Forest and Range Practices Act Amendments Progress to Improving Forest Stewardship in BC

…amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) will enable significant changes to the priorities and processes that direct forest and range management in British Columbia. The Forest Statutes Amendment Act (Bill 23), now in First Reading, is part of our BC government’s legislative strategy to improve resource and lands stewardship through changes to FRPA. The original Act introduced in 2002 reflected the then government’s intention to move towards “results-based management.” But bias towards timber production, ambiguity around environmental objectives, diminished trust in professional reliance, and the advent of the mountain pine beetle assault, wildfire disasters, and climate change left FRPA short of the kinds of results, our Government felt that British Columbians and their landscapes needed. …how these changes will be implemented will come with the development of supporting regulation as the next step after Bill 23 has Royal Assent. Meanwhile, the WFCA will continue its work on Minister Conroy’s Public Advisory Committee…