JUNE 2019    
This newsletter highlights items of interest
for Managed Forest Owners, summer 2019
IN THIS ISSUE:
Reminders  
Recent Activity   
    

Reminders 
Regulatory Changes Take Effect July 1, 2019 
 
Effective July 1, 2019, amendments to the Private Managed Forest Land Council Regulation (Council Regulation) will come into force.
 
Owners of managed forest land in British Columbia subject to the Private Managed Forest Land Act are currently required to protect Licensed Waterworks Intakes (LWI). Starting July 1, the Council Regulation will require private managed forest landowners, while conducting forest management activities, to protect licensed drinking water intakes issued for a domestic or industrial purpose. Owners must not cause a material adverse effect to water quality in a stream that may affect human health at the point of diversion.
 
Other amendments include:
  • a requirement to submit a Management Commitment Amendment within 60 days of disposal of a portion of a managed forest, and
  • removal of extended reforestation timelines for new owners who have reforestation obligations related to areas harvested by a previous owner. 
For further details on the amendments to the Council Regulation, including links to the legislation and water licence data, see Council's Regulatory Changes blog post here. 
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Private Managed Forest Land Program Review
 
The Province of British Columbia has initiated a review of the Private Managed Forest Land Program and has set up a public engagement website to collect feedback on the program and its current legislation, the Private Managed Forest Land Act.  
 
As an owner of a managed forest in British Columbia, we encourage you to participate in the public engagement process by completing the Government's online survey. The survey closing date has been extended to July 22, 2019, 4:00 pm.
 
To access the Province's public engagement site and associated survey, click on this link.
Recent Activity

Managed Forest Council Compliance Decisions
 
Council has several mechanisms that may be used to ensure compliance with the Private Managed Forest Land Act and regulations.  Compliance mechanisms and decisions are outlined in the compliance section of Council's website, here.
 
There have been three recent determinations with respect to potential contraventions of the Private Managed Forest Land Council Regulation (Council Regulation). For more details and links to the compliance procedures, decisions, and legislation, see Council's Compliance Decisions blog post here.
Telephone: 250.386.5737
Online: MFCouncil.ca