Forest Stewardship Plans: Mandatory amendments, certification and declared areas

There have been amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) and Forest Planning and Practices Regulation (FPPR) to modernize administration of Forest Stewardship Plans (FSPs).

These changes repeal provisions that previously allowed FSP holders to "declare" areas (cutblocks and roads) that have been subject to planning investment for future development. Declaring areas protected them from certain future changes to legal requirements.

New mandatory amendment requirements have also been introduced, which require FSP holders to amend their FSP when certain objectives set by government are established, varied, or cancelled. The timeline to submit these mandatory amendments has been shortened.

Additionally, the ability of certain qualified professionals outside of government to certify that FSP content meets legal requirements has been repealed.

Together, the amendments ensure:  

• Wider applicability of new legal requirements related to forest management
• That only government officials may determine that an FSP complies with legal requirements

On this page: 

• Changes to declared areas in FRPA and FPPR
• New triggers for a mandatory amendment to an FSP
• Repeal of professional certification of FSP content
• Amended sections of the Forest and Range Practices Act and Forest Planning and Practices Regulations
• Resources for Forest Practitioners

Changes to declared areas in FRPA and FPPR

Previously, declared areas allowed forest stewardship plan holders who had invested in the development of a cutblock and performed certain field activities, including assessments, to ‘declare’ an area. This allowed the FSP holder to harvest these areas according to the objectives in place at the time of declaration, thus protecting their investment. As regulatory changes continue to be implemented under the FRPA Improvement Initiative, the repeal of this provision ensures that the most current objectives and requirements apply over a wider range of the landbase. To effect this change, the FPPR (s. 1) definition of “declared area” and FPPR s. 14 (4), 23, 30 (1), 32.1 (a) and 92.1 (3) (e) are repealed to support the repeal of FRPA s. 7 (Limited protection for forest development units).

This change will take effect on January 1, 2026. Any areas that were previously “declared areas” will cease to exist after this date. Note that an exception applies to areas subject to FRPA section 196 (1), which contains different provisions to "declare" an area. Such areas were included in Forest Development Plans under the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, which preceded FRPA, and therefore require a separate mechanism to enact their repeal.  The newly added section 116 of the FPPR outlines the timeline for when protection of these areas will expire.

New triggers for a mandatory amendment to an FSP

FRPA s. 8 was repealed and replaced to introduce new triggers for mandatory amendments to an FSP. Mandatory amendments are now required when the establishment, variation or cancellation of any of the following take place within a forest development unit included in the plan:

• A lakeshore management zone objective
• A water quality objective
• A wildlife habitat area objective
• An ungulate winter range objective
• A fisheries sensitive watershed objective
• The designation of a temperature sensitive stream under s. 15 of GAR

Consistent with the newly amended FRPA s. 8(4), an FSP Holder has a period of 6 months (unless another period is specified in the applicable enactment) to amend their FSP after a mandatory amendment enactment comes into force.  When a temperature sensitive stream is designated under Government Actions Regulation (GAR) s. 15, the holder of the FSP will be required to submit an amendment to the plan in one years' time, rather than the default period of 6 months.

Repeal of professional certification of FSP content

All references to FSP Content Certification are repealed including:

• FPPR s. 1 (2) which specifies the definition of “certify”
• FPPR s. 22.1 which allows resource professionals to certify specified FSP content
• FPPR s. 32.2 which pertains to amendments required where certification wrongly given

This certification requirement is being repealed to reinforce the minister’s responsibility to ensure the content of an FSP follows legal requirements. It is part of an effort to reassert government as the land manager.

Amended sections of the Forest and Range Practices Act and Forest Planning and Practices Regulations

Resources for Forest Practitioners

• FRPA Facts – FSP Administration (PDF, 153KB)