Series GR-1365 - Correspondence subject indexes

The Ministry of Forests was established in 1976 as the successor to the Dept. of Forests (OIC 3199/76). Prior to 1975, the responsibility for forests in the province was carried out by the Forest Branch under the Dept. of Lands and Works (1871-1908) and later under the Dept. of Lands (1908-1945). The Forest Branch was renamed the Forest Service under the Dept. of Lands and Forests (1945-1962) and retained that name under the Dept. of Lands, Forests, and Water Resources (1962-1975). In 1975, the Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources, was dissolved, and its functions were evenly distributed between the Dept. of Environment and Dept. of Forests. As a result, the Forest Branch and all forestry functions were transferred to the newly established Dept. of Forests. In 1975, the Dept. of Forests was responsible for the management of forest and range resources of the Crown and the planned use of such land in accordance with the Forest Act and Department of Forest Act. The department was also responsible for encouraging maximum productivity of those resources and encouraging a competitive timber processing industry in the province. In 1976, the Dept. of Forests was renamed the Ministry of Forests (OIC: 3199/76) and the functions of the department remained basically the same over the next ten years. Up until this time, the Forest Service remained a distinct service within the Ministry, and was led by the Chief Forester/Chief Executive Officer. The executive of the Forest Service was composed of the Chief Forester/CEO, Assistant Chief Forester (Operations), Assistant Chief Forester (Resource Management), Director of Services and Director Range Branch. In 1977, the divisions included: Reforestation, Forest Service Training School, Inventory, Resource Planning, Special Studies, Engineering, Information, Comptroller, Protection, Administration, Valuation, Personnel and Research. The forest districts were: Vancouver, Kamloops, Prince George, Nelson, Prince Rupert and Cariboo. The passage of the Forest Act, the Range Act and the Ministry of Forests Act in 1978 completed a transformation of the BC Forest Service into the Ministry of Forests. The reorganization that followed replaced forest districts with forest regions, however, the boundaries and the names remained the same. Central services were provided to the forest regions by the headquarters in Victoria. Four divisions became branches, these included Finance and Administration, Operations, Timber Range and Recreation, and Forestry. An assistant deputy minister headed each Branch and reported to the Deputy Minister. Under each of these divisions were a series of branches, each headed by a director. The Operations Branch was responsible for all of the forest regions. Two exceptions were the Information Systems Branch and the Strategic Studies Branch, whose directors reported directly to the Deputy Minister. The goal of this reorganization was to decentralize decision-making and centralize support services. In 1986, as a result of government reorganization, functions relating to Crown lands, taken from the Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing, were merged with all forestry functions. As a result, the Ministry of Forests was given the new name Ministry of Forests and Lands (OIC 1491/86).