The B.C. government is inviting British Columbians to provide input into improving the Forest and Range Practices Act.
“Making changes to the act is essential to strengthen government’s oversight of the forest sector and improve public trust in how our forests and rangelands are managed,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “We want to improve the legislation to ensure it will continue to sustainably manage our forests and rangelands in the face of climate change.”
A discussion paper, Forest and Range Practices Act Improvement Initiative: Renewal and Resilience, and feedback form are available online: http://engage.gov.bc.ca/forestandrangepractices
Feedback can be provided until July 15, 2019.
The Forest and Range Practices Act governs on-the-ground forest and range activities on B.C.’s public forests and rangelands. Guiding principles for proposed changes include putting the resiliency of the land first, public trust, reconciliation with First Nations and scientific knowledge, as well as flexibility and adaptation.
Feedback from the engagement process will inform changes to the Forest and Range Practices Act and regulations that are planned over the next two years.
The Forest and Range Practices Act and regulations first came into effect in 2004. Initial amendments to the act were introduced in spring 2019.
There are 55 million hectares of public forest land in British Columbia, of which 22 million hectares are considered available for timber harvesting. Less than one per cent is harvested each year.
