Kamloops Forest District Small Business Forest Enterprise Program (SBFEP)

NEWS RELEASE

Plans for Logging on Skaiakos Point Complied with Forest Practices Code

VICTORIA -The Kamloops forest district’s small business forest enterprise program complied with Forest Practices Code requirements in all significant respects, says a report released today by the Forest Practices Board.

Furthermore, the activities audited were consistent with the requirements of the Kamloops Land and Resource Management Plan, which was declared a higher level plan under the code in January 1996.

The report concludes the board’s audit of the government-run program under which the Ministry of Forests awards timber sale licences to small businesses.

The Kamloops small business program was selected for audit randomly, not on the basis of location or level of performance. The program has 20 defined operating areas spread throughout the district, from Dunn Lake in the north to Stump Lake in the south, and from Adams Lake in the east to Hat Creek Valley in the west. The major towns in the district are Kamloops, Cache Creek, Barriere and Chase.

The audit examined planning and field activities related to timber harvesting and the construction, maintenance and deactivation of roads between Sept. 1, 1999, and Sept. 10, 2000. Activities included harvesting on 50 cutblocks and 71 small-scale salvage timber sale licences; construction of 40.5 kilometres of road; maintenance of 800 kilometres of road, 140 kilometres of deactivated road, and seven bridges; deactivation of nine kilometres of road; approval of 45 silviculture prescriptions; and layout and design for six road sections.

“We’re pleased to see more effort towards improvement in forest practices in recent audits of the small business forest enterprise program,” said board chair Bill Cafferata.

The audit of the Kamloops small business forest enterprise program is the 36th compliance audit completed by the board. Sixteen 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.

Forest Practices Board
Phone: (250) 387-7964
1-800-994-5899
fpboard@gems9.gov.bc.ca