In simplest terms, the Foresters Act defines the practice of professional forestry, stipulates that one must be a member of the ABCFP to engage in the practice of professional forestry, establishes the ABCFP, charges it with the administration of the Foresters Act and vests all authority to govern the association in its council.

The Foresters Act and the process to refine it are owned by the government of BC, not by the association or its members. A draft Foresters Act was first introduced in the BC Legislature in 1945 and subsequently went into effect in April 1947. Over the ensuing years, the Foresters Act was revised on a number of occasions.

The most recent version of the Foresters Act came into force on June 20, 2003 and marked some of the biggest changes to the forestry profession in more than fifty years. Some of those changes include:

• A strengthened definition of the practice of professional forestry.
• New duties and objects of the association spelled out, including explicit recognition of a limited advocacy mandate.
• A new category of membership created for Registered Forest Technologists.
• Authority given to establish voluntary certification for technical forestry specialties.
• Inclusion of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Increased investigative powers.
• A whistle-blower clause added making it an offense to take punitive action against a member who exercises professional obligations of independent practice or against a member who, in good faith, makes a complaint against another member.

Members must know, understand and abide by the Foresters Act.

Foresters Act
Foresters Act [SBC 2003] Chapter 19

If you need to rely on the text of the Statutes and Regulations for legal and other purposes, you may obtain the Queen's Printer official printed version from Crown Publications Inc. [more]

Additional Resources
Foresters Act Enforcement
Other BC Forestry Legislation and Regulations

For more information on the development of the Foresters Act, read our history. [more]

More Information
If you have any questions about the Foresters Act, contact the registrar and director of act compliance. [more]