Getting More From Our Forests

The Forest Sector Strategy Committee, formed in 1993, recommended a need to establish long-term certainty in provincial harvest levels. From this, an ad-hoc task group formed to tour examples of different enhanced forest management approaches to identify the necessary components of a provincial forest management strategy. This task group's final report recommended that enhanced forest management be pursued through pilot projects in regions where land-use decisions have been made.

Locally developed land-use plans in the Kootenays, Cariboo-Chilcotin and Vancouver Island have redrawn the land base into resource management zones. These zones include protected areas, special management or low intensity areas, integrated use or general management areas, and dedicated use or high intensity areas. Work is underway to establish the resource-use targets for the management areas.

The Pilot Project

Started in September, 1995, the Enhanced Forest Management Pilot Project is a co-operative effort between industry, the Forest Service, the Environment Ministry, Forest Renewal BC, labour, and the academic community.

Three pilot areas of about 200,000 hectares in the Invermere Forest District and Tree Farm Licence 39 (north of Campbell River) and a Forest Licence in Burns Lake have been established. An enhanced forest management strategy will be developed for each that will:

• meet the requirements of higher level resource plans;
• be developed at the local level;
• be co-ordinated with existing land use planning and other regional forest management initiatives;
• manage for all forest values; and,
• emphasize increased timber production in appropriate zones.

Developing Local Forest Strategies

The pilot area strategies will look at opportunities to boost the productivity of the forest land base in a biologically effective and economically efficient manner. The enhanced approach will re-examine:

• the timing, location and intensity of silviculture practices;
• the application of harvesting systems;
• the research required to support these practices; and,
• how we invest in the forest.

All activities would be subject to the rules of the Forest Practices Code and guided by the principles of integrated resource management.

Local Involvement

This "on the ground" project enables local forest managers to develop local forest management strategies.

Each pilot site will have a local working group led by the appropriate forest land manager - a Forest Service district manager (in timber supply areas) or a licensee (in tree farm licences). The working group will include representatives from industry, the Forest Service, the Environment Ministry and Forest Renewal BC, and will be given technical support by a technical advisory committee. In addition, the working group is responsible for keeping stakeholders informed of the project's progress.

Over the next six to eight months, each working group will gather the most current resource data for their area and analyze it using different management scenarios. The information will then be used to develop short- and long-term enhanced forest management strategies.

Implementing the Strategies

Once strategies are approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies, operational plans will be modified to include enhanced silviculture and timber management activities. Various management practices to increase forest productivity such as, planting genetically superior seedlings, tending plantations, fertilization and selection harvesting are already used. However, the combination, timing and intensity of these forest management practices will be based on a long-term local strategy to get the most out of the forest land and the most for each dollar invested.

Managing B.C.'s Forests

The management of forest land in B.C. has gone through significant change over the last four to six years. To enable decisions on land use in B.C.'s forests, government has undertaken land use planning through the Commission on Resources and Environment (CORE), the Protected Areas Strategy and the Timber Supply Review. Complementing this was Forest Land Reserve legislation. In addition, the Forest Practices Code was created to ensure B.C.'s forests would be managed sustainably and to the highest standards. A key part of this effort to change the way B.C.'s forests are managed is the Forest Renewal Plan, put in place with assistance from industry, labour, aboriginal leaders, community and environmental representatives. Forest Renewal BC (FRBC), will invest an average of $400 million per year on enhancing forest land and assisting workers and communities.

Looking to the Future

With the efforts to ensure forest lands are managed on a sustainable basis well underway, attention has turned to attaining more value from each tree cut and to examining strategies to maintain or increase timber production and fibre usage within the requirements of the Forest Practices Code. These strategies must be long range and developed at the local level. To do this targets need to be established for maintaining the health and integrity of the forest environment and for the annual timber harvest.

For more information please contact: Forests.Library@gov.bc.ca

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