In 2011, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNR), the Ministry of Environment and 12 heli ski/cat ski operators signed two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) regarding the management of helicopter and snowcat skiing in mountain caribou habitats. The MOUs, being consistent with government’s mountain caribou recovery objectives, include provisions for adapting to caribou encounters, among other things, and reporting this information to FLNR by May 31 each year.
This audit highlights the beneficial aspects of having an industry, with the potential to adversely impact a sensitive wildlife resource, follow agreed upon procedures to manage and minimize wildlife encounters, and to self-report on those encounters.
The Forest Practices Board audited Lil'wat Forestry Ventures’ forest licence A83925 and Lil'wat Construction Enterprises’ non-replaceable forest licence A82250 in September 2014. The licensees operate in the Sea to Sky Resource District near the communities of Pemberton and Mt. Currie.
The audit found that the planning and field activities complied in all significant respects with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and related regulations, as of September 2014. The audit noted one area for improvement related to fire hazard assessment.
In October 2014, the Forest Practices Board (Board) conducted a full scope audit of forest planning and practices on Kenkeknem Forest Tenure Ltd. (Kenkeknem) in the 100 Mile District. Kenkeknem’s activities were located in the Drewry Lake and Canim Lake areas. This was a full scope compliance audit with a two-year timeframe. All harvesting, road, silviculture, and protection activities carried out between January 1, 2013, and October 7, 2014, were included in the audit.
In January 2013, the Tsq’escenemc people of the Canim Lake Band were issued a First Nations woodland licence (FNWL) N1I covering 21 400 hectares of land within their traditional territory. The allowable annual cut for this licence is approximately 20 000 cubic metres. The tenure is managed by Kenkeknem Forest Tenures Ltd. and is a Band-owned company established to house and manage all forest tenures and forestry obligations. Kenkeknem manages approximately 24 000 cubic metres of allowable annual cut, of which the majority is within the woodland licence.
The audit found that the planning and field activities undertaken by Kenkeknem Forest Tenure Ltd. complied in all significant respects with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and related regulations, as of October 2014.
The Forest Practices Board audited Pebble Creek Timber's forest licence A19218 in July 2014. Pebble Creek Timber operates in the Sea to Sky Resource District in the Joffre Creek, upper Lillooet River and Meager Creek areas.
The audit found that the planning and field activities undertaken by Pebble Creek Timber complied in all significant respects with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and related regulations, as of July 2014. The audit noted one area for improvement related to fire hazard assessment.
As part of the Forest Practices Board’s 2013 compliance audit program, the Board randomly selected the Nadina Resource District as the location for an audit. Within the district, the Board selected non-replaceable forest licence (NRFL) A66762, held by Burns Lake Specialty Wood Ltd. The audit assessed all timber harvesting, roads, silviculture, protection activities, and associated planning, carried out between September 2011 and October 2013.
Burns Lake Specialty Wood conducted its operations within a 50-kilometre radius of the community of Burns Lake. During the two-year audit period, the licensee harvested approximately 90 682 cubic metres of timber, primarily to salvage trees killed by mountain pine beetle.
The audit found that planning and field activities undertaken by Burns Lake Specialty Wood complied in all significant respects with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, with two exceptions:
The audit found that fire protection activities undertaken by Burns Lake Specialty Wood Ltd. failed to comply with the Wildfire Act and related regulations, and in particular with requirements to assess and abate fire hazards following harvesting.
As part of the Forest Practices Board's 2014 compliance audit program, the Board randomly selected the Coast Mountain Resource District as the location for a full scope compliance audit. Within the district, the Board selected Community Forest Licence K1X held by Terrace Community Forest Limited Partnership (TCF). The audit assessed all harvesting, roads, silviculture, protection activities, and associated planning, carried out between August 1, 2012, and August 28 2014.
TCF conducts operations in three distinct operating areas located close to the City of Terrace. TFC conducted spacing activities in the northern operating area and second-growth management, including harvesting spruce weevil damaged stands and commercial thinning, in the southern operating area which was previously harvested in the early 1970’s. TCF has an allowable annual cut of 30,000 cubic metres and harvested approximately 54,000 cubic metres during the two-year audit period.
The audit found that the planning and field activities undertaken by Terrace Community Forest complied in all significant respects with the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and related regulations, as of July 2014.
As part of the Forest Practices Board's 2014 compliance audit program, the Board randomly selected the Selkirk District as the location for a full scope compliance audit. Within the district, the Board selected occupant licence to cut (OLTC)1 L49318, held by RMR Acquisitions Inc. (RMR).
Established in 1912, Red Mountain Ski Resort is western Canada’s original ski resort. In 2007, the resort was incorporated into the Red Mountain CRA to recognize that any land use decision that may be made in relation to the CRA is for long term all season resort development purposes.
Over the past two years, approximately 52 000 cubic metres of timber was harvested from the OLTC as part of a ski hill expansion plan. Harvesting focused mainly on ski hill design objectives, but also addressed forest health and watershed interests.
In March 2013, Heritage and Natural Resources Committee of the Council of the Haida Nation complained that timber harvesting on Haida Gwaii, by Teal Cedar Products Ltd., did not meet visual quality objectives at a number of locations. The complainant was also concerned about the lack of accountability for the results of these practices under BC’s Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA), which includes professional reliance as a key foundational element.
While this report looks at the licensee’s compliance with government’s established visual quality objectives, it also underscores key considerations for making professional reliance effective. It also emphasizes the importance of appropriate government enforcement to support public confidence in discretionary decision-making held by licensees and their professionals under FRPA.
One way the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and Wildfire Act (WA) are enforced is through the use of administrative penalties. Administrative penalties provide an efficient way to enforce legislation and promote compliance, if appropriately used. This investigation examined whether administrative penalties:
This report looks at penalty determinations made by government officials for contraventions of FRPA, WA and the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, during a five-year period from April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2014.
The report makes several recommendations, including that government should establish a publicly-accessible, online database of all penalty determinations under FRPA and WA.
In June 2014, the Forest Practices Board (Board) conducted a full scope audit of forest planning and practices on Carrier Lumber Ltd. (Carrier) Forest Licence (FL) A18158, in the Prince George District. Carrier’s activities were located in 10 different operating areas—six in the Prince George District and four in the Fort St. James District.
The Board conducted a full scope compliance audit, in which all harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection activities and associated planning, carried out between June 1, 2012, and June 19, 2014, were included. These activities were assessed for compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA), the Wildfire Act (WA) and related regulations
The audit found that the planning and field activities undertaken by Carrier on FL A18158 complied with the requirements of FRPA, WA and related regulations.
