A Forest Practices Code Act for British Columbia was passed in the Legislature in July, 1994. This law requires better forest practices throughout the province, and establishes heavy penalties for violators. When the Code is implemented over the next few months, forest management practices will be changed to meet the requirements of the Code. These new practices may influence both short- and long-term timber supply. When these changes can be identified, and their impact on timber supply can be quantified, they will be considered in the allowable annual cut determination in this review.
The Forest Act requires the chief forester to reassess the allowable annual cut for each timber supply area and tree farm licence area at least every five years after this review is completed to incorporate new information, new practices and government policies. Implementation of major government initiatives such as the Protected Areas Strategy and the land-use recommendations of the Commission on Resources and Environment, and Land and Resource Management Plans may have significant impacts on the timber supply in specific timber supply areas and tree farm licences. In these cases, the allowable annual cut can be reviewed in less than five years.
A process to develop a Land and Resource Management Plan has been underway in the Kalum-South area since early 1991. A Community Resources Board of 16 local people representing various community perspectives was formed in April 1993 to assist with planning. This process will lead to recommendations on new resource management objectives and strategies that balance social, economic and environmental values. Once these recommendations are approved by government, current forest management practices will be revised so they are consistent with these objectives.
|
Throughout this discussion paper the page numbers from the technical reports are provided so that you can refer to them for additional information (TSAR is the Kalum South Timber Supply Analysis Report, and SEA is the Southern Portion of the Kalum Timber Supply Area: Socio-Economic Analysis) |
