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BC Lands & Resources Powers & Responsibilities
The two primary documents regulating forest resources, activities and management in B.C. are the Forest Act and the Forest and Range Practices Act. Under these acts, both the cabinet and the Minister of Water, Land & Resource Stewardship (Fisheries) have the power to make regulations.
Other provincial environmental legislation may play a role in the management of forest land and resources, such as the Land Act, which governs the disposition, management and administration of Crown land, including zoning and higher-level plan objectives that influence activities under the Forest and Range Practices Act, as well as the Assessment Act, the Heritage Conservation Act, the Park Act, and the Forestry Revitalization Act.
Forest Act
The Forest Act deals with administration of forest land tenures and the control of timber and timber licences. The act provides for the classification and management of forests and forest land, the regulation of cutting rates and the content and requirement of licences and agreements, and for operational activities such as timber marking, scaling and stumpage. [1]
Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA)
The Forest and Range Practices Act (‘FRPA’) creates an administrative regime for managing the practices and planning of forest and range activities on Crown land. This includes primarily the practices and procedures of harvesting timber and caring for ranch land owned by the province.
Under this act, a ‘forest practice’ is a prescribed activity that is carried out by the government, a holder of an agreement under section 12 of the Forest Act, or a person in a prescribed category (FRPA, s.1). The prescribed category of persons includes contractors, employees, and agents of an agreement holder under the Forest Act or Range Act; persons with an obligation to establish a free growing stand in accordance with an agreement made under section 29.1 of the FRPA; and a holder of a special use permit that authorizes them to mange or use Crown land for silviculture treatments or wildlife habitat enhancement (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation, 1.2[2][a]-[c]). These practices may occur on public or private land that is subject to a tree farm licence, a community forest agreement, or a woodlot licence (FRPA, s.1).
The prescribed activities carried out include: timber harvesting, road construction, road maintenance, road use, road deactivation, silviculture treatments, botanical forest product collecting and fire use, control and suppression; an activity carried out under an agreement under the Forest Act, a special use permit or a road permit; or an activity related to any of the previously listed activities (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation, 1.2[1][a]-[c]).
Under the FRPA, the B.C. government can enter into agreements to ensure that forest resources and range resources are being properly managed and conserved (.118). For example, the Minister or a designated official may enter into agreements under which the government provides forest or range protection services or forest or range health services (FRPA, s.118[2][c]).
Allowable Annual Cut
The allowable annual cut (AAC) is the rate of timber harvesting determined for an area under section 8 of the Forest Act or the rate of timber harvesting specified in an agreement under the Forest Act (Forest Act, s.1[1]). Under the Forest Act, there are three authorities responsible for determining the AAC: the Chief Forester, the Minister, and the Haida Gwaii Management Council.
Under the Forest Act, the cabinet may make regulations on a number of topics regarding the AAC, (Forest Act, s.151). The regulation making powers include:
- For the purposes of section 8.1: prescribing the formulas or methods to be used to adjust the allowable annual cut, and prescribing additional circumstances in respect of which the allowable annual cut is adjusted (Forest Act, s.151[1][b.2])
Annual Allowable Cut – Determined by the Chief Forester
The Chief Forester is appointed under section two of the Ministry of Forests and Range Act (Forest Act, s1[1]). Under the Forest Act, the Chief Forester must determine an annual allowable cut at least once every ten years for Crown land in each timber supply area (TSL), excluding the Crown land in tree farm licence areas; community forest agreement areas; First Nations woodland licence area; and woodlot licence areas (Forest Act, s. 8[1][a]). Additionally, the Chief Forester must determine an annual allowable cut at least once every ten years for Crown land in each tree farm licence area (Forest Act, s. 8[1][b]]).
