Bi-weekly Meetings

Strategic Planning (Lorne Bedford)

§         Program spending at $22 million pretty is much on track

§         $3.8 million (frozen funds) have been already removed from the account

§         in an emergency the ministry can apply for additional funding to Treasury Board

§         An internal audit has been scheduled for next year - this should be seen as a positive development as staff should be proud of the successful implementation of this program

Program and Operational Planning (Nigel Fletcher)

§         Feedback from the November 8-10 meeting has been very positive - a summary of responses from participants is posted on the website

§         An action plan has been developed based on developments at the meeting and feedback from participants - the draft action plan is posted on the website. As several actions in this plan need to be completed soon, staff are encouraged to review the document to ensure their responsibilties are met

§         Next steps for the Workshops have also been posted.

§         Discussion papers on each of the workshops are being developed - FFT staff will review and refine the documents and a decision will then be made on if they will be shared with stakeholders.

§         A meeting has been scheduled for this week to work out records management (ORCS/ARCS) for the FFT program.

Implementation (Brian Raymer)

§         Good discussions on implementation were held at the Workshop with excellent feedback received. Consensus was that there is no easy resolution. The next step is to propose options and key outcomes.

§         There is an emerging issue around First Nations consultation as the FIA consultations have not been seen as adequate. Staff are working with lawyers from the Attorney General to come up with a solution.

§         One interpretation is that because FFT is a voted program, there is no legal need to consult. However, this may not be what government intended. A briefing note needs to be prepared to seek direction from Executive.

Performance Measurement and Reporting

§         The committee is presently meeting on performance measures and will report out next conference call.

Communications (Nigel Fletcher)

§         The website is continually being refined and updated - anyone who has any concerns or material to add should let Nigel know.

Silviculture Strategy (Guy Newsome)

§         Meetings on Type 1 Prescriptions have been held in Merritt, 100 Mile House, and Cranbrook - Okanagan Shuswap and Williams Lake meetings are coming up soon.

§         At the Merritt meeting a question was raised about focus - is it timber, habitat or both? Need to look at what the critical factor is in the area.

§         Meetings on Type 2 Prescriptions will soon be held in Quesnel with Nola and Rocky attending and in Prince George with Guy attending.

§         As a point of clarification, Type 1 and Type 2 analyses are not strictly for FFT although FFT is paying for them - the intent is to help all funding sources direct where money is going to go

Inventory (Graham Hawkins)

§         The committee recently completed a business process mapping exercise that included representatives from the regions, FIA and the branch. This session mapped the current process and results were very productive. They are posted on the website.

§         In February they will carry out another business process mapping exercise for the future (prioritizing activities, etc.)

§         It is their hope that other committees can build on what they are doing

§         At a workshop scheduled for January 10-11, they will be setting priorities for next year. This will drive the business planning for next year.

§         The image readiness aerial triangulation project is continuing with the intent to ensure all high priority areas are made GIS image ready. Completion is scheduled for next May.

Seed Planning (Leslie McAuley)

§         proceeding with northern high level analysis

§         initiating another project with more detailed seed inventory analysis

§         working on seed strategy - to set priorities and direction for coming years

Ecosystem Restoration (Colene Woods)

§         The team is working closely with the silviculture strategy working group to ensure strategies meld

§         A small project on work done in riparian areas in Lillooet has just been completed - a report has been submitted on deciduous species

§         Any projects results will be posted on the website

Effectiveness Evaluation

§         No significant updates to report

Research (Gord Nye)

§         December 2 is the due date for responding to the research strategy Challenge Paper - response to date has been poor

Forest Health and Climate Change

§         No significant updates to report

Species in Beetle Blocks

§         A report went out yesterday to FFT staff for general review; today it will be sent out to the entire Forest Service, Executive have already given permission to proceed on some recommended options. The report is posted on the web.

Enaresde Update (Janet/Sheldon Gagné)

§         Working with staff on a briefing note on First Nations consultation - this is a critical component to allow the program to move forward.

§         The workplan is presently being migrated into Excel tables.

§         Workshop A has scheduled January 5 for their next meeting - material is being distributed to workshop participants today.

§         The Logic Model for the FFT program will be presented soon to the Operations Planning Committee and then to all FFT staff

Pricewaterhousecoopers Update (Ian Brown)

§         All money has been committed for this fiscal.

Northern Region - Operational Update (Gord Dow)

§         Moving ahead with the Canfor brushing big project - moving to biodiversity reviews for backlog and impeded stands

§         A NSR review has been completed for Fort St. James and Vanderhoof - Canfor will pick up the ball and continue on this.

§         Abitibi Mckenzie is looking at Impeded and NSR - will soon gear up to work on those.

§         The Elise Lake brushing project going ahead

§         Working on a mapping exercise with GIS MSRM on beetle areas, surveying rust stands in Nadina

§         Cone collection is proceeding in Nadina for Balsalm and Douglas Fir

§         Working on rec site rehabilitation - helping clean up and reforest beetle hit recreation sites

§         Looking at areas that have been spaced in pine about 35-45 years old - will field assess these areas next year with the intention of trial planting next spring

Southern Region - Operational Update (Mike Madill)

§         Have surveyed 200,000 HA, down to 40,000 HA, surveyed 10,000 maps, prescriptions

§         9,000 seedlings have been ordered to plant in 2007

§         FN referrals are being dealt with

§         With regard to dropping snags, the region has to work its way through consultation process

§         Weyerhaeuser has halted work due to FN issues

§         Rec site rehabilitation and brushing projects are proceeding

§         Recipients are going through files re NSR/backlog and silviculture strategy

Next Meeting

Tuesday, January 10