Managing Recreation Conflicts in a Forest Development Plan
On August 13, 1998, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint from a mountaineering school operator in the Bulkley/Cassiar Forest District. The complainant was concerned about impacts of proposed forest practices on his business and on an historic trail. The complainant asserted that Pacific Inland Resources (the licensee) failed to recognize and plan for recreation under the 1998-2003 Forest Development Plan for Forest Licences A16830, A46054, A57077 and Timber Sale Licence A16858.
The complaint had two parts. The first part asserts that the licensee did not locate the Moricetown-Cronin trail correctly on forest development plan maps and that proposed cutblocks were too close to, or on, the trail. The parties to the complaint met several times and resolved this issue. The Board encourages settlement of complaints at the local level and is pleased that the parties resolved this part of the complaint.
The rest of this report concerns the second part of the complaint, involving the same forest development plan, but in a different area. The licensee proposed roads and cutblocks in the upper Blunt Creek area that would allow snowmobile access to the alpine.
Managing Recreation Conflicts in a Forest Development Plan
Effects of Power Line Clearing on Domestic Water Supply Near Thutade Lake in Northern B.C. in the Mackenzie Forest District
Between 1997 and 1998, Royal Oak Mines Inc., Kemess Mines Division (the licensee) constructed a 380-kilometre power line from the Kennedy sub-station at Williston Lake (south of Mackenzie) to the Kemess South mine site, near Thutade Lake in northern British Columbia. The construction involved clearing trees from a right-of-way and building hydro towers.
Prior to the clearing of the right-of-way, the complainant, who lives and works near Thutade Lake, expressed concern to the licensee and the government regarding the impact of the power line on his water supply. The complainant and the licensee discussed moving the water intake for the complainant’s water line as a form of compensation and considered a draft contract stipulating the amount of compensation. However, the licensee subsequently withdrew the offer.
Effects of Power Line Clearing on Domestic Water Supply Near Thutade Lake in Northern B.C.
Landscape Management around Carbon Inlet and Peace Reach on Williston Lake, Near Hudson’s Hope, BC in the Dawson Creek Forest District
In June of 1998, the Board received a complaint from a resident of Hudson’s Hope, a small community located above the Peace River in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near Fort St. John.
The complainant was concerned about the scenic areas that had been identified and the visual quality objectives (VQOs) that had been established for the hillsides along the Peace Reach and Carbon Inlet areas of Williston Lake. Williston Lake is a large lake created by the WAC Bennett Dam approximately 15 kilometres west of Hudson’s Hope. Carbon Inlet is on the south side of the lake, 35 kilometres west of the dam. The complainant is a member of the Municipal Council of Hudson’s Hope and a member of a yacht club on Williston Lake. He also has a trapping cabin on Carbon Inlet.
Landscape Management around Carbon Inlet and Peace Reach on Williston Lake, Near Hudson’s Hope, BC
Maintaining Biodiversity in a Cutblock on Southwestern Vancouver Island in the South Island Forest District
In July 1999, the Board received a complaint from an individual who works as a faller. He was required, as part of his job, to cut down small trees in a specific cutblock, but was concerned that was not a sound forest practice.
In June 1999 the complainant was hired by a contractor to work on a cutblock in Tree Farm Licence 46, administered by TimberWest Forest Ltd. (“the licensee”). The cutblock was beside the McClure River, a tributary of the Caycuse River, 35 kilometres west of Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island.
Maintaining Biodiversity in a Cutblock on Southwestern Vancouver Island
Road Construction Practices Near the Upper Adams River – Blue River, BC in the Clearwater Forest District
The complainant is an experienced forest worker who is familiar with road construction practices. He traveled on the Storm Creek Road when he worked in the upper Adams River area for about two months between June and September of 1998. During that time, the complainant observed what he considered to be poor road construction practices.
On October 1, 1998, the complainant reported his concerns to the Ministry of Forests in Clearwater. The ministry investigated and reported to the complainant that it had no concerns with the licensee’s operations. The complainant then submitted a complaint to the Board.
