WHEREAS the Ministry of Forests and Range administers all legislation, regulation and policies with respect to the harvest of timber in the province; AND WHEREAS local government has an interest in the removal of barriers which currently limit the ability to effectively reduce wildfire hazards on Crown land surrounding communities and on private property: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities lobby the Minister of Forests and Range to amend provincial policies to ensure that Crown revenue requirements, in the form of mandatory stumpage fees and small volume scaling requirements, do not limit proactive timber harvesting undertaken to reduce community wildfire hazards; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in order to facilitate small-volume timber removal for wildfire protection on private land, the Minister amend the current timber mark system to allow a single mark to be used collectively by several individual landowners.
MINISTRY OF FORESTS AND RANGE Stumpage and timber marks relief for fuel reduction: In 2006, the Province of British Columbia introduced a new type of tenure that provides more flexibility to manage high-risk forest fuels identified in Community Wildfire Protection Plans. Pilot projects are underway to assess the actual costs of harvesting in interface areas. This data will allow pricing adjustments but we still expect stumpage fees to vary depending on the sizequality of the timber and amount to be harvested. If the timber is large and good quality, the stumpage rate will be higher. We do not believe it is unreasonable that a fee be paid for public timber that is used commercially. This is consistent with the Softwood Lumber Agreement. Private land timber marks: Timber marks are used to track the movement of timber. They distinguish private from public timber, help combat timber theft and ensure that the public is paid for the use of its natural resources. It is a simple process for private landowners to get a timber mark. Timber marks are issued free of charge at district offices, and are good for five years. Individual marks allow the parties to sort out issues if one landowner trespasses on another. Private landowners rarely do their own scaling measuring the wood. The most common approach is that the mill that buys the logs does the scale for the landowner.