Forest Stewardship Council
An audit in June 2014 found that Canfor’s East Kootenays operations met the requirements of the Forest Stewardship Council’s BC Standard, and were issued a certificate that expires in October 2019. The Forest Management Certification Reassessment Report, which was finalized in October 2014, presents the findings of an independent team of specialists.
The team viewed areas with active logging and road building, and sites with a range of values including some identified by stakeholders or affected by flooding in 2013. They notified 131 groups or individuals and received input from 49, including local community members, First Nations, environmental organizations, government and unions.
The audit report found that we used our Creating Opportunities for Public Involvement database to notify those who may be affected by harvesting operations, were responsive when comments came in, and tried to work out an acceptable compromise. It found that local residents had complimented Canfor and our contractors for exceptional winter logging.
It found we had addressed non-conformances identified in an earlier audit by signing a protocol agreement with Ktunaxa Nation Council and meeting snag retention targets. A new minor non-conformance called for the need to develop relationships with two other First Nations that recently asserted territory in the licence area. There were other minor non-conformances related to tenure rights, avoidable waste, soil damage, monitoring, culvert/road construction and reporting. The team also called for evidence to show we are meeting the FSC indicator regarding conversion to non-forest uses – noting that all conversions in the licence area were by other land managers and that the total was well below the threshold of five per cent.