Board to audit Canfor operations near Chetwynd

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest planning and practices of the Chetwynd division of Canadian Forest Products Ltd (Canfor) on forest licence A18151, covering five specific areas located in the Peace Forest District near Chetwynd.

The forest licence includes five distinct geographic units: one directly north of Chetwynd; one south east of Hudson’s Hope; one west of Hudson Hope; one south west from Dawson Creek below the Kiskatinaw River and one immediately east of Monkman Park. The forest licence is covered by the Dawson Creek Land and Resource Management Plan.

Auditors will examine forest practices carried out over the past year, including timber harvesting; road construction, maintenance and deactivation; fire protection; silviculture; and operational planning.

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 license was chosen randomly for the audit and not on the basis of location or level of performance.

The operating area is subject to multiple uses besides timber harvesting, especially oil and gas operations. The licensee is certified with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14001) and the board audit will take the certification audit process into account if feasible within the time frame of the audit.

The four members of the audit team are professional foresters and a chartered accountant. They will be in the licence area examining plans, cutblocks and roads for about four days beginning on May 25. Once the fieldwork is done, the board will prepare a draft report on the audit findings. Any party that may be adversely affected by the audit findings will have an opportunity to respond to the board before the report is finalized and 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 Practices Code and the achievement of its intent. The board’s mandate has been retained under the new Forest Range and Practices Act (FRPA). The board’s main roles under FRPA 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