To determine the annual allowable cut, the Chief Forester must consider, despite anything to the contrary in an agreement under section 12 of the Forest Act, the following factors when making a determination:
- the rate of timber production that may be sustained in the area, considering: the composition of the forest and its expected rate of growth on the area; the expected time that it will take the forest to become re-established on the area following denudation; silviculture treatments to be applied to the area; the standard of timber utilization and the allowance for decay, waste and breakage expected to be applied with respect to timber harvesting on the area; the constraints on the amount of timber produced from the area that reasonable can be expected by used of the area for purposes other than timber production; and any other information that, in the Chief Forester’s opinion, related to the capability of the area to produce timber (Forest Act, s.8[8][a][i-vi]);
- the short and long term implications to British Columbia of alternative rates of timber harvesting from the area (Forest Act, s. 8[8][b]);
- the economic and social objectives of the government, as expressed by the Minister, for the area, for the general region, and for British Columbia (Forest Act, s. 8[8][d]); and
- abnormal infestations in and devastations of, and major salvage programs planned for, timber on the area (Forest Act, s. 8[8][e]).
The Chief Forester may specify that portions of the annual allowable cut are attributable to one or more of the following: different types of timber or terrain within a timber supply area or tree farm licence area; different areas of Crown land within a timber supply area or tree farm licence area; different types of timber or terrain in different parts of private land within a tree farm licence area (Forest Act, s.8[5]).
Annual Allowable Cut – Determined by the Minister
For land in woodlot licence areas, community forest agreement areas, and First Nations woodland licence areas, the Minister is responsible for determining an annual allowable cut (Forest Act, s.8[6]-[7]). The Minister also has the power to apportion the AAC on Crown land outside tree farm licence areas, community forest agreements and woodlots for granting under the agreements (Forest Act, s.10[1]).
Annual Allowable Cut – Determined by the Haida Gwaii Management Council
Under the Haida Gwaii Reconciliation Act, the Haida Gwaii management council is responsible for determining the annual allowable cut once every ten years for lands within the Haida Gwaii management area (Haida Gwaii Reconciliation Act, s. 5[2]). This determination must be provided to the Chief Forester and published on a publicly accessible website (Haida Gwaii Reconciliation Act, s.5[4]).
Forest Management & Objectives
To ensure sustainable management of the province’s forest and range resources, the B.C. government has identified eleven resource values that are to be monitored. [2] Both the Forest Act and the FRPA are enacted with a view to prioritizing and managing these values. Under the Forest Act, the cabinet may make regulations on a number of topics (Forest Act, s.151), including specifying government objectives (Forest Act, s.151[1][m.4]).
The identified resources values are: biodiversity; cultural heritage; fish/riparian; forage and associated plant communities; recreation; resource features; soils; timber; visual quality; water quality; and wildlife. [3] Under the Forest and Range Practices Act, objectives are set by the cabinet relating to any of the eleven resource values (FRPA, s.149). Objectives set by the cabinet related to the eleven resource values, are included via regulation, specifically in the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation, the Range Planning and Practices Regulation, and the Woodlot Licence Planning and Practices Regulations (FRPA, s.149).
Until February 2023 the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation (14/2004) used to provide that objectives were to be applied “without unduly reducing the supply of timber from B.C. forests. This stipulation no longer applies to plans coming into effect after the change.
The objectives determined by the government in relation to natural resources, are as follows:
| RESOURCE VALUE | OBJECTIVE |
| Biodiversity | Landscape level: Design areas on which timber harvesting is carried out that resembles – spatially and temporally – the patterns of natural disturbance that occur within the landscape (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation s.9). Stand level: Retain wildlife trees (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation s.9.1). Conserve biodiversity; maintain native plant community dynamics; encourage the development of late seral plant communities or other desired plant communities; and maintain plant communities consistent with natural successional stages on areas where forage seeding is carried out within transitory range areas (Range Planning and Practices Regulation s.11). |
| Cultural Heritage | Conserve, or if necessary protect, cultural heritage resources that are the focus of a traditional use by an Aboriginal people that is of continuing importance to that people, and not regulated under the Heritage Act (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation s.10, Woodlot Licence Planning and Practices Regulations s.9). |
