Highlights include: working closely with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development on the provincial Managed Forest Program Review; updating and implementing our Communications Plan to ensure effective, relevant communications with stakeholders; conducting 62 inspections of managed forests to assess compliance with the Council Regulation; and assessing $18,000 in penalties from owners through the compliance determinations program.
As an independent agency established by the Provincial Government, each year the Managed Forest Council must submit an annual report to the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. Council has now submitted its 2019-20 Annual Report.
There are 278 private managed forests in British Columbia, encompassing 808,000 hectares. These properties are located primarily on Vancouver Island, the southern mainland Coast, and in the Kootenay-Boundary and Okanagan- Shuswap regions.
In 2019, 5.0 million cubic metres of timber were harvested on managed forest land, generating approximately 4,500 jobs. Approximately 12,300 hectares were harvested, and 12,900 hectares were restocked.
The Annual Report summarizes:
- Council’s activities for the year, including how well it achieved its objective and performed its duties under the Private Managed Forest Land Act
- statutory reporting requirements including information about the number of managed forests, area in the program, and number of inspections
- owner activity including harvesting, road building, and reforestation, along with comparisons to previous years; and
- the Inspection Program, Investigations and Determinations.
You can read the 2019-2020 Annual Report here