Fort St. James Community Forest Audit Finds Issues

VICTORIA – An audit of Community Forest Agreement CFA K1D has found that, while the Fort St. James Community Forest Corporation met many of the requirements of provincial forestry legislation, it also had some problems with operational planning, culvert construction, bridge construction and fire hazard assessments, according to a report released today.

“While the auditors found a number of issues with the activities on the community forest, the board is very pleased that the community forest corporation responded quickly to fix the problems and improve its procedures and training for operational staff,” said Forest Practices Board chair Tim Ryan.

The auditors examined forestry plans, timber harvesting, road and bridge construction and maintenance, planting and regeneration activities, and wildfire protection activities carried out since August 2013.

The community forest is located near Fort St. James and has three operating areas. The Marie operating area is southwest of town and the other two are north of town at Murray Ridge and Witch Lake. The community forest has an allowable annual cut of 23 895 cubic metres of wood, which was increased to 100 000 cubic metres for the last two years to harvest trees killed by the mountain pine beetle.

The Forest Practices Board is British Columbia’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 lands and appropriateness of government enforcement. It can also make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.

More information can be obtained by contacting:

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