The allowable annual cut (commonly referred to as AAC) of each timber supply area (TSA) and tree farm licence (TFL) is determined by the chief forester at least once every ten years. The chief forester may also specify partitions-portions of the allowable annual cut to different types of timber and terrain within a management unit.
Once the chief forester has determined the allowable annual cut of a timber supply area, the minister may then apportion it to various forms of agreements.
The minister’s apportionment is a forward-looking vision of how the minister would like to see the allowable annual cut of a management unit distributed amongst the forms of agreement. Section 12 of the Forest Act lists all of the forms of agreements.
Only licences with an allowable annual cut (tree farm and forest licence) are listed in the apportionment reports.
Once a woodlot licence, community forest agreement, or First Nations woodland licence is established the supporting Crown land and allowable annual cut are removed from the timber supply area. These forms of agreement are not tracked in the apportionment system.
The remainder of timber supply area allowable annual cut is usually apportioned to BC Timber Sales or to other small miscellaneous forms of agreement or volume categories.
Read the following guidance on apportionment:
The apportionment reports show provincial allowable annual cuts, apportionments and commitments by forest management units in the province.
The reports include information on the BC Timber Sales apportionment category but do not report on specific timber sale licences, with the exception of a few non-replaceable forest licences. In addition, the apportionment reports do not report on issued Woodlot Licences, Community Forest Agreements, First Nations Woodland Licences (XLS 177KB) or forestry licences to cut.
B.C Timber Sales provides the cost and price benchmarks for timber harvested from public land in B.C.
Forest analysis and forest inventories are how allowable cuts are determined.
Contact us if you have questions about annual allowable cuts on Crown land.