FORESTRY, FIRE AND ACCOUNTABILITY: THE ROLE OF THE FOREST PRACTICES BOARD IN WILDFIRE OVERSIGHT
BY NATASHA CAVERLEY AND KEITH ATKINSON
Lightning cracked over Downton Lake in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada’s most westerly province, lighting a blaze that was discovered on July 13, 2023. Worming its way through steep slopes and avalanche chutes of the Coast Mountains and Chilcotin Ranges, the wildfire crept toward homes and cabins in nearby communities. With direct attack strategies limited by terrain, heavy fuel loading and water availability, the BC Wildfire Service relied on an indirect suppression tactic – a planned ignition.
Tragically, more than 40 homes were lost to the wildfire. Residents were left wondering how this happened. Was a planned ignition necessary? Did it contribute to the losses? Three community members brought these questions to the Forest Practices Board, British Columbia’s independent watchdog for forest and range practices.
The board’s investigation determined that the BC Wildfire Service acted lawfully in conducting its planned ignition on Aug. 1, 2023, and that its decision to conduct the ignition was reasonable. More importantly, the investigation and subsequent report showed the public exactly how the decision was made, line by line.
WHAT DOES THE FOREST PRACTICES BOARD DO?
Similar to an ombudsman role, the board audits forest practices, investigates complaints, conducts special investigations, issues special reports and reviews determinations made by government related to the provincial Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
The Forest and Range Practices Act is the primary legislation governing how forest and range activities are conducted on public lands; it focuses on achieving results or strategies that uphold government-set objectives for key resource values such as water, biodiversity, soil, fish habitat and cultural heritage.
Rather than prescribing how to achieve these outcomes, the act emphasizes a results-based model, allowing licensees some flexibility in how they meet objectives. Licensees must prepare and follow operational plans (such as forest stewardship plans) and are subject to compliance inspections and enforcement.
The act aims to balance sustainable resource use with environmental protection and public confidence in land management.
The Wildfire Act governs the prevention, control and recovery of wildfires in British Columbia.
Did you Know: Currently in its thirtieth year of operations, the Forest Practices Board has published 649 reports: 272 audits; 258 investigations; 63 special reports; and 56 special investigations.
It sets out the legal responsibilities for individuals and organizations to prevent wildfires, respond appropriately when they occur and rehabilitate areas affected by fire.
The Wildfire Act applies to anyone conducting highrisk activities (such as industrial work) and outlines obligations for fire suppression, reporting and hazard abatement. The Wildfire Act also grants government powers to fight fires, restrict activities during periods of high risk and recover costs from those found responsible. The Wildfire Act plays a critical role in mitigating wildfire impacts on people, property and natural resources across British Columbia.
The Forest Practices Board’s work shines a spotlight on the extent to which industry and government are meeting the intent of British Columbia’s forest, range and wildfire management practices legislation. Specifically, the board’s mission is to serve the public interest as the independent watchdog for sound forest, range and wildfire management practices.
The board’s work encourages:
• Sound forest, range and wildfire management practices that instill confidence with the public and Indigenous Peoples;
• Continuous improvements in forest, range and fire stewardship; and
• Fair and equitable application of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.
The board’s guiding values and principles center on independence, integrity, excellence, fairness, respect and transparency.
The only organization of its kind in Canada, the board has an arms-length relationship from government, and a mandate to hold both government and the forest industry in British Columbia publicly accountable for forest, range and wildfire management practices, including compliance with the Wildfire Act. As an independent watchdog, all the board’s findings are published online in publicly accessible reports that undergo rigorous fact checking.
HOW DOES THE BOARD MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
The board’s work directly addresses the increasing threat of wildfires and the role that regulated forestry plays in mitigating risks associated with wildfire.
Since 1996, the board has been engaged in wildfire-related matters in one or more of the following ways.
Investigations occur when concerns are brought forth by residents about compliance with the Wildfire Act and the appropriateness of government enforcement, such as concerns about the adequacy of prevention / abatement or government response / suppression efforts.
For example, the Fire Control near Manning Creek report (2023) involved the board investigating a complaint about whether the BC Wildfire Service complied with the requirements of the Wildfire Act related to fire control (a planned ignition) and whether the decision to carry out fire control was reasonable.
Audits involve assessing forest and range protection requirements under the Wildfire Act, and include auditing fire preparedness when encountering active operations, auditing compliance with requirements for wildfire hazard assessments, and abatement of hazards following operations.
