Two Quesnel Woodlots Pass Audit

By 250 News

Planning and forestry activities on two woodlots in the Quesnel Forest District, generally met all legal requirements, according to an audit of their operations released today.

"We're pleased to find that these two woodlot licensees have been demonstrating sound forest practices overall," said board chair Bruce Fraser. "While we found an area requiring improvement related to planting the wrong seedlings on several sites, the findings were not considered significant. On one woodlot, there were relatively few offsite seedlings, and on the other, the seedlings were quite close to the boundary of the proper seed zone."

Seed transfer limits match seedlings with suitable environments so the planted trees can perform optimally based on the local climate, weather and soil. Planting trees outside identified seed transfer limits may cause the trees to grow at a slower rate or be more susceptible to insects, disease, and weather events.

The audits of woodlot licences W0512 and W1516 took place in June 2009, and looked at forest practices going back to January 2007 for compliance with the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act, Wildfire Act, Woodlot Licence Forest Management regulation, and Woodlot Licence Planning and Practices regulation. Three other woodlots were audited at the same time, and two were reported in October 2009.

The audit examined each woodlot licensee's planning, timber harvesting, road construction and maintenance, and silviculture activities and obligations, such as planting harvested sites and achieving free-growing stands of new trees. The audit also considered whether activities were consistent with relevant sections of the Cariboo Chilcotin Land Use Plan, such as maintaining visual quality.

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