Forest lands in Canada classified as public are managed by both the provincial or territorial governments and the federal government. Since almost all of these public forest lands are found within the provinces and the territories, most of the management falls to these provincial and the territorial governments.
Their responsibilities include:
- publicizing and implementing laws protecting forest resources against illegal and exploitative harvesting
- issuing licences or permits for harvesting forest resources
- implementing other practices to ensure the sustainability of these public forest lands
Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA)
As part of regulating and managing public forest lands, British Columbia has enacted the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) which governs activities in forestland and rangelands. It came into effect on January 31, 2004, replacing the 1995 Forest Practices Code.
This Act regulates activities such as:
- forest planning
- road building
- timber harvesting or logging
- Reforestation
- livestock grazing (such as cattle grazing)
All these are specific to public forest lands (or provincial Crown land) in British Columbia.
This is one the laws seeking to balance the economic needs of the province – which includes the sustainable use and harvesting of forest resources and products – and the environmental mandate to protect other forest resources (flora and fauna, ecosystems, or natural habitats).
A large portion of publicly owned provincial forestlands is found in British Columbia. The Forest and Range Practices Act is a recognition of the responsibility placed on B.C. in safeguarding Canada's forests.
Application
The Act applies to all public forestlands and public rangelands. A forestland or a rangeland is publicly owned or a Crown land when it is not under federal jurisdiction nor private ownership.
The Forest and Range Practices Act applies to various persons or entities, such as:
- licence holders under the Forest Act;
- licence holders under the Range Act; and
- licence holders of woodlots and tree farms in private lands.
Certain provisions also apply to provincial government entities. The Act directs the managers of the B.C. Timber Sales Program to manage a forest stewardship plan (Sections 3 and 4) and a forest health emergency (Section 27), among other provisions.
The Act also directs the continuation of the Forest Practices Board (Section 136), the Forest Appeals Commission (Section 140.1), and the Forest Practices Advisory Council (now renamed Forest and Range Practices Advisory Council) (Section 170).
Licence holders
The Forest and Range Practices Act applies to different kinds of licence holders under the Forest Act and the Range Act.
A licence holder under the Forest Act is the holder of licences, permits, or arrangements such as:
- a forest licence
- a timber licence or timber sale licence
- a tree farm licence
- a community forest agreement
- a woodlot licence
- a licence to cut or forestry licence to cut
- a free use permit
- a Christmas tree permit, or
- a road permit (Section 12, Forest Act)
A licence holder under the Range Act refers to holders of grazing licences, grazing permits, hay cutting licences, and hay cutting permits (Section 3, Range Act).
Forest Stewardship Plans
Forest stewardship plans (Section 3) are carried out under the Forest and Range Practices Act. It is imposed on persons and entities who want to harvest forest resources or products in B.C.'s forestlands and rangelands.
Before a licence holder can harvest timber or build a road in any area, the Act requires the preparation and approval of a forest stewardship plan. This will show the areas where the licence holder intends to harvest timber or build roads (Section 3(1)).
Free Growing Stands
Licence holders under a forest stewardship plan and a woodlot licence must comply with certain obligations upon approval of their forest stewardship plan or their woodlot licence plan.
One of these is to establish a free growing stand (Section 29) requiring licence holders to reforest the logging site after timber logging or harvesting. This area must then be maintained by the licence holder for several years.
The obligation of establishing a free growing stand may be transferred to another person under an agreement, subject to the requirements set by the Forest and Range Practices Act (Section 29.1).
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Range Use Plan and Range Stewardship Plan
Like a forest stewardship plan, a range use plan or a range stewardship plan (Part 4) may also be required from a holder of an agreement on the use of rangelands. The Act mandates that an agreement-holder must prepare a range use plan, which must also be approved, before one can graze livestock or cut hay on a specific rangeland (Section 32).
Depending on circumstances, an agreement-holder may also have to prepare a range stewardship plan. This plan should specify the location of the rangeland, the pastures currently on the rangeland, and the type of range developments to be done.
Recreation
The Forest and Range Practices Act also grants the Minister the power to establish, designate boundaries, or dissolve interpretive forest sites, recreation sites, or recreation trails on public provincial forestlands or rangelands (Section 56).
The Minister may also ban other persons from constructing or rehabilitating a trail or other recreation on these lands, except when complying with certain conditions imposed (Section 57).
What did the Forest and Range Practices Act change?
After the enactment of the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Ministry laid out changes that it would implement in line with the new provisions. These include improved participation of Indigenous Peoples and other communities in forestland and rangeland management. The goal is to advance its general objective of reconciliation with these communities.
Another change is the introduction of an improved Forest Landscape Planning framework. This aims to clarify B.C.’s objectives and outcomes for the management of resources from these provincial forestland and rangeland.
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