West Fraser passes Forest Practices Board audit

The Forest Practices Board has given West Fraser Mills Ltd. a passing grade for its stewardship of two of its harvesting areas.

According to a report released Wednesday, the forestry company has met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act for Tree Farm Licence 52.

The TFL consists of two areas. One is east of Quesnel, extending to Bowron Lakes Provincial Park, and one is 40 kilometres northwest of Quesnel, along the Fraser River. The annual allowable cut for the TFL is about 900,000 cubic metres.

“This is a large operation in the Cariboo, and is subject to the requirements of the CaribooChilcotin Land Use Plan, as well as forest practices legislation,” said audit director Chris Mosher. “West Fraser did a good job overall, and we were particularly pleased to find compliance with the wildfire hazard assessment requirements – something we often find lacking in our audits.”

The audit examined operational planning, timber harvesting, road and bridge construction, maintenance and deactivation, silviculture and fire preparedness activities for compliance with the legislation. During the two-year audit period, West Fraser harvested approximately 815,000 cubic metres of timber from 123 cutblocks. It constructed about 144 kilometres of new road and maintained 3,210 kilometres of road.

A team of board auditors spent four days in the field examining roads, harvesting and reforestation in late October 2017.

The Forest Practices Board is an 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.