Changes to Community and Woodlot Tenures

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C.-  The Province has introduced some changes  to the Forest Act, changes it says are aimed at reducing red tape for woodlots  and  give community forests some long term  certainty.

Under Bill 13, the Forest Amendment Act, 2009, community forest agreements will be issued for a replaceable term of 25 years, and five-year probationary community forest agreements will be eliminated.
Current probationary agreement holders will be able to transition to a 25-year term at any time prior to the expiry of their agreement.  The longer tenure should allow community forest agreement holders to attract new investment.

Another legislative change allows holders of two woodlot licences to consolidate them into one, subject to the maximum allowable sizes of 800 hectares of Crown land on the Coast and 1,200 hectares of Crown land in
the Interior. The change enables licensees to combine the woodlots' administrative and reporting tasks and allows a holder to apply for an additional woodlot.

An additional amendment allows for further changes to the Cutting Permit Postponement Regulation. Cutting permit postponements are issued for a specific area to allow licensees to harvest beetle-attacked
timber in other areas, or if continued harvesting is deemed likely to adversely affect reforestation or pose an unacceptable risk of fire hazard. The amendment will allow the Minister of Forests and Range to
add additional reasons why a permit postponement can be issued.  

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