BC forestry processes to be streamlined

Oct. 6, 2011, Victoria – The newly
introduced British Columbia Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
Statutes Amendment Act, 2011, will streamline
processes under the Forest Act, Foresters Act,
and Resort Timber Administration Act.


Proposed amendments under the Forest Act will:

• Extend the tenure terms of a Master Licence
  to Cut to 10 years and a Free Use Permit to five years. These tenures, used by
  the energy and mines sectors to cut timber, will now have similar terms to
  tenures issued by the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Oil and Gas
  Commission.
• Allow woodlot owners to remove private land
  from their woodlots, at the discretion of the minister, to provide woodlot
  owners flexibility in managing their assets in changing economic times and to
  plan for retirement.
• Enable direct award of Fibre Supply
  Licences to Cut to access wood residue and debris to support the growing wood
  bioenergy sector.
  
• Ensure timely and accurate submission of
  information from timber cruises to calculate stumpage fees.

Proposed amendments to the Foresters Act
will enable timber cruisers to be officially certified, to provide confidence
that accurate information used to calculate stumpage is being collected. Timber
cruising involves gathering data on the amount, type, grade and value of trees
to be cut into timber in a particular cutblock.

Proposed amendments to the Resort Timber
Administration Act will:

• Allow for a more coordinated approach to
  administering Crown timber within controlled recreation areas, such as ski
  hills, by ensuring Crown timber on private land can be dealt with under the
  Act.
• Reflect that the Minister of Forests, Lands
  and Natural Resource Operations is now the Minister responsible for the
  Act.

To view a copy of the bill, visit: www.leg.bc.ca/39th4th/votes/progress-of-bills.htm.