Approval of a Bridge Across the Babine River, near New Hazelton, BC in the Kispiox Forest District
In August 1996, the Forest Practices Board (the Board) received a complaint about the construction of a bridge across the lower Babine River near its confluence with the Skeena River. Several potential locations for the bridge had been the subject of discussion and public planning meetings between government agencies, First Nations, and a number of public organizations for many years. A final location for the bridge was approved in March 1996 and construction began in August 1996. The approved location for the bridge was different from the location identified previously in public planning reports released in 1992 and 1994.
The complainant asked the Board: “…to investigate and determine why the bridge crossing was approved without undergoing the proper public review process, and to take appropriate action so that it does not occur again.”
Approval of a Bridge Across the Babine River, near New Hazelton, BC
Proposed Logging on Durieu Ridge, near Mission, BC -Terrain Stability Requirements and Opportunity for Public Review and Comment in the Chilliwack Forest District
Durieu Ridge and Pattison Creek are located in the Hatzic Lake watershed, northeast of Mission, in the Chilliwack Forest District. The area has a history of landslides and flooding, caused both naturally, and by past logging and road building activities.
On October 26, 1998, the Board received a complaint about proposed clearcut harvesting on Durieu Ridge and in the Pattison Creek watershed. The complaint stated that the district manager had approved clearcut logging despite the fact that terrain stability reports indicated that the area is unstable. The complainant also questioned whether the proposed logging was advertised properly to the public since she did not know about it until after a timber sale license was approved in July 1998.
Proposed Logging on Durieu Ridge, near Mission, BC -Terrain Stability Requirements and Opportunity for Public Review and Comment
Road Approval within a Riparian Management Area on Catface Mountain, near Clayoquot Sound
In May 1997, the Friends of Clayoquot Sound-Forest Watch provided written review comments to International Forest Products Ltd., Westcoast Division on its Catface Planning Area forest development plan for Tree Farm Licence 54. They expressed concern that a proposed road was located within a 50-metre riparian reserve zone required by the Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel Recommendations and identified in the forest development plan for Pineetle Creek. Encroachment by roads in riparian areas is generally discouraged by both the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and the Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel Recommendations.
Road Approval within a Riparian Management Area on Catface Mountain, near Clayoquot Sound
Road Slump Near Fiddler Creek, Northeast of Terrace, BC
Road Slump Near Fiddler Creek, Northeast of Terrace, BC in the Terrace Forest District
The Board received a complaint in September 1996 about a slump of a newly constructed road cutslope into a small, unnamed stream (referred to in this report as “No-Name Creek”) approximately 45 kilometres northeast of Terrace, BC in the Fiddler Creek area. The complaint asserted that a licensee’s road construction activities caused the slump and contravened the Code and that the Ministry of Forests had not enforced the Code appropriately.
Watershed Assessments for Little Cayuse Creek, Near Castlegar, BC in the Arrow Forest District
The Forest Practices Board (the Board) received a complaint about two cutblocks in the Little Cayuse Creek watershed near Castlegar, BC. The cutblocks were proposed by Pope and Talbot Ltd., Arrow Lakes Division (the licensee) and approved by the Ministry of Forests, Arrow Forest District (MoF). The cutblocks in question are Block 1 and Block 2 of cutting permit (CP) 355, Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 23.
The complainant was concerned that logging operations in the Little Cayuse Creek watershed would adversely affect the water quality of the creek. The complainant is a licensed water user. He needs a clear, consistent source of water for domestic consumption, to irrigate crops, and to generate electricityThe complainant asked the Board to defer logging of the cutblocks until further analysis could be completed and operational plans amended to incorporate the recommendations of the analysis.
