VICTORIA-The forestry operations of LP Engineered Wood Products Ltd. north of Revelstoke complied with the Forest Practices Code in all significant respects, according to a Forest Practices Board audit released today.

The report notes the high degree of compliance in an operating area with steep terrain and high snowfall. Co-operation between LP Engineered Wood Products and local heli-skiing operators, which resulted in several cutblocks designed to provide skiing opportunities, is also mentioned.

The report concludes the board's audit of Tree Farm Licence 55, held by LP Engineered Wood Products Ltd., formerly Evans Forest Products Ltd., and managed by its Malakwa division. The operating area for this free farm licence is 90 kilometres north of Revelstoke, on the east side of the Columbia River.

The audit examined road construction, maintenance and deactivation; timber harvesting; and associated operational plans carried out between Aug. 1, 1999, and Aug. 25, 2000.

Activities subject to audit included harvesting of 23 cutblocks; preparing and obtaining approval of silviculture prescriptions for 11 cutblocks; construction of 25.7 kilometres of road; maintenance of about 200 kilometres of road and 14 bridges; and deactivation of 39.4 kilometres of road.

LP Engineered Wood Products' licence was selected randomly for audit, not on the basis of location or level of performance.

This is the 33rd compliance audit completed by the board. Thirteen were clean audits, meaning the forest planning and practices met code requirements in all significant respects. Twenty were qualified audits, meaning that there was some significant non-compliance with the code. Most non-compliance was related to logging practices near streams and the construction, maintenance and deactivation of logging roads.

The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog, established in 1995, that publishes reports about compliance with the Forest Practices Code and the achievement of its intent.

The board's main roles under the Forest Practices Code are:

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