Forest Stewardship Plans: Are They Meeting Expectations?

When the Forest and Range Practices Act became law over a decade ago, forest stewardship plans (FSPs) replaced forest development plans as the key operational planning document. Government stated its expectations for FSPs, saying they would, among other things, contribute to innovation, effectiveness in compliance and enforcement actions, and effectiveness in public consultation. In 2006 the Board examined the content of initial FSPs and concluded that they were not well-suited for public review, content was sparse and enforceability of results and strategies was limited due to the way they were written.

In 2014 the Board decided to undertake another investigation of FSPs in BC to determine if they have improved since 2006. Specifically, the Board investigated these questions:

• Are FSPs useful for public review and comment?
• Are results, strategies and measures within FSPs measurable and enforceable?
• Are results and strategies in approved FSPs consistent with government’s objectives?
• Is innovation apparent in FSPs?
• Are FSPs getting better?

This report contains the results of that examination and makes several recommendations to address key findings.