B.C.’s provincial government is reshaping its forestry policy to elevate the voice of local communities and First Nations in the first major forest policy revamp in two decades.

In a move that many would say is long overdue, Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, introduced amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act on Oct. 20. 

Conroy said that when implemented, the new forestry strategy will, “create jobs, support healthier forest ecosystems and deliver higher-value,” from the province’s forests.

She added that forestry policies put in place two decades ago, “have limited our ability to fight climate change, protect old-growth forests and share the benefits with Indigenous and local communities.” Conroy’s mention of 20-year-old policies is a veiled reference to the provincial Liberal government of the day, which came into power in 2001.

“By increasing public control between government and First Nations, we’re committed to smarter management of our forests that prioritizes public benefits and engagement now and into the future.”

Skepticism of the envisaged far-reaching changes is highly likely, given what many see as a failure by the NDP government to live up to its campaign promises over protecting old-growth forests in B.C. This has been underscored by the ongoing protests at Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island, now the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.

Speaking to the Times-Chronicle from Victoria, Boundary-Similkameen MLA, Roly Russell said, “Fairy Creek is a demonstration of how much people value the forest and so in a lot of ways that aligns really well, frankly, with the release of the forest modernization plan.” 

At the heart of it, he says, “it’s all about recognizing that we need to do a better job of managing forests for the values they provide for us and our communities and not the single-item focus on timber values that have really been at the heart of it over the past couple of decades.”

The government set the stage for the changes when it released an independent strategic report in April 2020 that it had earlier commissioned to look into how B.C.’s old-growth forests were being managed. Russell noted that the government is committed to acting on all 14 recommendations in that report. 

He highlights that a key outcome of the old-growth report was that “we need a real paradigm shift in how we do forestry.” This is something that Russell says he’s fully behind.  

“I recognize that it’s not fast enough for people which I totally understand but that commitment is there and it’s a bold statement and we’re moving at least in the right direction if potentially we’re not moving fast enough for everyone. Too fast for some, not fast enough for others,” he adds. 

A key to the new strategy will be the development of forest landscape plans. Under this, 10-year forest landscape plans will be developed in partnership with First Nations, local communities and other stakeholders. These will prioritize forest health, replacing the stewardship plans developed largely by the forest industry.

Going forward, logging companies with harvesting licences will be required to develop and submit their operational plans for ministerial approval, as well as meeting the requirements of the broader landscape-level plans, a process which will be open to public comment, Conroy said. 

The changes will also improve efforts to mitigate climate change by allowing the chief forester to set stocking standards for replanting and reduce wildfire risk by creating wildland buffers between communities and forests.

New components of the legislation include:

  • reshaping British Columbia’s forest-management framework by repositioning the government as the land manager;
  • reasserting the public interest in forest management;
  • equipping land managers with appropriate tools to establish resilient forests; and
  • supporting reconciliation with First Nations through changes that authorize the government to establish landscape-level plans in collaboration with First Nations.

The province notes that through this new shared decision-making between the government and First Nations, the government is making further movement on its commitments to implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act passed in 2019.

Commenting on the new direction, Chief Troy Baptiste and Councillor Chad Stump, of the ?Esdilagh First Nation said, “the current Forest and Range Practices Act and forest stewardship plans leave little room for Indigenous input. The improvements to the act are a step in the right direction toward meaningful government-to-government engagement.

“?Esdilagh First Nation is committed to the continuance of the forest landscape planning process within the Quesnel Timber Supply Area for the protection of the biodiversity of the land.

“We have looked forward to the day when a collaboration would begin between Indigenous communities and the Province of British Columbia for the care of the forests. A day when traditional land knowledge and modern forest practices come together to ensure the health of the land for future generations.”

During this past summer’s record wildfire season there were substantial criticisms over the handling of fires. When asked about this, Russell said this was one of the things that communities value about the province’s forests, “beyond timber just for timber’s sake.”

Making sure B.C.’s forests are providing a “wildfire risk reduction value” is critically important as recent years have demonstrated, he added.

Some of the amendments are also aimed at providing management control over roads “which will help us manage and support wildfire fighting and allow for the designation of wildland-urban interface areas,” he said.

“A single-minded focus on timber value has, I think, really curtailed our ability to make good decisions to support community value which includes things like wildfire risk reduction,” he added.