Water Stewardship Information Sources

ID	106
Citation	BC Forest Practices Board. 2001. Water Quality in the East Blackpool Watersheds. BC Forest Practices Board. Complain Investigation 980154.
Organization	BC Forest Practices Board
URL	http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/ffip/BCForPracBoard2001_E.pdf
Abstract/Description or Keywords	Residents in the East Blackpool area near Clearwater were concerned that forestry activities above their properties would affect their domestic water supply. The properties are on a bench of land above the North Thompson River. The East Blackpool area contains several small separate drainages, including Lone Creek, Modrall Creek, Rennie Creek, Bester Creek, McCarthy Creek, and Axel Creek. The area falls under the Kamloops Land Resource Management Plan (LRMP) that was approved by cabinet in 1995 and declared a higher level plan in 1996. The LRMP establishes this area as a ﾓgeneral resource management zone.ﾔ 1 Several watershed assessments were completed for the area, beginning in 1995. A committee was established that included Weyerhaeuser (the licensee), Ministry of Forests district staff, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks staff, and some residents of the East Blackpool area (the complainants). The committee developed guiding principles and recommendations for forestry activities in the area in 1996. In early 1997, the district manager and the licensee agreed to manage the area as if it were a community watershed although it was not designated as such under the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and its related regulations (the Code). Water resources receive greater protection in community watersheds because the Code imposes stricter requirements for forestry and range activities. Code measures to protect community watersheds are intended to prevent long-term change to background water quality, quantity, and timing of flow. Apart from participating in the public review and comment process for forest development plans, there are no additional opportunities for the public to review and comment on operational plans that fall within a community watershed; however, water licensees can be represented on watershed advisory committees to review watershed assessments. In 1997, the complainants applied to the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks for community watershed status for McCarthy and Axel Creeks. The ministry is still considering the application. Despite the commitment from the district manager and the licensee to manage the area as if it were a community watershed, the complainants believed that forest development plans were not consistent with managing the area as a community watershed. A complaint was filed with the Forest Practices Board in 1998. Several of the complaint issues applied primarily to Cutting Permit 129 (CP 129), the most recent proposal in the forest development plan. Twelve cutblocks were proposed in the Axel Creek area. The complainants made numerous assertions: ﾷ The equivalent clear-cut area (ECA) 2 was too large for a community watershed. ﾷ Logging was planned on steep slopes and highly erodable soils. ﾷ There was inadequate notice for review and comment. ﾷ Cutblocks extended to the edge of fish-bearing streams. ﾷ An access road for CP 129 was proposed to go through a rare ecosystem. ﾷ Adjacency rules3 were being violated. ﾷ Cutblocks exceeded the maximum 40-hectare size specified in the Code. ﾷ Code standards for road maintenance were not being met. The road maintenance issue related to improper road surfacing. During a field trip attended by Board staff and participants in the complaint at the start of the investigation, that issue was addressed to the complainants' satisfaction. Harvesting of CP 129 has begun and will continue through the 2000/2001 winter.
Information Type	report
Regional Watershed	North Thompson
Sub-watershed if known	Axel Creek
Aquifer #
Comments
Project status	complete
Contact Name	BC Forest Practices Board
Contact Email	[email protected]