Board to Audit BCTS in the Lakes Timber Supply Area

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest planning and practices of the British Columbia Timber Sales (BCTS) program in the Nadina Forest District.

The audit will examine BCTS’s operations in the Lakes timber supply area (TSA), located in North Central BC, which covers 1.12 million hectares. The TSA includes the communities of Burns Lake and Grassy Plains.

The audit will examine forest practices carried out between July 1, 2004, through July 29, 2005, to assess compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act. All timber harvesting in this area is focused on beetle-infested trees.

The Forest Practices Board carries out periodic independent audits to see if government and forest companies are complying with the province’s forest practices legislation. This BCTS program was chosen randomly from all the BCTS programs in the province, and not on the basis of location or level of performance.

The audit team will be in the area for one to two weeks, beginning July 25, 2005. Once the fieldwork is done, the audit report is prepared, and any party that may be adversely affected by the audit findings will have a chance to respond. The board’s final report and recommendations will then be released to the public and government.

The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles are:

• Auditing forest practices of government and licence holders on public lands.
• Auditing government enforcement of FRPA.
• Investigating public complaints.
• Undertaking special investigations of forestry issues.
• Participating in administrative appeals.
• Providing reports on board activities, findings and recommendations.

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Erik Kaye
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 356-1586 / 1 800 994-5899