Forestry

Forests directly and indirectly provide support for aquatic environments, in terms of shelter, support for channels, nutrients and a variety of other needs.  In addition, poor logging practices can dam, or destroy the banks of, streams and rivers.  Forest operations that fail to maintain the complex relationship between the forest and the aquatic environment can have a profoundly negative effect.

Forests are complex and forestry looks very differently depending on the type of forest and what values that the manager is concerned with.  From an environmental perspective good forestry will generally mimic the types of disturbances and openings that take place naturally in that ecosystem.  Although it is possible to design forest operations aimed at supplying a variety of economic, social and ecological values, all too often forestry operations are concerned primarily with maximizing timber production over the short term.  If other values, such as aquatic habitat, are considered at all it is to try to minimize the impact on those values, rather than to shut down logging where there is an actual conflict between the values. 

Public Land Logging in B.C.

95% of British Columbia is owned by the provincial government;  64% is covered by forests.  As a result, most, although not all, forestry operations take place on publicly owned land.  The Provincial government allocates logging rights to various logging companies and others under the Forest Act.  The use of these forests is overseen by the Ministry of Forests.

A separate piece of legislation, known as the Forest Practices Code, sets out rules governing how logging should be done on publicly owned land.  It includes planning requirements, requirements for public consultation and restrictions on how logging should occur. 

How logging should occur on public land is also influenced by the provincial government’s sustainable resource management planning, which sets enforceable government objectives for particular locations, and Strategic Land Use Planning, which provides more broad level direction to government decision-makers about land use in a region. 

Logging on Private Land

Logging on private land is not generally subject to the same rules or restrictions that cover logging on public lands.  The one exception is private land which a land owner agrees to include, along with publicly owned land, in a “Tree Farm Licence” or “Woodlot”, two types of logging rights granted under the Forest Act.  

Private land that is being managed for private land will usually be in the Forest Land Reserve.  The Forest Land Reserve Act does create some specific requirements for filing forest management plans for private land. 

Some logging operations – whether on public or private land – seek to have their practices “certified” by organizations that monitor forest management.  In theory they can demand a higher price from the purchaser of their wood because the purchaser can know that the wood comes from a well-managed forest.  Well known schemes include: the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).  However, not all certification schemes are created equal – some, like FSC, certify on the ground standards, while others, focus on planning requirements.  However, if a private forest operator is certified there may be a requirement for him or her to conduct private planning as part of the certification scheme. 

Related Guide Pages

·         Forest Act

·         Forest Practices Code

·         Forested Land and Old Growth

·         Forest and Range Use Planning

For more information on the relationship between forestry and aquatic environments:

·         Sierra Club on wild salmon.

·         BC Government on Assessing Fish Habitat (no longer required under provincial legislation).

For more information on alternative approaches to forestry:

·         B.C. Ministry of Forests website.

·         “Top 10 Forestry Fables” by Jim Pojar, forest ecologist. 

·         British Columbia Environmental Network Forest Caucus

·         David Suzuki Foundation on an ecosystem based approach to forestry:  http://www.davidsuzuki.org/files/CutAboveRev.final.pdf