Logging area once had 'highest levels of non-compliance'

Photo: Forest Practices Board

Many of the logging sites in question are near Duncan Lake, north of Kootenay Lake.

After discovering “some of the highest levels of non-compliance” ever encountered in B.C. at a logging area near Kaslo back in 2012, the forestry company who took over the operating region has vastly improved the region's practices.

The Forest Practices Board conducted a two-year audit of Cooper Creek Cedar's practice between September 2017 and 2019, when the company harvested about 132,000 cubic metres of timber from an area near the north end of Kootenay Lake and Duncan Lake.

"This is a very challenging operating area for engineering, harvesting and silviculture, with many sensitive environmental values and local public interest," said Kevin Kriese, chair of the Forest Practices Board. "In addition, a previous owner of the forest licence left a legacy of poor practices that was inherited by Cooper Creek when it took over.

"We were pleased to find that Cooper Creek carried out sound forest practices. Auditors specifically looked at old-growth management and caribou-habitat protection, and found Cooper Creek fully complied with legal requirements for both. Cooper Creek is also making significant investments to address the legacy issues arising from poor reforestation in the past. The quality of practices on the ground exceeded legal requirements in several respects."

Until 2014, the forest licence was owned by Meadow Creek Cedar. A 2011 investigation into the company found “numerous contraventions” of legislations, with the Forest Practices Board finding “some of the highest levels of noncompliance it has ever encountered.”

During the recent audit, the Board did find one “significant” issue, when an excavator crossed a bridge that was not rated for its weight.

The Forest Practices Board is an independent body in B.C. that monitors forest and range practices, and reports to the B.C. government.