Crown Land: Indicators and Statistics - Ministry of Forests

Crown Land:
Indicators and
96 Statistics Report
Box 4 Roads and Corridors on Crown Land
The length and density of roads and corridors provide measures of the degree to which Crown land
has been affected by human activity, since roads are constructed to provide access for urban and
industrial development.
There are a total of 821,848 kilometres of roads and corridors (including railways, transmission lines,
pipelines and seismic lines) throughout BC, on both Crown and private land. Table 15 shows the length
and density of roads and corridors, and seismic lines, in each sub-region.
Increasing road and corridor
length and density may have the
following social, economic and
environmental outcomes:
• Providing access to
resources;
• Providing access to rural
communities;
• Fragmenting and altering
wildlife habitat;
• Isolating wildlife
populations;
• Changing water quality in
nearby water bodies; and/or
• Increasing the widespread
distribution of exotic species.
Table 15 Road and Corridor Length and Density by Sub-region
Sub-region
Road &
Corridor
Length
(km)
Seismic
Line
Length
(km)
Road &
Corridor
Density
(km/
km 2 )
Seismic
Line
Density
(km/
km 2 )
Peace 118,348 162,029 0.7 0.9
Thompson-
Okanagan
99,838 0 1.3 0
Cariboo 93,184 0 1.1 0
West Coast 92,368 0 1.0 0
Omineca 88,090 2,411 0.6 0
Kootenay 73,776 418 0.9 0
Skeena 47,000 2,028 0.2 0
South Coast 42,356 0 1.0 0
TOTAL 654,960 166,886 0.7 0.2
Source: Hectares BC
Table 15 makes the distinction between roads and corridors, and seismic lines, because seismic lines are
more temporary. Seismic lines are linear clearings in forested areas that facilitate a method of oil and gas
exploration that uses small explosive charges or seismic vibrators to create a pattern of shock waves that
are reflected by the underground geology. The interpretation of the reflected shockwaves can identify
petroleum-bearing geological zones. Seismic lines are generally used once and then allowed to revert back
to the natural landscape (as much as possible).
The Peace sub-region has the largest number of roads, corridors and seismic lines in the province, and also
the greatest density. In the Peace, 58% or 162,029 kilometres of these linear features are seismic lines.
Under the Land Act, tenures are issued for a variety of linear uses, including railways, roadways, power lines,
transmission lines, and gas and oil pipelines.
Between 2000 and 2009, roads and corridors accounted for 15,843 tenures, or 27% of all tenures issued
in BC. These tenures encompass 255,980 hectares of Crown land, or 1% of all Crown land tenured during
this period.