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Only top-level descriptions British Columbia. Ministry of Forests and Lands Forests and forestry--British Columbia
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Non-replaceable timber sale licences

  • GR-3631
  • Series
  • [ca. 1968]-1997

Series consists of non-replaceable timber sale licence files. These licences provide an applicant with a one-time right to harvest timber in a specified area.

Each file documents the issuance, administration and cancellation of licences as per the Forest Act. The majority of the files in this series date from 1978-1995 although there are also some files that date back to 1968. The records are from all areas of the province.

The files consist primarily of copies of the licence, applications, maps, deletion notices, status clearance forms, correspondence and reports. The ministry assigned A numbers to the files which have been assigned sequentially. There are many gaps in the numbering since the ministry only transferred cancelled licence files to the archives.

The records were created by the Timber Management Branch and the Timber Harvesting Branch. The following ministries were responsible for forestry between 1973-1994:
1973-1975 Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources
1975-1976 Dept. of Forests
1976-1986 Ministry of Forests
1986-1988 Ministry of Forests and Lands
1988-1994 Ministry of Forests

The records have been classified as 19620-25 in the Forest ORCS.

British Columbia. Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources

Forest licence cutting permits from the Dawson Creek Forest District

  • GR-3683
  • Series
  • 1971-1992

The series consists of cutting permits for forest licences and timber sale harvesting licences. The records were created by both the Chetwynd Field Office and the Dawson Creek Forest District. These offices were part of the Prince George Forest Region. Each office maintained their own files and, in most cases, both files have been retained.

The ministry created multiple files for administering the permit process. These include a central file as well as individual files for each cut block. Since this series also contains files from two offices, there are often duplicate central and block files for each permit. Both are numbered identically but they are differentiated by the acronyms CFO for the Chetwynd office and DDC for the Dawson Creek office.

All files contain a variety of correspondence, reports, maps, and forms. The central file is split into two parts. The first part contains a copy of the cutting permit, final harvesting reports, permit extension documentation, and stumpage fees. The second part contains preliminary inspections by Forest Service staff, appraisal analysis documentation and correspondence.

The ministries responsible for creating these records, and the years that they were responsible, are:

British Columbia. Ministry of Forests (1988-1992)
British Columbia. Ministry of Forests and Lands (1986-1988)
British Columbia. Ministry of Forests (1976-1986)
British Columbia. Dept. of Forests (1975-1976)
British Columbia. Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources (1971-1975)

The records were classified as 19500-45 in the Forest Operational Classification System (ORCS).

British Columbia. Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources

Planting reports

  • GR-3709
  • Series
  • 1962-1987

Series consists of forestry planting reports. The reports were created to document reforestation work in the province. The reports were written on standardized form and the description on the back of the form says that “the object of the form is to provide a complete and realistic report of planning project for record and cost comparison purposes.”

The forms were usually completed by the contracted party who carried out the reforestation work. The reports document the number of trees planted, where the planting took place and the cost of doing the work. For most of the years covered by this series, the forms were completed in triplicate with one copy being submitted to the Ranger Office, one to the Reforestation Officer in the District Office and one to the Reforestation Division in Victoria. The reports in this series are from the Victoria Office.

The records are arranged by the Forest District with individual folders for each year. The early records usually contain a range of years in each folder. The folders consist primarily of copies of the planting report form and a map of the area planted. Some folders also contain other documents such as planting inspection reports, daily planting progress reports, and correspondence.

Ministries responsible for the creation of this series, and the dates of the responsibility, are:

Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources, 1962-1975
Dept. of Forests 1975-1976
Ministry of Forests 1976-1986
Ministry of Forests and Lands 1986-1988

Classified by the ministry as 18750-20 in the Ministry of Forests ORCS.

British Columbia. Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources

Stand tending reports

  • GR-3714
  • Series
  • 1977-1987

Series consists of stand tending reports which were created to document forest treatments in the province. According to the Ministry of Forests, “stand tending is a subset of silviculture that includes a variety of forest treatments, including pre-commercial thinning, fertilizing, pruning and commercial thinning, which are carried out to maintain a healthy forest and to increase the quality and quantity of timber produced.”

The reports were maintained by the Victoria Office of the Ministry of Forests. Each report is on a standardized form and a map of the area treated attached to many of them. The reports contain information about the forest region, the district as well as the National Topographic System map number to provide the location of the work. The forms also list the type of project that was undertaken, the project objective and the accomplishments. The forms were usually completed by the contracted party who carried out the work and there is a space on the form to record who did the work, the costs and the date that the work was started. The forms were also signed by the project foreman and forestry staff.

The records are arranged by the Forest District with individual folders for each year. The folders consist primarily of copies of the planting report form and a map of the area planted. Some folders also contain other documents such as planting inspection reports, daily planting progress reports, and correspondence.

Ministries responsible for the creation of this series, and the dates of the responsibility, are:

Ministry of Forests 1976-1986
Ministry of Forests and Lands 1986-1988

Classified by the ministry as 18750-20 in the Ministry of Forests ORCS.

British Columbia. Ministry of Forests (1976-1986)

Special timber licences

  • GR-3736
  • Series
  • 1911-1990 (primarily 1963-1982)

Series consists of special timber licences created by the Ministry of Forests and its predecessors. The ministry created these records to manage the process of providing applicants with the right to cut in forests. The records were created between 1911-1990 although the majority of the records in this series were created between 1963 and 1982. The records deal with all areas of the province and were created in accordance with the Forest Act and its sections on timber licences.

Special timber licences were first referred to in the 1888 Lands Act (SBC 1888, c. 16). The 1912 Forest Act (SBC 1912, c. 17) stated that a “special timber licence shall vest in the holder thereof all rights of property whatsoever in all trees, timber, and lumber cut within the limits of the licence during the term.” These licences remained in effect until the January 1, 1979 enactment of the new Forest Act (SBC 1978, c. 23). This 1978 act replaced special timber licences with a new form of timber licence.

The records are arranged by the timber licence number which begins with TL followed by a sequential number. The TL number was phased out in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s with the introduction of the timber licence files. Many files have the new timber licence number, which begins with “T”, written on the front of the file. There is also a sheet in the front of the file that contains information about the file that replaced it.

The files usually consist of a copy of the licence, renewal documentation, correspondence, logging inspection reports, and termination documents.

There are also two volumes of file 18043f from the Dept. of Lands and Works’ “O” files series. These files contain documentation about multiple licences. These have been placed in the last box.

Ministries that were responsible for this series include:
Dept. of Lands (1908-1945)
Dept. of Lands and Forests (1945-1962)
Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources (1962-1975)
Dept. of Forests (1975-1976)
Ministry of Forests (1976-1986)
Ministry of Forests and Lands (1986-1988)
Ministry of Forests (1988-2005)

British Columbia. Dept. of Lands