Three non-renewable forest licenses in British Columbia's Kamloops Forest District held by First Nations bands pass Forest Practices Board audit

Audrey Dixon

VICTORIA, British Columbia , October 27, 2011 (press release) – An audit of three non-renewable forest licences in the Kamloops Forest District found they met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, according to a report released today.

The three licences, held by Tk’Emlupsemc Forestry Development Corporation (Tk’Emlups) (A80706), the Ashcroft Indian Band (A81385) and the Neskonlith Indian Band (A83410) operate under the Kamloops Land and Resource Management Plan, which provides direction from government on how to manage public lands and resources within the plan area.

“Most of the harvest was of beetle-attacked lodgepole pine and fire damaged stands, and, the three licensees fully met their obligations,” said board chair Al Gorley.

The board examined activities for compliance with legislation, looking at harvesting, road construction and maintenance, silviculture, fire preparedness, fire protection activities and associated planning.

The three NRFLs have a combined allowable annual cut of 83,575 cubic metres. During the two-year period of this audit, 146,014 cubic metres were harvested under these licences.

The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board audits forest and range practices on public lands and appropriateness of government enforcement. It can also make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.