Audit finds fish habitat not well protected, fire suppression system inadequate

Published on July 5, 2012 by DesiWireFeed   ·   No Comments

THE CANADIAN PRESS

VICTORIA — An audit by British Columbia’s forestry watchdog has found 23 of 24 timber sales licence holders it investigated failed to comply with provincial legislation.

Auditors from the Forest Practices Board discovered instances where fish habitat was not being adequately protected because of sediment introduced into streams.

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The board says some BC Timber Sales licence holders failed to maintain the natural drainage patterns of several small streams while others did not have an adequate fire suppression system on site during extreme fire hazard conditions.

The areas audited include Gold River on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Sayward on the west, and Lower Mainland areas across from Campbell River.

Board Chairman Al Gorley says more than 100 compliance audits have been conducted since 1996, including more than 20 of BC Timber Sales operations, and typically very few problems are found.

He says this audit is an exception, although BC Timber Sales has committed to taking action to address the board’s concerns.