Joint ENGO Submission on Forest and Range Practices Act Phase II Changes

This submission, supported by 28 different organizations, urges British Columbia to amend its Forest and Range Practices Act to ensure operational planning and forest practices maintain and where necessary restore healthy, fully functioning forest ecosystems that support ecological, cultural and community resiliency. As non-governmental organizations with decades of collective experience with the on-the-ground realities facing BC’s forests and forest policy, we recommend legislative changes to address:

• Climate change and resilient landscapes
• Landscape level planning
• Regaining public trust
• Establishing clear, measurable legal objectives that prioritize the protection of ecosystem values over timber, and strengthen minimum practice standards for forest ecosystem values, based on best available Western and Indigenous science.
• Oversight and accountability