Watchdog to audit Clayoquot forestry license

By Julia Prinselaar, Westerly News 14 July 2011 Link to article

An independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices will be auditing Ma-Mook Natural Resources Ltd. on its Tree Farm License (TFL) 54, the majority of which is located in Clayoquot Sound.

Ma-Mook is the parent company of Iisaak Forest Resources Ltd., which is currently managing TFL 54 after it was transferred, in 2010, from The Coulson Group, which has a subsidiary forestry company.

The audit will begin July 19. Derek Drake, general manager of Iisaak Forest Resources Ltd., says it is an unfortunate time to be audited on the newly acquired license because Coulson is still harvesting within a portion of the 49,298 hectare area.

Iisaak is currently harvesting TFL 54 second growth timber in the Kennedy Flats area between Ucluelet and Tofino, and Coulson has been harvesting old growth in this same area, said Drake.

Coulson's harvesting rights will expire in March 2012 or earlier, according to a report from the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program.

A SmartWood audit, which happened earlier this year, is necessary in order for Iisaak to maintain its Forest Stewardship Council certification.

Drake said that further complexities are added because TFL 54 sat dormant for several years after 2004, while it was for sale.

"Many of the information tracking systems that were in use then have languished a bit and are having to be rebuilt," he said, adding that it takes data management and tracking to properly manage a tree forest license, and information has to be stored for years, as silviculture and road obligations can continue for decades.

Drake noted that part of the process of preparing for an audit is building data systems.

"The unfortunate thing with TFL 54 is that the very good systems that were in place in 2004 were left dormant for several years and some have been lost. We have good people in place, though, and are in the process of recompiling any missing data and getting things caught up."

Drake assured that all of the information will be in place for the audit.

"It's actually a very good exercise to go through and the auditors are often a good source for information exchange due to the fact they see operations all over the province."

Darlene Oman, director of communications for the Forest Practices Board, says that the board is required to randomly audit about ten forestry operations around British Columbia every year.

"[The board] goes through all activities carried out in the last couple of years and confirms that [license holders] follow all the requirements," said Oman.

"We did our selection for this year and Ma-Mook's forest licence happened to come up."

Oman says that Ma-Mook Natural Resources Ltd. has not been audited in the past, but TFL 54 was last audited in 2001 when it was managed by International Forest Products Limited (Interfor).

An audit normally goes back two years, says Oman, but the completion time of the audit depends on how smoothly the process goes.

"If we get all the information it can go fairly quickly," she said, noting that in a best case scenario the audit could be completed within four months. But if more information and further follow-ups are required, that can stretch up to a year.

The board doesn't have any authority to impose penalties, says Oman, but once the audit is complete a report will be submitted to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and be made available for public comment.

"Our role is to basically tell everyone what we see," said Oman. The board could also make recommendations to the ministry.

--reporter@westerlynews.ca

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