Timber West Co.

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TimberWest Lands

Compared to the rest of BC, Vancouver Island is only 30% Crown land, with major blocks of the land privately owned by the large timber fiber corporations. Weyerhauser and TimberWest Forest Products own large tracts of once was the Baron's land, provided in compensation for the building and continued providing of an Island railroad link, the E&N Railway. For reference, this railroad ceases to exist.

TimberWest private forest lands are designated Managed Forests for tax assessment purposes. They are managed under the Private Managed Forest Land Act. This act is delivered by the Private Managed Forest Land Council. Under the Act, the land is only valued at $300 - $2930 per Hectare for tax assessment purposes (MANAGED FOREST LAND AND CUT TIMBER VALUES REGULATION). They pay taxes on the bare ground value only, with taxes on the wood being paid 2 years after harvest. The PMFLC charges $0.39 per $1,000 of valuation, or less than a buck per hectare for administration.

TimberWest Lands Access

TimberWestLandAccess is not officially permitted, contrary to the below statement by John Phillips, Manager Forestry Programs. Day use permits ($450) have been issued for some sporting events that used trails that cross or are on TimberWest lands. For more detailed information see TimberWestLandAccess.

Environmental Stewardship practices

Corporate statements

(Sourced at Private Forest Landowners Association June 7, 2007)

TimberWest is accountable to employees, customers, trust unit holders and the communities in which we operate. We must meet our investors' and public expectations for the responsible stewardship of our Trust lands. Application of Best Management Practices ensures that environmental protection is an integral part of our business.

TimberWest Timber Trust is western Canada's largest owner of private forest lands. Our 334,000 hectares of land, primarily on Vancouver Island, is dedicated to commercial forest production. Harvesting and forest management activity on these lands supports over 7000 direct, indirect and induced jobs in logging, product manufacturing, and the service sector.

Maintenance of forest productivity is very important, as this reflects the value of our major asset, private land. We pursue a strategy of maximizing "return to tree", while practicing integrated management of forest values, including products for our customers, biodiversity, water quality, and other stakeholder needs.

TimberWest believes its "right to manage" private forest lands is dependent upon sustaining sound forest management performance. The protection for forestry operations by the Private Managed Forest Land Act is crucial to the continued viability of private land forestry.

We are committed to working in partnership with the Private Managed Forest Land Council to ensure protection of key public environmental values and successful forest renewal. TimberWest will continue to champion private land forestry, protecting owners' freedom to manage, and respecting private property rights, while ensuring environmental and forest renewal standards are met.

In addition, TimberWest supports responsible public recreational use of our lands , and we have established working relationships with water purveyors to ensure that water quality is protected. We are committed to working with our neighbours to ensure that forest activities are planned and conducted with their concerns in mind.

Stable and supportive public policy is essential if investment in private land forestry is to increase. Such investment will improve employment, government revenues and community stability. It is also a key element of delivering sustainable forest management on private forest lands.

John Phillips, Manager Forestry Programs TimberWest Forest Limited Managed Forests 7, 8, 65, and 68

TimberWest participates in a variety of community initiatives, such as: Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Team, Lake Cowichan Community Forestry Cooperative, Cowichan Watershed Council, and the Oyster River Watershed Advisory Committee

Cases

Beaver Creek, (tributary to the Stamp River), Port Alberni area/near Beaufort Mountains, Vancouver Island

(from The Salmonopolis 2006 Case File)

* Beaver Creek erosion:

Date Reported to Salmonopolis: January 2006

Violation Type: Deleterious substance in stream

General Description: Enormous clearcuts on private land with few culverts for waterflow; during rain events, enormous flow has carved a new stream down the mountain right out of an active logging operating, cutting its way across the landscape, disgorging tonnes of sediment into Beaver Creek

Investigator's Comments: "DFO fishery officers responded to the scene during the height of the storms and took water samples and photos. Apparently there is an active investigation. I fully expect that DFO will likely conclude in this instance that they cannot/could not pinpoint a single source of all the water that resulted in the flooding and erosion and, as such they will not proceed with charges against TimberWest Forest Corp. (TW). I say this because there is really no clear evidence of anything like a culvert blow-out, or road failure or anything like that -- if these things did happen they have been repaired.

Timberwest is using the standard forestry argument for this kind of situation and claiming it was an unusual rain or snow event that resulted in the high flows. Also, I don't think DFO will even consider the idea that channelling 2 or more stream channels into one likely caused the problem. Compounding matters is that this logging is on private land -- an old E&N railway purchased by TW, so the provincial Results-Based Code does not even apply.

Possible courses of action? We've talked about asking for an audit of TW's forestry under their certification standards (SFI), filing complaints against the registered professional forester (RPF) that are allowing this to take pace -- complaints to their governing association.

Who Has This Been Reported to Prior to Salmonopolis? Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

What Has Been Done? In May, the Private Managed Forest Land Council determined that TimberWest Forest Corp. contravened the Private Managed Forest Land Act on Block T141 in the Beaufort Range area near Port Alberni. TimberWest has since been fined $30,000.