For example, in the Audit of Forest Planning and Practices: Cheakamus Community Forest Limited Partnership Community Forest Agreement K3V report (2022), the board conducted a full scope compliance audit of the Cheakamus Community Forest Limited Partnership near Whistler, which included auditing wildfire protection such as the abatement of fire hazards following timber harvesting. In this case, forest fuel reduction treatments were prescribed, which established assessment schedules and abatement requirements.
Special investigations focus on regional or provincial wildfire-related matters that have implications for policy decision making, legislation and appropriateness of government enforcement.
For example, in the 2025 special investigation report Help or Hinder? Aligning Forestry Practices with Wildfire Risk Reduction, the board examined forestry operations from 2019 until 2022 in wildland-urban interface areas for three natural resource districts across British Columbia: the Sea to Sky from Vancouver north to Pemberton; the Cariboo-Chilcotin in the central interior; and the Peace district in the northeast. The investigation found outdated rules and unclear responsibilities are preventing forestry from becoming a powerful wildfire-defence tool. Despite the challenges, the board observed strong examples of wildfire conscious forestry where tenure holders completed assessments promptly, followed through with abatement commitments, and used wildfire risk reduction treatments to meet fuel reduction targets – evidence that the necessary knowledge and skills are available.
Based on the findings within Help or Hinder, the board issued five recommendations to the BC government that focused on (1) encouraging forest operators to actively reduce wildfire risk; (2) updating legal definitions so municipalities (local governments) are included in the interface; (3) improving co-ordination among government, industry and communities; (4) modernizing hazard assessment guidelines; and (5) incentivizing faster cleanup of logging debris.
Other notable wildfire special investigations include the Wildfire Act Determinations report (2022), which examined whether government determinations made under the Wildfire Act (circa 2015-2020) are fair, consistent and timely; and the Fuel Management in the Wildland Urban Interface – Update report (2015), which involved reviewing progress in managing fuel in the wildland urban interface, examining if the approach to fuel management was working, and identifying opportunities for improvement.
Did you Know?
More than 1 million British Columbians live in wildland-urban interface areas with high or extreme wildfire risk.
Since 1996, the Forest Practices Board has led:
• Seven complaint investigations specific to wildfire, leading to three recommendations to the British Columbia government.
• Audits involving 305 samples about protection assessment and wildfire hazard abatement; highlighting that there is an increased trend of forest licensees not meeting hazard assessment requirements (~30 per cent of samples in the past five years).
• Eleven special projects (special reports and special investigations) focused on wildfire leading to 38 recommendations. For example, the need for best management plans or standards for assessing the effectiveness of fuel treatments, prescriptions for fuel management, post-fire risk assessments as well as guidelines for fire hazard assessments (a cornerstone of wildfire risk reduction), abatement, and fire resilient stocking standards. Other recommendations focused on the need for coordinated planning, fire prediction modelling, fire management planning (including rehabilitation), incentives for fuel treatments, and addressing policy barriers that limit the use of prescribed burning.
Special reports provide commentary on trends, findings and broader wildfire management issues to enhance the public’s understanding and invite discussion on these matters.
For example, the board’s Forest and Fire Management in BC: Toward Landscape Resilience (2023) special report helped influence the creation of a Cultural and Prescribed Fire Program and legislative amendments to support cultural burning.
Appeals to the Forest Appeals Commission involve the board challenging certain statutory decisions made by government under the Wildfire Act or participating as a third party in an existing appeal. Wildfire Act appeals address a range of issues including contraventions, administrative penalties and orders for the recovery of the government’s costs of fire control.
In 2021, the board joined a Wildfire Act appeal about industrial debris pile burning and subsequent steps to ensure the debris pile fires are extinguished. The board’s participation in the appeal focused the standard required to establish a due diligence defence when a person becomes aware that debris pile fires are not fully extinguished several months after conducting the burns.
From 2020 to present, the board has reviewed more than 50 Wildfire Act determinations.
While the board does not have the authority to impose penalties (for example, monetary fines), its reports and recommendations have led directly to improved forest practices such as stronger government decision-making processes and better communication among forestry professionals to manage risks to the environment – this includes wildfire risk reduction.
