The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC is asking the province to focus more attention on the value of recreation when it comes to logging on crown land.
The Council is calling for a clear objective to be established for recreation and increased funding for Recreation Sites and Trails BC, a provincial government agency.
The ORC says the Forest and Range Practices Act has 11 values for which government can set objectives to manage and protect.
However, Louise Pedersen, Executive Director of the Council, says recreation is the only value without an objective.
Pederson says forest companies have no obligation to consider recreation resources when logging on Crown lands.
The Forest Practices Board has released a report called Management of Forest Recreation in BC, which lists several improvements the province can make to better manage recreation resources.
The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC notes that those recommendations include collecting better information about recreation resources and planning that involves First Nations and stakeholders.
The FPB also says the province should set objectives for specific recreation resource values to ensure they are adequately protected from the impacts of forestry activities.
The Forest and Range Practices Act can effectively manage how forestry activities affect recreation resource values, but much of this strength is not being used.
