Tyaughton Fire
The Board’s report on a complaint into the activities and decisions of the Wildfire Management Branch during the initial stages of the 2009 Tyaughton Lake fire.
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.
Logging Old-Growth Forest Near Port Renfrew
Logging Old-Growth Forest Near Port Renfrew
This investigation brings attention to the special value of trees of exceptional size or form, age or historical significance. Such trees, and sometimes the forest stands that contain them, having withstood the ravages of time over many centuries, can inspire awe and reverence, a sense of spirituality and connection to past events. Descriptors such as mammoth, heritage, cathedral-like, ancient, antique and monumental are not uncommon.
