Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Aaron Schulze

Timber Sale Audit

Williams Lake timber supply area to be audited by B.C. watchdog

May 25, 2022 | 6:52 AM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — Timber-sale licence holders near Williams Lake in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Natural Resource District will be audited next week.

In a news release, the B.C. government says the Forest Practices Board will also examine the activities of the BC Timber Sales (BCTS) program during the week of May 30, 2022.

Auditors will examine whether timber harvesting, roads, bridges, silviculture, fire protection activities, and associated planning carried out between June 1, 2020, and June 3, 2022, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.

The audit area is in the Williams Lake timber supply area (TSA), which includes the communities of Williams Lake, Anahim Lake, Tatla Lake, Alexis Creek, and Horsefly. The TSA overlaps the territories of the Secwepemc, Tsilhqot’in and the Southern Dakelh Nation Alliance. There are many resources in the TSA, such as timber, recreation, tourism, ranching, and wildlife.

The province says a report will be prepared once the audit work is complete, and any party that may be adversely affected by the audit findings will have an opportunity to respond. The board’s final report and recommendations will then be released to the public and government.

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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 land, as well as appropriateness of government enforcement.

Of the 12 BCTS programs, two are randomly chosen each year for audit. The province says audit selections are not based on complaints or on the past performance of the BCTS program.