Background

During the period of May 10-1of Western Forest Products uCAN/CSA Z809 Standard. Thsurveillance audits conductedaudit process and results of t

Scope of Certificat

The sustainable forest managundertaken on the defined forhectares within TFL 44 includ

Sustain

Overview of Port Albern

The Port Alberni Forest Operations iBamfield and represents one of twelvfacilities are divided into three distric

The Operations consist of harvestingThe defined forest area (DFA) consis

Cedar and Hemlock make up the bugo to local Western Forest Productssawmills on southern Vancouver Isla

Western Forest Products

able Forest Management SystemPort Alberni Forest Operations

1, 2010 the Port Alberni Forest Operationsnderwent a surveillance audit to thee registration cycle is over 3 years withannually. This report summarizes the

he QMI-SAI Global re-registration audit.

ion

ement system as it applies to forest management activitiesest area. The defined forest area consists of 157,419ing 80 hectares of private lands.

i Forest Operations

s located on western Vancouver Island near the communities of Port Alberni ande Western Forest Products Timberlands operations. The location, tenures and

t geographic areas; Franklin, Uchucklesit and Great Central Lake.

, hauling, maintenance shops, dryland sorts, landfills and administrative offices.ts of 157,419 hectares within TFL 44 including 80 hectares of private lands.

lk of the timber harvest, followed by Balsam and Douglas fir. The majority of logssawmills, Catalyst Papers (a local paper producer) and Western Forest Productnd.

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Executive Summary

The CAN/CSA Z809:2002 third-party surveillance audit was undertakenby QMI-SAI Global. QMI-SAI Global is an independent third partyregistrar that is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) forregistrations to the CAN/CSA Z809:2002 standard. This ensures theintegrity and credibility of the audit process.

The audit assessed completed harvest operations through interviews withWFP staff and contractors. The audit also assessed the SFM andsupporting EMS documentation and records at the WFP Port Albernioffice.

For this surveillance audit, the on-going effectiveness of the SFM systemto deliver the intended outputs was assessed against selected elementsof the CAN/Z809 2002 Standard. Based on the results of the audit, it wasidentified that Western Forest Products, Port Alberni Forest Operations,has continued to commit the time, resources, and effort necessary toestablish, implement, maintain and continually improve an effective SFMsystem.

Western Forest Products engages in information sharing with all FirstNations affected by the DFA. In many cases, Western Forest Productsapproaches information sharing according to the terms established withinFRPA.

No non-conformances were identified during the audit; however 1 area ofconcern and 7 opportunities for improvement were noted as detailed inthis report.

CAN/CSA Z809:2002Re-Registration Audit

Non-conformance (NCR).….0Areas of Concern (AOC)…...1Recommendations(OFI).…...7Positive Aspects……….……4

Non-conformances

Non-conformance (NCR):A systemic failure of the programParticipant’s EMS/SFM systemto meet an EMS/SFM objective,performance measure orindicator.

All non-conformances require anaction plan within 30 days.Non-conformance must beaddressed by the operation orregistration cannot be achieved /

maintained.

Area of Concern (AOC):An isolated lapse in EMS/SFMsystem implementation whichdoes not indicate a systemicfailure to consistently meet anEMS/SFM objective,performance measure orindicator.

Opportunity for Improvement(OFI):Are isolated observations thatare non-critical to theachievement / maintenance ofEMS/SFM objectives.

Positive Aspects

Are features of the EMS/SFMsystem that are considered asenhancements to the expectedlevel of EMS/SFM performance.

Timber being taken to the Sarita log sort on a “fat” truck

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The auditors

The QMI audit team who performed the auditconsisted of Nate Ryant, RPF, EMS(LA);SFM(LA) as the lead auditor and Will Sloan,RFT, EMS(LA), audit team member. Theauditors are Forest Professionals and certifiedlead auditors.

Key Areas of Non-conformance

No areas of non-conformance were identifiedduring the audit.

Key Areas of ConcernThe following Areas of Concern were identifiedduring the audit:

7.5.2 Nonconformity, Corrective andPreventative Actions: Ensure all potential non-compliances are investigated. The audit found areported possible infringement on a wetland hadbeen entered into the Cengea database and notinvestigated to determine if it was truly a non-compliance.

Key Opportunities for

Improvement

5.2 Interested Parties: Consider sending aphysical copy of the SFMP and annual data set to all affected First Nations on the DFA, for informationalpurposes.

7.3.1 Defined Forest Area: Consider updating the employment summary in the SFMP to reflect the currentcontract work force on the DFA.

7.3.6.1 Performance Requirements: Indicator 38 – Consider changing the indicator performance status to“met” since all FN’s were referred to based on the operation locations or the operating year.

7.3.6.1 Performance Requirements: Indicator 41 – Consider developing an action plan to address why all FNwho have not been provided an opportunity for a SFM orientation were not provided with the opportunity tohave one.

Prompt reforestation is practiced in the Port Alberni operations.This Western Red Cedar was planted in the spring of 2010

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7.5.5.1 Monitoring and Measurement: Consider incorporating results of inspections processes, like postharvest inspections, into the data gathering for indicator reporting. The audit found some weakness in linkingactual results to some indicators, such as Inds 4, 10 and 15.

7.5.2 Nonconformity, Corrective and Preventative Actions: Consider clarifying what the required inputs are tobe attached to the CENGEA database for entry, eg. investigation and reporting documents.

7.6 Management Review: Consider updating the Management Review checklist to include all the SFMrequirements such as system, public participation and performance requirements. This would ensure all SFMrequirements are reviewed annually.

Positive Aspects

The following positive aspects of the SFM werenoted during the audit:

Good improvement from past years in getting tothe target for Indicator 13, % of productive forestland harvested in last 5 years in each LU greaterthan 10,000 ha. Only one LU now does not meetthe target, compared to 2 in 2009; and all thatmeet the target are doing so by reasonableamounts.

All crew interviewed showed good understandingof their roles in the CSA process despite asignificant amount of time away from theoperation.

Excellent regeneration delay success with treesbeing planted in under a year on average from the harvest completion date.

An excellent WIWAG meeting presentation on the First Nations treaty process in the area which includedprovincial and federal treaty negotiators.

Free growing block reviewed during the audit

QM-SAI Global forestry specialist group registers/certifies forest companies to ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, CSA Z809 SFM, FSC FM & CoC,SFIS, SFI CoC and PEFC. The group, led by Guillaume Gignac, Product Manager, Forestry, consists of a highly qualified team ofprofessional foresters, technical and industry experts. Contact marketingservices@qmi.com for more information.

Company Contact:Mr. Erin Badesso, RPFWestern Forest Products Inc.Port Alberni Forest OperationPO Box 2001, Bag 2001Port Alberni, British Columbia Phone 250 720-4240 or e-mail EBadesso@westernforest.com

This report may only be reproduced by the intended client,with the express consent of QMI-SAI Global. Information inthis issue is of a general nature with respect to audit findingsand is not intended to be acted upon without appropriateprofessional advice.