Ministry of Forests and Range

Adaptive Management Initiatives
in the BC Forest Service

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The British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range (MFR) is exploring how adaptive management (AM) can be applied to help continuously improve forestry practices throughout the province. Adaptive management is an approach that has promise for application to various issues and scales, from testing alternative silvicultural practices in forest stands, to ecosystem-based management for whole watersheds or landscape units. The active co-operation of resource managers, forest professionals and scientists from our agency, other government agencies, the forest industry, and other partners and stakeholders is crucial to the success of adaptive management on Crown forest and range lands; as is the support of public groups and individuals.

In order to make the broad concept of adaptive management as meaningful as possible for people, we use a "working definition" of adaptive management that emphasises a thoughtful and organized approach:

Adaptive management is a systematic process for continually improving management policies and practices by learning from the outcomes of operational programs.

This basic definition is expanded upon in our definitions page.

The BC Forest Service adaptive management initiative includes several components aimed at providing education, resources and support to AM practioners. This website includes:

  • Educational resources for our staff and others interested in understanding or implementing adaptive management;
  • Workshop announcements and associated materials;
  • Key publications; and
  • Links to adaptive management projects and pilot projects in BC, Canada, and around the world.