The provincial Forest Practices Board completed an audit of B.C. Timber Sales operations in the Cascades Forest District last week and will release the results in an upcoming public report.

A statement from the board said the audit examined timber harvesting, road construction and maintenance, silviculture, fire protection, and planning by B.C. Timber Sales and timber sale licensees on Crown land in the Merritt and Lillooet TSAs.

Helen Davies, a spokesman for the Forest Practices Board, explained that B.C. Timber Sales are “kind of the business end of the Ministry of Forests.”

B.C. Timber Sales was founded in 2003. According to its website, B.C. Timber Sales manages about 20 per cent of the provincial Crown allowable annual cut.

The Cascades Forest District includes both the Merritt and Lillooet timber supply areas.

The Forest Practices Board is an independent watchdog agency that audits forestry-related use of Crown land in British Columbia.

The provincial Treasury Board funds the Forest Practices Board, according to Davies, but the Forest Practices Board maintains an arms-length relationship with the government.

“The reason is we can be critical of government.”

The Forest Practices Board also investigates complaints from the public, examines the effectiveness of government enforcement, and recommends legislative practices and changes.

Davies said the board would release its final report from the audit in the coming months.

Although its findings are shared with the public in full, the board can only make recommendations and does not have the authority to order the government or licensees to change their practices.