Public viewing

Proposed forest development plans, five-year silviculture plans and access management plans must be made available for public review once a year, or more often as specified by the district manager, in a location that provides reasonable access to the public. Proposed range use plans must be available at the district office for 30 days prior to being forwarded to the district manager for approval.

• The district manager may require that a number of forest development plans be consolidated as a single plan for the purpose of public viewing. Where plans are consolidated, the district manager should direct licensees operating in the proposed development area to be available during viewing hours.

• Alternatively, the district manager may direct a group of licensees to co-ordinate viewing of their individual plans in a consolidated fashion. Each licensee should be responsible for the accuracy of its portion of the consolidated plan, maps and tables. Comments from the public viewing process should be directed to appropriate licensee(s) for action.

Location

• Approved plans and prescriptions should be available for review by appointment year-round in district and licensee offices during normal business hours. Additional locations for the annual review of proposed plans should be recommended by the licensee and approved by the district manager. Viewing locations should be selected based on convenience for the public.

  The forest development plan for woodlots must be made available for public viewing upon request at the forest district office.

  District and licensee offices should ensure that adequate information and space is available for viewing appropriate documents, and that staff are at hand to address questions and receive comments.

Duration

• Proposed forest development plans, five-year silviculture plans, access management plans and range use plans should be on display for a time period that is to be tailored to specific community needs. A recommended guide is to hold viewing periods both during and after normal working hours (e.g., from noon to 9:00 p.m. daily, and, where appropriate, one day on weekends). Where approved higher-level plans are available, and have been used to guide the preparation of advertised plans, they should also be displayed for viewing.

• In accordance with the regulations, the public must be given a minimum of 60 days (from the date of last publication) to comment on proposed plans. (This translates to 90 days from first advertisement to the end of the public review and comment period). The district manager may reduce the time for review and comment on range use plans to 30 days if it is felt that this period would provide adequate opportunity for review and comment.

Presentation

• Plans should be displayed in a manner understandable to the public ( i.e., a clear interpretation of all technical information should be available). To aid in plan interpretation, a licensee representative should be available during the viewing period to explain the purpose of each plan and the linkages between plans.

• Plans should be readable, concise, error free, and layed out in a logical, coherent order. Cutblocks and road layouts for the ensuing five year period should be placed in the context of past harvesting to provide a comprehensive picture of all cumulative harvesting activities rather than displaying the five year activities as an isolated set. Maps or other visual material that accompanies the plan should be clear, be of an appropriate map scale, have a proper legend, and be tied to recognizable geographic features.

• Licensees should display all higher-level plans that encompass the development plan area. Inclusion of these plans will provide the strategic context that will allow for more effective public review and ensure licensee accountability.

• Relevant information from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, such as habitat capability mapping for the area of proposed development, should be available for public review.

• Where the presentation of information would be enhanced by including inventory maps, satellite imagery, air photos, computer-generated views (including GIS overlays), standing displays of photographs (i.e., to show the range of harvesting methods and silvicultural systems employed in a licence area), or other similar tools, these should be available for reference at the viewing session. Creative presentation of information and use of visual aids is encouraged.

• The district manager may compile a set of questions to be available at all public viewings for the purpose of facilitating public comment.

• A map of appropriate scale showing the location of range tenures, animal unit months, and permittee names for range use plans will be displayed.

Attendance record

• Attendance should be recorded by the licensee at each public viewing (although this may not be possible at such venues as mall displays). Members of the public interested in being kept informed of proposed activities on an ongoing basis should be added to the mailing list at this time.

Public input

• As noted in the introduction to this section, plan viewings are intended to facilitate the exchange of information between developers and people interested in, or affected by, forest operations. To ensure that public input can be considered in plan development, comments must be submitted to the development proponent in writing. In the case where a person(s) has a writing disability, the proponent must capture in writing the main points as stated by those public member(s).

• Feedback can be encouraged through the use of a questionnaire. This option may appeal to those who have limited time to prepare a written response. The questionnaire should restate the time limit for public input specified in the advertisement.

Licensee response

• The licensee should respond, in writing, to written comments received from the public. Responses should document actions taken to accommodate public concerns. Copies of response letters should be made available to the district manager in order to track responses to public concerns.

• In accordance with the regulations, licensees must submit to the district manager prior to plan approval, copies of the notices that were published, copies of all written comments received from the public and a summary of all revisions made to the proposed plan or amendment. If no action has been taken by licensees to address specific public comment, the rationale behind the decisions taken should be noted.

Other mechanisms

A combined event such as a public open house that includes not only the specific plans being reviewed but also all plans for a district is the most effective way to provide an indication of intended management direction. By having a map that depicts all higher-level plans, districts would be able to provide the context that leads to enhanced public understanding.

Reference should be made to the Public Involvement Handbook, Chapter IV, for details on organizing public consultation forums. Above all, organizers of the public forum should:

• ensure that times and locations are convenient for the public
• provide a spokesperson(s) to explain the plans and the linkages between them
• ensure clarity in displays and other forms of presentation
• apply creativity in presentation of information including visual aids
• encourage both written feedback in the form of questionnaires, and verbal feedback by way of question periods and/or informal discussion.