Biodiversity may be at risk near Prince George, B.C., says forestry watchdog

An independent investigation into how the provincemanages some of its oldestforestshas foundindustry practices may be putting biodiversityat risk, according to a statement from the province Thursday.

The B.C. Forest Practices Board, an independent industrywatchdog, says in the statement that forest licensees are complying with legal requirements for biodiversity protection.

However, the boardfound some concerns with how government and timber licensees are managing one of the province's largest timber supply areas around Prince George, B.C.

Board chair Kevin Kriese noted that the legal order on biodiversity protection in the Prince George timber supply area was developed nearly 20 years ago.

"[In the early 2000s] the province was just starting to manage old-growth [forest], and they used the best available science at the time, went through a public review process and the established legal objectives" he said. "Twentyyears later, that original legal order has never been updated."

The statementsaid the investigation alsofoundconcerns over how the industrydesignatesold-growth trees inthe Prince Georgetimber supply area.

"In some ecosystems, the order uses greater than 140 years to define old forest, where the rest of the province uses greater than 250 years for the same ecosystems," the statement said.

The Prince George timber supply areais also one of the few areas in the province where the size of old-growth forest legally required to be conserved is notidentified on maps, according to the statement.

It is insteadmeasured as a percentage of the overall forest inventory, the defining parameters of which were created nearly 20 years ago, said board chair Kevin Kriese.

"Alot of the pines disappeared killed by the [mountain]pine beetle," he said. "But there's also elevated salvaging.You quite simply don't have biodiversity in the places that you might have expected 20 years ago."

The board is recommending that the remaining old forest be mapped,and that government revisit its approach to biodiversity protection,the statement said.

Itis now calling ontheprovince to update its objectives for old forest and that it does so in partnership with Indigenous communities in the area.

The Prince George timber supply areais approximately eight million hectares, or more than twice the size of Vancouver Island, and is the largest timber supply areain the province.