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   In 1995, B.C. consolidated and strengthened its forest policies, regulations and guidelines in the Forest Practices Code, which made it some of the toughest and most comprehensive forestry legislation on earth. This has evolved to a new Forest and Range Practices Act, which is expected to take effect beginning in 2004 and will maintain the high level of environmental protection but in a more efficient and effective manner. It will shift the focus from paperwork to field results aimed at conserving and protecting forest resources. Under the new law, forest companies will develop forest stewardship plans that are available for public comment and describe the results they will achieve and the strategies they will use. Companies will be accountable for the results. A pilot project currently underway on the mainland coast northwest of Vancouver is showing how high environmental standards can be met with less bureaucracy. Since it was set up in 2002, the Stillwater Timberlands Pilot Project has demonstrated the benefits of inviting community members and First Nations to be part of forest planning rather than limiting their involvement to plan reviews and comments. The Stillwater plan offers a more flexible approach that lets companies adapt their operations to meet changing market and customer needs, allowing trained resource professionals to spend more time in the field. The Stillwater pilot project demonstrates how the new Forest and Range Practices Act can move the forest management focus from paperwork to on-the-ground results.  By law, forestry activities on B.C.'s public lands, including logging and read construction, must conserve and protect forest values such as fish and wildlife habitat, biodiversity, soil, water quality and streams, recreation, scenic vistas and spiritual or traditional uses. Harvest plans must ensure the careful management of lands, or set aside reserve lands to provide bird or animal habitat, to maintain visual quality or protect community watersheds. This must be done long before any harvesting activities take place. |
| Scenic areas are carefully managed so harvesting does not compromise visual values. In some management units, as much as one-third of the harvesting land base is managed for visual quality. B.C.'s forest laws are backed by a tough compliance and enforcement regime involving various provincial and federal agencies. Government inspectors are finding industry compliance rates of more than 98 per cent.
 British Columbia's commercial forest industry prospered with the industrial boom after the Second World War, and by the 1980s resource professionals found it was becoming a challenge to maintain stable harvest levels across the province. On the coast, this was primarily due to the changing wood supply as companies had to harvest trees in different areas, often farther from the mills, and as forest practices changed and more land was set aside to create parks and protect the wide range of forest values. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the overall annual cut began to decline. On the coast, it had reached a peak of 27.8 million cubic metres in 1980 and by 2001 it had dropped to 20.1 million cubic metres. Based on comprehensive reviews of timber supply, the Ministry of Forests expects that this general trend will likely continue for the next 50 years, when the coast allowable annual cut should stabilise at about 17 million cubic metres. This projection is based on the current land allocation and management regimes in place today. If any of these assumptions change in the future, which is reasonable to expect, the projections will change as well. In 1992, B.C. introduced its timber supply review, a process that continues to be one of the pillars of its sustainable forest management. At least once every 5 years, B.C.'s chief forester is required by law to determine how much wood can be harvested in each of the province's 71 management units. This ensures that all harvest levels are based on the latest technical information, both economic and environmental. If the chief forester expects the annual cut level will not change significantly, the next timber supply review can be postponed for up to 5 more years. |
