Compliance and Enforcement

Program Overview
Key C&E Job Functions in the SCFD
C&E Team
Reporting A Forest Crime
Related Links

Program Overview

The Sunshine Coast Compliance and Enforcement Program is responsible to protect the public's interest in the management of B.C.'s forests and the generation of revenue in the Sunshine Coast Forest District by:

Enforcing environmental standards under legislation for forest and range management carried out both by the government and by forest and range tenure holders.
Enforcing the revenue policies that govern removal and transportation of timber, marking, scaling, marine log salvage, etc.
Combating "forest crimes" (theft, wildfire arson, fraud, mischief) which are a significant drain on provincial revenue and a significant risk to other environmental, social and economic values.
Enforcing regulations to minimize fire, pests and unauthorized activities that threaten the province's forest and range resources.
Enforcing rules governing the use of Forest Service recreation sites and trails.

The Compliance & Enforcement mandate is carried out through consistent application of legislation, policy and procedures. Application includes handling of public complaints, reports and enquiries, conducting investigations and monitoring for quality assurance. Where there is evidence of a contravention, an investigation is conducted, which may lead to the issuance of a violation ticket, penalty, or other enforcement action. The most serious forest crimes are prosecuted through the court system.

Specially trained staff in the Powell River office, Sechelt field office, as well as the regional special investigations unit, carry out this mandate. Links to District directory and field office directory.

Sunshine Coast C&E Team

Mark Scott	Kim Meyer
Maurice Potesta	Vince Metcalf
Tony Carroll	Rino Parise
Michael Davenport	Reynold Schmidt
Ellis Merry	Tom Spooner

Key C&E Job Functions in the SCFD

Forest Crime

Forest crime includes theft, fraud, mischief, vandalism, and arson and costs the people of BC millions of dollars every year. Our staff investigate forest crimes and other incidents of alleged non-compliance reported by staff, stakeholders, the public, and other agencies. To assist C&E staff in identifying possible contraventions, the public has a responsibility to report issues that may be non-compliant. For more information on how you can assist, please see our Reporting a Forest Crime page.

Revenue

To ensure that the crown receives its share of revenue we inspect sites for scaling timber marking and revenue appraisal accuarcy.

Environmental Inspections

We randomly inspect harvesting cutblocks to ensure that licensees achieve the results specified in their approved operational plans and legislation. When an inspection finds contraventions of an approved operational plan or of legislation, the licensee may be issued either a warning ticket or a monetary ticket. Contraventions of a more serious variety, generally those that cause or have the potential to cause environmental damage, are investigated and reported to a government senior official.

Silviculture Monitoring and Inspecting

To ensure that licensees reforest their cutblocks, we randomly inspect sites for regeneration and to monitor silviculture obligations. There are several challenges to achieving reforestation in the SCFD, such as ungulate browsing, alder and salal competition, and hemlock dwarf mistletoe. C&E staff ensure that licensees deal with these challenges (i.e. by providing seedling protection, brushing treatments, etc.) so that their silviculture obligations are achieved.