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Moving logs in British Columbia

Started by Kasba, April 17, 2015, 09:26:13 AM

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Kasba

Does anyone know the rules about moving logs on the road in British Columbia, Canada. I was mentioning to a friend of mine who has a firewood business that I was wanting to move some 16' Douglas Fir and he told me I cant move anything over 10 without exemption from the government. If they are under 10 I only need a letter from the land owner?
Timbery M285 25hp, Husqvarna 570 auto tune, Alaskan sawmill, Nova 1624 wood lathe, Dogo Argentino

Rougespear

Not sure but good question.  Will ask a friend who probably knows and get back to you.  My father in law moved them quite readily and never had an issue with no permits... but mind you he never got caught haha.
Custom built Cook's-style hydraulic bandmill.

Kasba

Sounds great, I look forward to hearing from you.
Timbery M285 25hp, Husqvarna 570 auto tune, Alaskan sawmill, Nova 1624 wood lathe, Dogo Argentino

magicmikey

   The landowner is issued a permit from the forest district to remove logs, it includes a number and a booklet. The booklet shows the log scale and the numbers are stamped or painted on the load. The landowner returns a copy of the load slip back to the forest service. The trucker is now legal and the landowner may have some taxes to pay.
    Each forest district has some leeway in it`s procedures so you should contact the one for your area. Here a commercial species over 4' in length is considered a log.
mike

ST Ranch

Kasba

As per the BC Forest Act and Scaling Regulations, ALL logs and forest products cut and transported in BC legally require a timber mark, which indicates the area of origin and if stumpage royalty is payable to the Crown. This mark must be clearly marked [stamp hammer, log crayon or paint] on a percentage of the logs being transported. In addition, the transporting vehicle must have a completed load description slip and carry it while forest product is moved.

This is the case for both private land and crown land.  Logs from private land most often do NOT have royally due, but from crown land have fees payable.

That said, exemptions can be made, but must be applied for at your local Forest Service Office [now called Ministry of Natural Resource Operations ??  or in some areas Front Counter BC ].  As noted above, there are some variations by foresrty office and local Manager.  You want to talk to a log scaling officer.

In my area, East Kootenays, for small volumes [usually less than a logging truck load], an application to the district for an exemption results in the scaling officer issuing you a temporary timber mark to use as well as a load slip for the load.

Hope this info helps - this process usually can be done in a day or so and I highly recommend it. You do not need some "keener" compliance/enforcement officer giving you hassles.

Sadly in many cases, folks are frustrated by the hassle and often cut great trees/logs into firewood or call the tree service to chip them.

Good Luck
Tom


LT40G28 with mods,  Komatsu D37E crawler,
873 Bobcat with CWS log grapple,

Kasba

Thank you everyone this was great information. It is unfortunate that a home owner with less than a 1/4 acre property who just wants to give away some logs rather than see them turned into firewood has to go through this. On the positive note I would rather go through all the red tape than get fined :)
Timbery M285 25hp, Husqvarna 570 auto tune, Alaskan sawmill, Nova 1624 wood lathe, Dogo Argentino

sealark37

That and a few more reasons are why we kicked the King out.   Regards, Clark

sawguy21

It is a pita but timber poaching is a big issue on both sides of the border.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Brucer

Yes, you need paperwork to move logs on the highways in BC -- anything over 4' in length and more than 4" in diameter. It sounds complicated until you actual do it, then you discover it isn't all that bad.

You are allowed to take your mill onto private land and saw the landowner's logs for his or her own use -- no paperwork required. Of course it's none of your business what the landowner does with the wood after you've left. But if he/she piles it beside the road with a "for sale" sign on it before you even leave, you might be in a little trouble.

If a homeowner wants to bring his/her logs to you, taken from his/her own property, with the sawn lumber to be for his/her own use, then the owner can get a one-time timber mark exemption (and scaling exemption). There is no charge for this, it's very simple, it can be done by mail, fax, or e-mail, and the Forestry people try their best to make it happen quickly. Basically, they try to make it easy for you to follow the rules.

I've dealt with 3 different scaling officers and they have all been great to work with. The key is to follow the rules and talk to them if something unusual comes up. They are more than happy to help people who make their life easier.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

ST Ranch

Bruce - thanks for remembering to mention the "scaling exemption" request. As a licensed scaler myself, I often forget to mention it as doing the scaling, load slips, arrival ledgers, etc  is sort of second nature to me.
Tom
LT40G28 with mods,  Komatsu D37E crawler,
873 Bobcat with CWS log grapple,

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