Board to audit community forest near Mackenzie

MACKENZIE – The Forest Practices Board will be examining the activities of the McLeod Lake Mackenzie Community Forest Limited Partnership (the partnership), located in the Mackenzie Natural Resource District, starting Sept. 10, 2018.

The auditors will examine whether all operational planning, harvesting, roads and bridges, silviculture, and wildfire protection and associated planning carried out between Sept. 1, 2016, to Sept. 14, 2018, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.

The District of Mackenzie and the McLeod Lake Indian Band jointly operates the partnership. Under Community Forest Agreement K2M, the partnership is granted the right to harvest up to 30,000 cubic metres of timber per year on 24,664 hectares of public forestlands in the Mackenzie timber supply area. The community forest has five separate parts. The largest is 8,296 hectares and located north of McLeod Lake, with the remaining parts located near the community of Mackenzie.

Once the audit work is complete, a report will be 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 then will be released to the public and government.

The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government.

The board audits forest and range practices on public land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.

Contact:

Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899