Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson and some of the new Natural Resource Officers -( photo courtesy Min of Forests lands nd Natural  Resources)

Prince George, B.C.- There is a new look to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations enforcement folk. 

The 169 officers will now be known as Natural Resource Officers, and they have expanded the range of issues they can enforce under natural resource legislation.  

In the past, the “Compliance and Enforcement Officers” could only deal with certain acts they were specifically designated to uphold.

 As Natural Resource Officers, they will be able to enforce a broader range of statutes which should shorten response time and improve their effectiveness in the field.

 For example; in the past, if there had been a landslide caused by forestry practices, which resulted in debris falling into a stream, the officers could only deal with the forestry practices issue. Now they can add in the regulations under the “Water Act” as part of their investigation.  

So, a single Natural Resource Officer can now respond to violations that are covered by more than one natural resource act, instead of three or four staff that may have been required previously. 

There are 27 Natural Resource officers in the Omineca region.