Board to audit small scale-salvage program near Williams Lake

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development’s small-scale salvage program and salvage licence holders in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Natural Resource District, starting Sept. 24, 2018.

Auditors will examine whether harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning, carried out between Sept. 1, 2017, and Sept. 28, 2018, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.

Small-scale salvage is the recovery of trees that are wind-thrown, beetle-killed, damaged by fire or considered to be residue. Licence volumes must be 2,000 cubic metres or less. In the past year, most salvage activities in the district took place near Williams Lake, Horsefly and McLeese Lake.

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