On June 11, 2007, the Board received a complaint from an individual living near Port Alberni asserting that a woodlot licensee, his neighbour, needlessly built a new logging road instead of using an existing roadway (the Log Train Trail or LTT), damaging forest values in the process.
The Board found that the woodlot licensee had adequately considered using the LTT for its access road, but other considerations such as long term management of the woodlot and recreational use of the trail made it preferable to propose the new road.
In January 2008, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint from four residents of the Robson Valley (the complainants) about the McBride Community Forest Corporation (MCFC) and the Ministry of Forests and Range (MFR) regarding forest practices being carried out by the MCFC. The complainants view MCFC’s as unsustainable, harmful and in violation of legislation.
In April 2007, a group of snowmobilers from the Valemount area asked the board to investigate whether it was appropriate to use section 58 of the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) to close local areas to snowmobile access. The complainant believes that the closures benefit the commercial heli‐skiing industry and that this is not the intended use of the legislation.
A complaint filed by several public groups about the management of biodiversity in the interior cedar-hemlock rainforest near Prince George, and forest management adjacent to the Driscoll Ridge and the Ancient Forest hiking trails. The complainants asserted that approved cutblocks and harvesting practices did not address government’s biodiversity objectives.