British Columbia鈥檚 forests watchdog says a complaint about 鈥渆xcessive鈥� logging has led to a call for the province to improve how it manages watersheds.

The Forest Practices Board says it looked at harvesting in the Kettle River watershed in southeastern B.C. between 2016 and 2021, finding 58 per cent of 169 large cut blocks were located in 鈥渟ub-watersheds鈥� later determined to be 鈥渁t risk.鈥�

A statement from the board says it found five of seven forest companies did not conduct watershed assessments during that period, nor did they have to.

Board chair Keith Atkinson says the reviews are vital for managing land use and hydrology, but B.C. does not require logging companies to consider watershed conditions in their plans, except in areas that supply drinking water to communities.

The board says it found the ministry had assessed harvesting in the area, identifying 鈥渟hortcomings鈥� and prompting improvements by the forest companies.

But the report says investigators found a lack of government monitoring in the watershed that spans more than 8,000 square kilometres east of Kelowna.

鈥淭he investigation found that government paid attention to licensees鈥� activities and conducted assessments of licensees鈥� activities in the watershed,鈥� it says.

鈥淗owever, (the province) neither systematically monitored their activities nor provided clear guidance on managing cumulative effects aimed at protecting the watershed鈥檚 health.鈥�

The ministry and professional associations have since developed initiatives providing information and tools to address cumulative effects, the board says.

鈥淟ooking forward, the board encourages ministry staff and licensees to use the current information and tools available to improve watershed management,鈥� Atkinson says in the statement issued Tuesday.

The report notes the investigation did not determine whether harvesting large cut blocks had negatively affected hydrology.

But it found that companies were harvesting large areas in at-risk watersheds, which may elevate the risk of hydrological impacts, the report says.

The board鈥檚 investigation began in March 2021, when the watchdog says it received a complaint from a member of the public.

The complainant was 鈥渃oncerned the scale of clear-cut harvesting in the watershed had exceeded acceptable levels, leading to changes in seasonal water flows and increasing the risk of floods,鈥� the board says in its statement issued Tuesday.

The probe also found harvesting 55 of the cut blocks focused on imitating natural disturbance patterns, which led to the logging of 鈥済reen timber,鈥� the board says.

Left standing, Atkinson says the timber can help guard against logging impacts.

鈥淭his is especially important if a watershed鈥檚 health is already at risk,鈥� he says.