Timber Harvesting and Road Construction, Maintenance and Deactivation: International Forest Products Ltd., West Coast Division – TFL 54

NEWS RELEASE

Interfor Gets Clean Audit in Clayoquot

VICTORIA -The forestry operations of International Forest Products Ltd. (Interfor) in Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island complied with the Forest Practices Code in all significant respects, according to a Forest Practices Board audit released today.

The activities audited also complied with the relevant recommendations of the Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel.

The report concludes the board’s audit of Tree Farm Licence 54 (TFL 54), held by Interfor. Ninety-two percent of the operating area for the TFL is within Clayoquot Sound on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island.

The audit examined road construction, maintenance and deactivation as well as timber harvesting activities carried out between June 1, 1999, and June 9, 2000.

Activities subject to audit included harvesting of 16 cutblocks; operational planning for 10 approved silviculture prescriptions; construction of 3.8 kilometres of road outside Clayoquot Sound; maintenance and seasonal deactivation of approximately 75 kilometres of road; maintenance of 22 bridges; and permanent deactivation of 830 metres of road.

Interfor’s TFL was selected randomly for audit, not on the basis of location or level of performance.

The Interfor audit is the 34th compliance audit completed by the board. Fourteen 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