Victoria - The Forest Practices Board today released the results of its audits of Interfor’s TFL 10 on the mainland coast and Slocan Group’s forest licence in the Slocan Valley. Both audits conclude that the companies met the requirements of the Forest Practices Code.

"Both Interfor and Slocan complied with the Code in all significant respects." said Board chair, Keith Moore. "These are the first clean audits of timber harvesting and roads that the Board has seen since we began auditing forest practices in 1996. They are good audit results. They support the Board’s observations that compliance with the Code has improved each year since the Code came into effect," said Moore.

Both audits examined timber harvesting and construction, maintenance and deactivation of roads, and the associated planning, carried out between the summer of 1997 and the summer of 1998. Both licences were selected for audit randomly, not on the basis of location or past performance.

Both audits also identify old logging roads that are deteriorating and need to be deactivated or repaired to prevent damage to the environment from occurring. These roads were all built prior to the Code, and have not been used since the Code came into effect. As a result, Interfor and Slocan are not responsible for them under the Code. "These deteriorating and unmaintained roads are a problem we have seen in several audits now," said Moore. "The Slocan audit is the first time we have seen them in the interior. This appears to be a significant problem that government needs to address."

The TFL is located north of Powell River near Toba Inlet. Slocan’s operating areas are located on both sides of Slocan Lake, from South Slocan to Nakusp.

Created in 1995, the Board is BC’s independent watchdog for sound forest practices. The Board reports to the public and government about compliance with the Forest Practices Code and the achievement of its intent. The Board’s main roles are: auditing forest practices, undertaking investigations in response to public complaints, undertaking special investigations of any Code related forestry issues, participating in administrative reviews and appeals and providing reports on Board activities, findings and recommendations.