An audit on Taan Forest Limited Partnership and Taan Forest Ltd. has found the two entities to comply with almost all Forest and Range Practices Act requirements and the Wildfire Act, the Forest Practices Board (FPB) announced on March 22.
The inspection was carried out between September 2019 and September 2021 on tree farm licence 60 forest licence A87661 on Haida Gwaii.
Auditors examined the companies’ activities including harvesting on 36 cutblocks, construction of 45 kilometres and maintenance of more than 1,700 kilometres of road, planting on 54 cutblocks and ensuring forests are regenerating on more than 170 cutblocks, the FPB stated.
The FPB defines a cutblock is “a specific area of land with defined boundaries, authorized for harvest.”
The activities were assessed for compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act, applicable regulations and legal orders.
“We are pleased to report that all field practices complied with legal requirements as well as objectives in the Haida Gwaii Land Use Order,” Kevin Kriese, chair of the Forest Practices Board, said. “Taan appropriately addressed important resource features including riparian areas, visual quality objectives, wildlife habitat, karst, cultural features and cedar stewardship areas.”
The review found Taan had met reporting requirements in the land-use order — but did not submit reforestation information into the government’s silviculture database within the time frame required by legislation.
“As this non-compliance did not affect forest regeneration, this is considered an area for improvement,” Kriese said.
Tree farm licence 60 and forest licence A87661 are within the territory of the Haida Nation and the Haida Gwaii Natural Resource District.
The FPB is the province’s independent watchdog for sound forest practices that reports its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board audits forest practices on public lands and appropriateness of government enforcement. The agency can also make recommendations for improvement to forestry practices and legislation.