A regulatory change allowing the removal of private land from a woodlot licence is now in effect and winning applause, although holders will still have to jump through a few hoops before securing the go-ahead.
The change, which came into effect on Saturday, comes after an amendment to the Forest Act was introduced in the fall in answer to licensees who want to pursue other opportunities with their private land such as agriculture and ranching.
Others have said they want to sell their private land for financial reasons such as retirement planning.
"As woodlot licensees get older, they require the flexibility to remove some or all of their private land from their woodlots in order to plan their estates and take care of their families," Federation of B.C. Woodlot Associations general manager Brian McNaughton said in a press release.
He added that the requests remain subject to the provincial forest minister's approval.
"Each request will be evaluated and decided on its own merits. Any remaining private land, along with the Crown land portion of the woodlot licence area, will continue to be managed sustainably under the woodlot licence agreement," McNaughton said.
"This change in legislation is good for the forests and good for the licensees who manage the forests."
Deciding if land should be removed will include a public consultation and some other requirements must also be met:
- The private land must have been part of a woodlot licence for at least 10 years.
- The woodlot holder has provided notification and advertised their intent.
- The licence is in good standing with no overdue payments, no major contraventions of forestry legislation, or outstanding obligations.
- Access to Crown land via existing roads on the private land has been adequately addressed.
- Private land removed from an existing woodlot can't be used by the owners to apply on new woodlot licence opportunities.
There are 866 woodlots across the province, covering approximately 592,000 hectares. Private land comprises about 16 per cent of the total area and vary from zero hectares up to 1,400 hectares per woodlot with an average area of 108 hectares.
