2008 Oil And Gas Rights Sales A Record $2.66 Billion

The December sale of oil and gas rights resulted in a total of over $91.7 million in bonus bids, bringing the 2008 calendar year total to a record high $2.66 billion and building on the fiscal year record of $2.38 billion, it was recently announced. See News Release.

Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation for Jan. 1, 2009

WorkSafeBC's Board of Directors has approved amendments to Parts 1, 4, 5, 14, 17, 20, 22, 23 and 26 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. All amendments, except those relating to avalanche assessment in Part 4, come into force on January 1, 2009 and are included in this Reporter.

New Regulation Amendment to Allow the Surrender of Woodlot Licences

A notice issued by the Federation of British Columbia Woodlot Associations states that the Woodlot Licence Regulation under the Forest Act has been amended to authorize the surrender of woodlot licences (WLs). Under the new amendment, a licensee can submit a letter to the district manager or regional manager indicating a desire to surrender their WL and the Forest Service must accept the request to surrender after all legal and financial obligations have been completed or the WL holder provides security to ensure the completion of outstanding obligations. These recent amendments came into force on December 9th and are included in this Reporter.

Value-added wood companies to get their own timber supply

A forestry program for value-added manufacturers was reintroduced recently, five years after Victoria froze it during a major restructuring of forest policy. See the CBC news story.

Report Surveys Possible Sea Change For B.C. Coast

The Province of British Columbia has released a report on projected sea level changes in an effort to help B.C.'s coastal communities prepare for climate change and its serious effects, such as flooding, it was recently announced. See the News Release.

Forest Sector Bailout?

Canada's forest industry has a few demands of its own for Ottawa's consideration. The Forest Products Association of Canada wants to see 5 things in January's budget:

• access to credit
• investment tax incentives
• investment in research, products, and marketing
• development of bio-energy
• extension of the federal work-sharing program beyond the current 38 weeks to preserve jobs and employment insurance benefits

Provincial Land Use Planning: Which way from here?

The Forest and Range Practices Act, and the management regime surrounding it, are critical tools in the implementation of strategic land use planning. It is within that context that the Forest Practices Board provides this special report which:

1. summarizes the history, and clarifies the current status, of strategic land use planning;
2. enumerates mechanisms to implement plan objectives; and
3. assesses the extent to which those mechanisms have been, and are likely to be, applied.

B.C. Government Releases Compliance Summary

The Ministry of Environment has released the third Quarterly Compliance and Enforcement Summary for 2008. View the Information Bulletin.