FORT NELSON, B.C. — An audit of Canadian Forest Products Ltd. (Canfor) by the Forest Practices Board has found that 10 bridges were not maintained to the standards required by the Forest and Range Practices Act.
The audit examined activities under forest licence A17007, located in the Fort Nelson Resource District in northeastern British Columbia. Canfor had not harvested trees on the license since 2008, and the audit was limited to road and silviculture obligations. Canfor met all requirements for planting and establishing new trees on harvested sites.
“There are standards in the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation that licence holders must meet to ensure bridges are sound and safe for industrial users. The bridges examined in the audit had structural deficiencies, but they were not closed or load-rated to warn users. This was a significant concern because two of the bridges had been used by oil and gas companies, and four others were accessible by pick-up trucks, and anyone could have driven over them,” Forest Practices Board vice-chair Bruce Larson said in a statement.
“Canfor responded to these findings in a positive and timely manner by removing one bridge and restricting access and posting new signs for the others.”
Canfor’s road maintenance and silviculture activities also complied with the act.
The Forest Practices Board is an independent watchdog organization for sound forest and range practices in British Columbia and reports its findings to both the public and government.
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