Forest Management Certification Assessment Report for - Rainforest ...

FSC PrincipleP4: CommunityRelations &Workers’ RightsP4: CommunityRelations &Workers’ RightsComments from InterestedParties• Road and landing rehabilitation areincreasing noxious weeds whichreduce forage for ranching. Damageto fences and natural barriers that areimportant to the ranching industryare not repaired.• The level of contact with tenureholders, user groups and the publichas declined so there is not regularenough communication with someranchers and some interest groupsabout harvesting plans, especiallysince harvesting has beenconcentrated in lodgepole pine foreststo deal with the mountain pine beetleoutbreak.Assessment Team Response• The team was told by both Tembec andthe East Kootenay LivestockAssociation that they are committed tocontinuing to work together to resolvethese issues. Given these parties’ longhistory of finding solutions, theirwillingness to work together and theabsence of disputes, no nonconformancewas found. The team didnot specifically assess damage tofencing from logging operations.• Tembec’s consultation process includesmaintaining an extensive contact list,with maps of tenures and interests,regular invitations to review plans andan ‘open door’ to those wanting toprovide input. The team concluded thatTembec meets the consultationrequirements in the standard. However,the recent reduction in Tembec’splanning staff and resources and a lapsein government planning processes ismaking it difficult for staff to maintaina level of consultation that meets theFSC Standard. While no nonconformancewas found, Observation4.4.2 suggests that Tembec shouldconsider whether adequate staff andresources are available to develop stepsto protect the range of sometimesconflicting interests in these operatingareas.Page 24 of 89