An Introduction to Tree Farm Licences by Judieth Lavoie:

A quick tour of the issues
Times Colonist
Wednesday, October 24, 2007

What are Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s)?
A Tree Farm Licence is an area of land set aside for forestry. While most of the land around the province governed by such licences is owned by the province, some is privately owned by forestry companies.

How do they work on Crown land?
Companies apply to the province to be able to harvest timber on a particular parcel of provincially owned land under the general supervision of the provincial forest service. The tenure holder is responsible for forest management and then pays a stumpage fee to the province for each cubic metre of timber cut. The annual allowable cut in each area is set by the province. The tenures have terms of 25 years, while the licence agreements can be changed every five to 10 years.

How do they work on privately owned land?
About 50 years ago, the provincial government, in an effort to ensure long-term sustainability of the industry and local communities, allowed forestry companies to combine private timberlands with Crown timberlands. The merged lands were managed as a single TFL, meaning the forestry companies had to follow more stringent standards on the privately owned portions than before. In return, the companies were given sole access to a guaranteed supply of timber on Crown land.

Can lands be taken out of the licences?
Yes, but this has rarely happened before. If a company wants to take land out of a licence agreement, it must negotiate with the provincial government.

What's happening now?
In January, the province allowed Western Forest Products to remove 28,283 hectares of private land from three tree farm licences on Vancouver Island. At the time, the province put conditions on the deal, including a three-year ban on log exports from the lands, First Nations access, protection of community watersheds and protection of Roosevelt elk and black-tail deer winter ranges. However, those conditions only apply if the land is owned by WFP. On Monday, WFP announced that a private developer had purchased about 2,000 hectares of the land west of Victoria.

What's the issue?
While the province put conditions on the deal, critics are arguing it should have required financial compensation because WFP was removing private lands from the licence, land that had given it years of access to Crown timber. Critics also argue that the decision was made without consulting interest groups, such as community residents, First Nations and environmental organizations.