“BCTS and 18 out of 19 TSL holders fully complied with requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act,” said Tim Ryan, board chair. “Auditors did find one TSL holder had built one section of road that caused soil erosion near a small fish-bearing stream, a practice considered an area for improvement. We are pleased to see that since the audit, the TSL holder has fixed this issue.”
During the audit period, BCTS built 7.5 kilometres of road and 1 bridge, and had road maintenance obligations for 1152 kilometres of road and 37 bridges. TSL holders constructed 23 kilometres, maintained 140 kilometres and deactivated 34 kilometres of road, and harvested 1729 hectares of timber.
BCTS is responsible for operational planning, silviculture, and most road and bridge construction, maintenance and deactivation outside cutblocks. TSL holders are responsible for harvesting, fire protection, and most road and bridge construction, maintenance and deactivation within cutblocks.
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.
