requires forest licensees to propose and carry-out measures to mitigate loss or impacts to natural range barriers on Crown range tenures. In this case, substantial harvesting occurred across the tenure by multiple licensees. Impacts to some range barriers were mitigated but the parties disagreed on whether one natural range barrier had been impacted by harvesting.
The investigation examined whether West Fraser complied with the measures in its forest stewardship plan and whether any licensees or government considered the cumulative effect of salvage harvesting of mountain pine beetle-killed stands by multiple licensees on natural range barriers across this range tenure.
In May 2015, the owners of the Sunset Village Mobile Home Park, near Clearwater, complained that harvesting by the Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation increased seepage from a cutbank beside the mobile home park threatening several homes. As well the park owners were concerned about loss of access to the Star Lake Road.
The report focusses on the impact of harvesting by the Community Forest on seepage beside the mobile home park, compliance with legal obligations, the consideration and management of risks from water flows and access to the Star Lake Road.
In January 2015, Spirit of the West Adventures, a guided adventure tourism company that has a base camp at Boat Bay, complained that proposed harvesting by TimberWest Forest Corp. would adversely affect their clients’ kayaking experience. The complainant was also concerned that neither TimberWest nor the district manager of the Ministry of Forests Lands and Natural Resource Operations, North Island Central Coast District, addressed its concerns about visual quality in a reasonable manner.
Because the concern did not focus on the licensee’s compliance with government’s established visual quality objective, this report focuses on whether TimberWest and the district manager addressed the visual concerns in a reasonable manner.
Resident of Lake Country filed a complaint with the Board asserting that Tolko Industries Ltd. overharvested trees in moose ungulate winter range, not meeting the requirements of an Order under the Government Actions Regulation for Ungulate Winter Range #U-8-006 - Okanagan TSA.
