The Forest Practices Board is coming to the islands in early May to audit BC Timber Sales and timber sale licence holders.
The audit will examine BCTS and timber sale licence holders' operations throughout the Charlottes timber supply area, including Sewell Inlet, Collison Point and Massett Inlet.
BCTS is an independent organization within the Ministry of Forests and Range, created to develop crown timber for auction. Timber sale licence holders big on the timber and then carry out the harvesting and some road activities.
Auditors will examine operational planning; construction, maintenance an deactivation of roads; timber harvesting; silviculture; and fire protection activities carried out between May 2005 and May 2006, to assess compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act.
The board randomly carries out periodic independent audits to see if government and forest companies are complying with the province's forest practices legislation. This audit was chosen randomly, and not on the basis of location or level of performance.
The five-member audit team will start work on May 8 at the Ministry of Forests and Range office in Queen Charlotte. The team expects to complete all field work within a week.