Despite a legal setback, Martin Watts is vowing to continue his crusade against what he believes are inaccuracies in provincial data used to determine the annual cut allowed each year in B.C. forests.

Watts, owner of FORCOMP Forestry Consulting Ltd., claims he was blacklisted by the provincial government after he went public with concerns that corrupted data and unvalidated computer models were being used in the Timber Supply Review Process, which is used by the Chief Forester to set the Annual Allowable Cut.

Problems became apparent after budget and staff cuts started in 2002, the year the former Liberal government was elected, according to critics.

Some timber inventories are now more than 20 years old and fail to take climate change or beetle infestation into consideration, Watts said.

Forestry Consultant Who Warned of Timber Overcutting Continues Court Battle https://t.co/Bpaupy69QZ #bcpoli #Forestry pic.twitter.com/92PjIdEfel

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) July 27, 2017

But, when he complained about systemic shortcomings, he claims he found government contracts were written in ways that excluded his company from bidding and that he was unable to access provincial date he needed for private sector consulting contracts.

“The fields I work in — growth and yield, data management and the analysis of data — are mainly controlled by government,” Watts told DeSmog Canada.

FORCOMP now exists only on paper because of the problems, he said.

“Most importantly, the government controls the data I require. Prior to pointing out problems with the government’s models and data analysis, I had no problem getting access to data. Since I have pointed out the problems, I have been denied access to data and any information I require. I usually have to make an FOI (freedom of information) request,” he said.

Watts launched a civil suit against the province and four Forests Ministry employees, and a hearing to determine whether the case could proceed was held in May.

In a decision released this month Master Carolyn Bouck ruled that the Notice of Civil Claim was likely to fail at trial because the pleading was “verbose and confusing.”

The claim cannot stand in its present form, but the plaintiffs ought to be given an opportunity to plead their case, Bouck wrote, giving Watts an opportunity to file an amended notice of civil claim before Aug. 31.

The Crown, on behalf of the province, had asked for the case to be dismissed saying there “is no such cause of action as blacklisting in B.C. law” and emphasizing that government can hire whoever they believe is most qualified to perform consultancy services.

Watts said he will resubmit the claim.

“My choice is either to keep going or to give up on forestry,” he said.

Watts is funding the legal challenge from his retirement savings and estimates that, so far, it has cost about $20,000.

“There is no way to tell what the final cost will be. It depends how things play out,” he said.

Watts hopes that the newly elected NDP government and Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, will consider changes in forest policy and put more emphasis on sustainable development instead of a sole focus on maintaining the Annual Allowable Cut.

“I don’t know how much effect a new government can have on changing the culture within the Forest Analysis and Inventory Branch,” he said.

“They have to be more transparent about the uncertainty with the models they use and learn to accept criticism, as opposed to treating it as an attack on them,” he said.

Image: Dru! via Flickr

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Forestry has been a passion and a career for Martin Watts for 25 years, but, since attempting to point out problems with B.C.’s process for setting logging rates, his forestry consulting business has nosedived and Watts is claiming in a civil suit that he was blacklisted by the provincial government.

“My business doesn’t really exist any more except on paper. It has caused a lot of hardship. I am funding this case through my retirement savings,” Watts said in an interview with DeSmog Canada.

However, the battle is worthwhile because it is vital that the public be made aware of inaccuracies in the Timber Supply Review Process, which is used by the Chief Forester to determine the Annual Allowable Cut — a calculation of how much of the forest can be cut each year, said Watts.

Corrupted data and unvalidated computer models are being used to estimate how much timber is in B.C.’s forests and, since budget and staff cuts started in 2002, many of the inventories are 20 years old, according to critics.

It is likely some provincial forests are being overcut, said Watts, adding that some companies cannot find the wood allocated to them so are cutting into previously protected areas or close to provincial parks in an effort to meet their quota.

Overcutting is compounded by the uncertainties of climate change and the pine beetle infestation and some districts are now asking for the annual allowable cut to be reviewed, he said.

Watts Warned of Inaccurate Data

Watts’ company, FORCOMP Forestry Consulting Ltd., specialized in analyzing forest data and carbon offset projects for public and private sector clients and relied on obtaining accurate information about the forests from the province.

But, after Watts complained about systemic shortcomings he found that government contracts were written in ways that excluded him from bidding on them.

His concerns were dismissed by four provincial employees, who are named in the civil suit, and Watts found he was not able to access provincial data he needed for private sector consulting contracts.

Problems began in 2003 when Watts told the Forest Analysis and Inventory Branch that data the branch was providing was not accurate and the errors were affecting estimates of timber volumes, according to the statement of claim submitted to the court.

“From that time in 2003 on, the Defendants took all steps available to them to blacklist FORCOMP and Watts and to detrimentally affect and interfere with the Plaintiffs’ business and economic interests,” it says.

The province is asking for the case to be dismissed and the application emphasizes that government can hire whoever they believe is most qualified to perform consultancy services.

“The Charter claim seems to be that the province must hire persons who consider themselves to be vocal mavericks to perform services, at public expense. The province submits that this is not a cause of action,” according to the province’s application for dismissal.

A B.C. Supreme Court hearing was held Thursday to decide whether the case will proceed or be dismissed and a decision will be made in late June.

Vivian Thomas, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, said the province does not comment on cases that are before the courts and Chief Forester Diane Nicholls was not available to comment on the accuracy of the Timber Supply Review Process.

However, Nicholls previously spoke to Focus Magazine and said: “The people of B.C. can have complete confidence in Annual Allowable Cut determinations as they are based on robust complex analysis of many factors that pertain to timber supply and other values.”

Civil Suit Alleges B.C. Blacklisting Forestry Consultant Who Warned of Timber Overcutting, Faulty Data https://t.co/frspIJTmcp #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/kLNa84JfJC

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) May 15, 2017

Similar to Health Firings Scandal, Says Former B.C. Forest Employee

It is not a statement that holds any credence for Anthony Britneff, who has teamed up with Watts to bring attention to questions surrounding the Timber Supply Review process and who compared the alleged blacklisting of Watts to the scandal over the wrongly fired researchers in the Ministry of Health in 2012.

The denigration of professional reputation, false accusations of unauthorized use of government data, denial of access to public data and blacklisting of those who point out inconvenient facts make the two cases similar, Britneff said.

Britneff, who spent 40 years in the B.C. Forest Service, said there is a litany of problems with inventory data and unvalidated forest growth models.

“The bottom line is that our forests are likely being logged excessively fast, compounding the timber supply problems created by the mountain pine beetle and making more severe the socio-economic impact on 140 forestry-dependent communities in the province,” Britneff said.

That is likely to leads to job losses, mill closures and depleted provincial forests, said Britneff, who speculates that the province does not want to hear about unvalidated computer models or improper use of statistics to predict the growth of forest plantations because of historical silos within the ministry and political pressure to maintain the level of logging and create forestry jobs.

“I very much fear for the future of B.C.’s forests. I have been deeply concerned for 15 years,” he said.

“In addition, over-estimation of carbon sequestered on tree plantations means that the government’s claims of progress towards carbon neutrality would be exaggerated and wrong and the taxpayers would be overpaying for carbon offset projects.”

At the heart of the problem is lack of oversight, an absence of communication between foresters on the ground and ministry headquarters in Victoria and the mantra of “professional reliance,” Britneff said.

A new government could take immediate action to change the way timber is assessed, tighten up loopholes in legislation and, as suggested by some critics, appoint an independent Forester General, he suggested.

Image: B.C. Forestry. Photo: Sam Beebe via Flickr

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.