HISTORY OF THE FOREST PRACTICES BOARD
The board provides oversight of forestry, range and wildfire management practices in provincial legislation. The board reports publicly on how well industry and government are meeting the intent of these laws, makes recommendations and shares publicly how industry and government respond.
The board oversees forest and range practices in the province; it was created after the War in the Woods protests.
Circa 1993, the War in the Woods protests occurred in response to industrial logging by MacMillan Bloedel (one of the largest forestry companies at that time) in Clayoquot Sound. With close to 12,000 protestors in Clayoquot Sound, the War in the Woods was one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian history. In response to the War in the Woods, the BC government introduced the Forest Practices Code in 1994, which established the Forest Practices Board. The Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and 18 regulations (including the Forest Practices Board Regulation) were proclaimed on June 15, 1995.
In 2004, the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act was replaced by the Forest and Range Practices Act. The intention of the legislation is to uphold environmental standards while providing more flexibility to forest licensees to decide how to carry out on-the-ground practices. In 2005, the Wildfire Act was proclaimed.
The board has a governance structure that balances independence with accountability. The board consists of a full-time chair, part-time board members and staff who live in communities across the province. Board members work to represent the public interest by interpreting audit and investigation findings to inform recommendations that can shape policy changes. The chair and appointed board members provide strategic direction and are involved as the final decision makers in publishing reports and recommendations. The staff, which includes auditors and investigators, manage an array of projects within the board’s mandate. Additional expertise is retained for projects as needed from contract professionals and the academic community.
It is the board’s view that the BC government must lead the development and implementation of a vision and action plan (see Figure 1) to restore landscape resilience and enable co-existence with fire.
“Historically, people co-existed with fire on the landscape,” the board says in the June 2023 special report, Forest and Fire Management in BC: Toward Landscape Resilience.
“Wildfire returned to certain landscapes frequently and, together with Indigenous fire stewardship, played an important role in maintaining resilient ecosystems,” the report says. “As a society, we need to get back to a place where fire can do its good work on the landscape again, without the significant risks posed by catastrophic fires in a changing climate.”
Proposed by the board in the special report, a vision and action plan are needed to align policies and programs across all levels of government, and to coordinate the broad range of stakeholders and Indigenous rightsholders who have roles to play in enabling and implementing landscape fire management across BC within a changing climate. This includes ensuring that a landscape resilience vision and action plan are co-developed with Indigenous Peoples with clear recognition of Indigenous viewpoints in fire stewardship on the landscape. As summarized from this special report, this paradigm shift requires a massive investment and progress over time to transition land and fire management from a reactive to a proactive forward looking stance. It will require sustained monitoring of the implementation and effectiveness of investments and treatments, and a commitment to adapt and adjust as knowledge about wildfires, climate change, landscape resilience is gained.
As part of sharing the board’s story of impact, this article highlights the role of independent
watchdogs and the corresponding evidence-based work in investigations and special reports related to wildfires. Recognizing the international scope of the Wildfire magazine, readers are invited – particularly wildfire leaders, policy decision makers, wildfire practitioners and forestry professionals – to consider adapting, customizing and scaling a similar independent watchdog governance model in the respective jurisdiction that serves the public interest through increased accountability and transparency related to wildfire management and related forestry practices. To view the board website and for more information visit https://www.bcfpb.ca/
Thank you to board communications manager Tanner Senko and board general counsel Nathan Murray for valuable feedback and peer review.
Natasha Caverley is an appointed board member of the BC Forest Practices Board in British Columbia, Canada. She is a multi-racial Canadian of Algonquin (Whitney and Area Algonquins), Jamaican and Irish heritage. She holds a B.A. (with distinction) in psychology, M.Ed. in counselling psychology, and PhD in organizational studies from the University of Victoria. Caverley is a Canadian certified counsellor through the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association who specializes in organizational behaviour, career counselling and development, and multicultural counselling. Caverley has 25 years of experience in research / policy analysis and organizational development focusing on Indigenous fire stewardship and Indigenous approaches to health and wellness.
Keith Atkinson is the BC Forest Practices Board chair. He is a registered professional forester with a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry from the University of British Columbia. For 10 years, Atkinson served as the chief executive officer of the First Nations Forestry Council, where he worked to create opportunities for First Nations in forestry. He has also held positions as the forest resources manager at the Nisga’a Lisims Government and served as a community trustee for the Snuneymuxw First Nation, of which he is a member.
