Forest Practices Board announces appointment

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The first Aboriginal member of the British Columbia Forest Practices Board was appointed Sept. 19.

Dave Mannix, forestry and economic development manager for the Snuneymuxw First Nation in Nanaimo was appointed to a revamped board, one that has been pared down to four members from the original seven. More than 70 names were put forward as members.

Asked if he believed his appointment was tokenism, Mannix said, "Probably about eight years ago I would have been suspicious of that, but today I would say no. I have worked on policy and stewardship development and higher level forestry initiatives, not just with this government but with past government and industry. I have done presentations to academic institutions and foresters and the present chair of the Forest Practices Board and I have a good working relationship and we have a high level of respect for each other's integrity."

Board Chair Bill Cafferata in a public statement explained the function of the Forest Practices Board:

? it audits forest practices for compliance with the Forest Practices Code and auditing government enforcement of the code

? it deals with public complaints about forest practices

? it acts as an advocate for the public interest by participating in administrative reviews and appeals before the Forest Appeals Commission

? it informs the public on matters relating to the Board's duties.

He also stated, "The board must be responsive to the public's rapidly evolving expectations of forest managers, to balance economic, social and environmental values."

Mannix said the board's job is to enforce the code and to be stewards of the forests.

"Personally I think there's an opportunity for the Forest Practices Board to continue to develop awareness around appropriate forest practices and to assist in providing that education or awareness."

Stewardship of the forests has always been a First Nations mandate, Mannix said, and it is only a question of time and education before practising good husbandry of the forest becomes second nature for everyone.