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Q. What are the Chief Forester’s Standards for Seed Use?
A. These standards describe the requirements for using tree seed when
reforesting Crown land in British Columbia. They include the requirements for
registering, storing, selecting and transferring tree seed used to establish free
growing stands under the Forest and Range Practice Act (FRPA).
Q. What is the purpose of these standards?
A. To maintain the identity, adaptability, diversity and productivity of the
provinces tree gene resources. These standards ensure that seed can be tracked from
its source to its planting site and that it is adapted to the environment in which
it is planted.
Q. Under what authority did the chief forest establish these standards?
A. Section 169 of the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA), section 43
of the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation, and section 32 of the Woodlot
Licence Planning and Practices Regulation.
Q. When do the standards come into effect?
A. April 1, 2005
Q. Will training and additional information on the Standards be provided?
A. Yes. Dates and locations of training session and workshops to be offered in
early 2005 will be posted by the end of the year. Additional information will also
be made available.
Q. To whom do the standards apply?
A. Any person who plants trees or uses direct seeding methods to establish a
free growing stand under FPRA and its regulations. Such persons include holders of
a major licence, community forest agreement, and woodlot licence agreement issued
under the Forest Act, BC Timber Sales managers, and those to whom
reforestation obligations have been transferred under section 29 of FRPA. The
registration standards also apply to persons who wish to register seed for use by
those mentioned above.
Q. Do these standards apply to private forestland?
A. Only private forestland that is subject to FPRA, such as private land within
a tree farm license and a woodlot licence. This is also the case for other
requirements prescribed under FRPA.
Q. How are these standards different from the seed use requirements under the
Forest Practice Code?
A. These standards represent an updated consolidation of the regulations,
guidebooks and ministry policies that were in place under the Code. Registration
and storage requirements have been clarified, and increased operational flexibility
for seed selection and transfer has been added.
Q. Were stakeholder issues and concerns given due consideration in developing
these standards?
A. Yes. These standards were developed in consultation with forest sector
representatives over the past two years. Input was provided by licensees, Forest
Genetics Council of BC, BC Tree Seed Dealers Association, and the Forest Nursery
Association of BC.
Q. Why are the standards written in such legal terms and format?
A. The standards are part of FRPA’s legal framework. As such they have the
weight and force of law. The standards have therefore been written in a manner
consistent with other regulations and to provide for consistency in their
interpretation and application.
Q. Why are these seed use requirements described as chief forester standards and
not as regulations or guidelines?
A. The tree seed used to establish new forests has a significant influence on
the health and productivity of those forests. Inappropriate use of seed can result
in the reduced growth, increased susceptibility to insects, disease, frost or snow
press, or the death of the trees. Collecting, identifying, storing and transferring
seed requires a specialized knowledge of the biology and genetics of the tree
species.
Detailed scientific and technical information is not usually found in regulation.
Guidelines do not provide for a strong compliance and enforcement regime.
Government therefore conferred responsibility to the chief forester, as the
province’s pre-eminent forester and steward of Crown’s tree gene resources, to
establish those standards that he deems necessary and appropriate to regulate the
use of seed.
Q. Can one obtain a variance to the standards through a Forest Stewardship Plan?
A. No. Only the chief forester or his delegate can approve an alternative to
standard if the proposed alternative is consistent with the intent of the
standard. The chief forester has not delegated this authority to district managers,
so alternatives to the standards cannot be approved through a Forest Stewardship
Plan. More information about application and approval of alternatives will be
provided prior the effective date of the standards.
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