Future of Recreation: Recreation in the driver seat

Tourism Pemberton | Craig Barker photo

Changes to the Forest and Range Practices Act shift the power in the forest

From access to nature to apps and AI, the evolution of trail construction to electric power, this story is part of a series of articles looking at how recreation will change and evolve over the short and long term. 

The law of the forest is changing and, when it comes to recreation, it’s for the better. Rather than forestry companies at the steering wheel, the provincial government has amended the Forest and Range Practices Act to better reflect the interests of nearby communities.

The changes are designed to “put government back in the driver’s seat of land-management decisions,” as Katrine Conroy put it in 2021 when, as Minister of Forests, she announced the government's intention to shift direction. 

FRPA, as the act is known, lays out the rules for managing public lands, particularly related to logging practices. In the past, FRPA contained guidance for working around recreation and environmental values, but only if they did not “unduly reduce the supply of timber from British Columbia’s forests.” The changes to FRPA, announced in June, will expand public engagement in forest planning, add more protection for rare ecosystems and equalize recreation values with logging interests. The new regulations are part of an overall renovation to how the province manages Crown land, including a new forest landscape planning framework and modernized land use planning, both of which we will report on soon.

In a recent press release about the FRPA changes, Bruce Ralston, the present Minister of Forests, said a key feature of the changes is the requirement for forest companies to publish maps that show proposed cutbacks and roads. It will allow the public to see detailed future plans for the first time and provide feedback the government can act on.

“Opening the planning process to the public through the use of new digital tools will engender greater public trust and ensure forest resiliency,” Ralston said. 

The other changes are more nuanced, but will provide greater clarity to the logging companies about how to work around sensitive habitats and recreation infrastructure, says John Hawkings, formerly the head of Recreation Sites and Trails BC and now the executive lead of Recreation Strategy & Service Transformation. A new protected habitat category within FRPA, called Ecological Communities, will help preserve rare ecosystems and important habitats for species at risk. And all 2,000 designated recreation sites and trails in the province are now a “resource feature,” The new labels means logging companies must “not damage or render ineffective” the sites. In the past only half held this classification. The change adds certainty that all sites and trails will be considered in forest operations planning, says Hawkings. 

“Generally speaking, conflicts between resource companies and recreation groups were very low, especially considering how much forestry goes on in the province,” says Hawkings. “But with increased use of recreation infrastructure and an increase in public interest in recreation, we always want to improve. This is one more tool to integrate and manage recreation and forestry operations.”

Because the recreation values are different at a quiet lake versus a mountain bike trail through a cut block, government employees need to do more policy work to specify what “damage” and “ineffective” mean. 

As an example, Hawkings imagines a trail network with a main access trail. “​​A main connector trail may have greater recreation value than a periphery trail,” he says. “So licensees would need to consider that in terms of forest practices and plan accordingly. If harvesting plans will impact the ability to access other trails, we will have questions. There will be more capacity to push back.”

Though he doesn’t foresee the need to do too much pushing.

“In my experience, forest licensees typically already work with the recreation community, even when the features are not recognized under FRPA,” he says. “I think licensees are going to see any additional practice requirements as business as usual for them.”

For the recreation community, greater involvement in planning is the biggest outcome of the changes. The new mapping requirement and new Forest Landscape Planning process are new opportunities for recreation groups to get involved and express their values, says Hawkings.  

The FRPA changes go into effect immediately, while the mapping requirements will come into force soon.

Ryan Stuart started writing about his adventures as a way to get paid to play. Twenty years later he’s still at it. Look for his name in magazines like Outside, Men’s Journal, Ski Canada, online at Hakai and The Narwhal. When he’s not typing at his home office in Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley, you can find him skiing, hiking, mountain biking, surfing, paddling or fishing somewhere nearby.