Christine Wood
The forest stewardship plan (FSP) for the community forest is now before the province awaiting approval after 11 people commented on the plan and some changes were made.
"We got 11 comments back on the plan and they were mostly about preserving wildlife habitat areas, putting those in as management areas for marbled murrelets. Type 1, 2 and 3 habitat areas will not be logged, which is legislation anyway and part of the plan," said Kevin Davie, operations manager for the community forest.
He said other comments included spelling out acronyms to make the document more reader friendly and some comments around the process and its failings - "things like only having one forester available to respond at meetings, stuff like that," Davie explained.The forest stewardship plan is the document that guides forest practices within the community forest. However, it is very technical, and Davie noted it would not be easy to understand for the layperson.
"That's why we came up with the forest operating plan (FOP) because it's much easier to go through and get a handle on," Davie noted.
The FOP identifies things such as resources to be managed in the forest, harvesting strategies, riparian management, long-range planning and policies around clear cutting and slash burning.
The FOP was released in August and the public had until September to view and comment on the plan. Davie said that deadline has been extended into October for those still wishing to view the document and make comments.
"People can still come in any time to see the plan and give us their feedback," he said, noting their offices are above South Coast Ford in Sechelt.
The FOP has been criticized by some as not holding legal weight; they note it is not a requirement of the province as is the FSP and that the FSP will be the legally binding document on file with the province, not the FOP.
"I think the company [Sechelt Community Projects Inc. that holds the community forest licence] and the District have committed to the FOP from the start. We said we would do an FOP and we did it. We said we'd set up a community advisory group and we did it. We are committed to following the FOP and we've said that when we're done, if there are any changes in the future, they would be put before the community advisory group and then go to the public for comment again," Davie said.
Shortly after the FOP is finalized and submitted and the FSP is given approval by the province, Sechelt Community Projects Inc. (SCPI) hopes to begin logging either in Angus Creek or Trout Lake, according to Davie. "Once the FSP is approved, we need to submit our cutting and road permits and then we'll start harvesting to take advantage of the stumpage break," Davie said.
The stumpage break being offered by the province amounts to anywhere from $3 to $5 off each cubic metre harvested, according to Davie. The community forest has been approved for an annual allowable cut of 20,000 cubic metres. The stumpage break ends Dec. 31.
Davie noted SCPI would be making a presentation on their progress to date at the Sunshine Coast Regional District board meeting Thursday, Oct. 12, past Coast Reporter deadline.