| Fish/Riparian | Within riparian areas: Conserve at the landscape level, the water quality, fish habitat, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity associated with those riparian areas (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation s.8). Within sensitive watersheds: Up until December 31, 2005 the objective is to prevent cumulative hydrological effects of primary forest activities in the fisheries sensitive watershed from resulting in a material adverse impact on the habitat of the fish species for which the fisheries sensitive watershed was established (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation s.8.1). Conserve fish, fish habitat, and aquatic ecosystems; and manage any adverse effect of deleterious material (Range Planning and Practices Regulation s.9). Conserving within riparian areas, at the landscape level, water quality, fish habitat, wildlife habitat and biodiversity. (Woodlot Licence Planning and Practices Regulations s.9) |
| Forage and Associated Plant Communities | Maintain or enhance healthy plant communities, including their vigour and cover; maintain or enhance forage quality and quantity for livestock and wildlife; recruit desirable plants, including through forage seeding; maintain a variety of age classes and structural characteristics within plant communities; maintain or improve litter; enable a range agreement in holder, in the exercise of its grazing or hay cutting rights granted by the government, to be vigorous, efficient and world competitive (Range Planning and Practices Regulation s.7) |
| Recreation | Note: Clear objectives are not identified in the regulations. Recreation consists of two components: (1) recreation resource management (the identification, protection and management of the provincial forest recreation resource) and (2) recreation use management (the provision of safe, sanitary, socially acceptable and environmentally sound recreation sites and recreation trails for public use) [4] |
| Resource Features | Note: Clear objectives are not identified in the regulations. Under the Government Actions Regulation, the Minister may identify certain elements as resource features, which allows the Minister to make an order if they believe that special management is required (Government Actions Regulation, s.5). The elements that may be identified as resource features includes: a surface or subsurface element of a karst system; a range development; Crown land used for research or experimental purpose; a cultural heritage resource that is the focus of a traditional use by an Aboriginal people and that is not regulated by the Heritage Conservation Act; an interpretative forest site, recreation site or recreation trail; a trail or other recreation facility referred to in section 57 of the Act that is authorized by the Minister or under another enactment; a recreation feature that the Minister considers to be of significant recreational value (Government Action Regulations, s. 5) |
| Soils | Conserve productivity and hydrologic function (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation s.5). Protect soil properties; minimize erosion and compaction; minimize undesirable disturbance; maintain a vigorous and diverse cover of desirable plant species; re-establish ecologically suitable vegetation after disturbance; maintain ground cover, including sufficient litter and residual dry matter accumulation to protect soil; minimize accelerated soil erosion; and minimize sealing of the soil surface (Range Planning and Practices Regulation s.6). Conserve the productivity and hydrological functioning of soils. ( Woodlot Licence Planning and Practices Regulations s.9) |
| Timber | Maintain or enhance an economically valuable supply of commercial timber from B.C. and ensure the provisions of the regulation and the Act relating to primary forest activities, do not unduly constrain the ability of a holder of an agreement under the Forest Act to exercise their rights (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation s.6). |
| Visual Quality | Ensure that altered forest landscape for the scenic area in different visual sensitivity classes is in the required category (Forest Planning and Practices Regulation s.9.2[2]). |
| Water Quality | Maintain or improve water resources; maintain or promote healthy riparian and upland areas; maintain or promote riparian vegetable that provides sufficient shade to maintain stream temperature within the natural range of variability; and maintain or promote desired riparian plant communities (Range Planning and Practices Regulation s.8). |
| Wildlife | Conserve sufficient wildlife habitat in terms of amount of area, distribution of areas, and attributes of those areas for: the survival of species at risk; the survival of regionally important wildlife; and the winter survival of specified ungulate species (s.7[1]). Maintain or promote sustainable, healthy, viable, productive and diverse wildlife populations and their associated habitat; minimize disturbance during critical periods to wildlife or to wildlife habitats; and manage the risk of interaction between predators and livestock (Range Planning and Practices Regulation s.10). Conserve sufficient wildlife habitat in terms of amount of area and distribution of areas, and attributes of those areas for: the winter survival of specified ungulate species, the survival of species at risk, and the survival of a species of regionally important wildlife. (see Woodlot Licence Planning and Practices Regulations s.9) |
[1] Forest Legislation and Policy Reference Guide 2015, Association of BC Forest Professionals, 31 March 2015
[2] Managing Resource Values under the Forest and Range Practices Act Province of British Columbia, Forest and Range Practices Act
[3] Forest and Range Evaluation Program, Province of British Columbia, BC Ministry Forests and Range, 2008
[4] FREP Recreation Monitoring, Government of British Columbia
