The goal of this project was to compile existing datasets on tree and snag densities in unmanaged CWH, ESSF and ICH forests to allow baseline comparisons with wildlife tree patch (WTP) effectiveness monitoring conducted by the Ministry of Forests and Range (MoFR). Baseline datasets were obtained from a variety of sources across the province, representing 1175 individual sites (with a wide range of sampling intensities per site).

The files summarizing the baseline data and comparing them to the WTP effectiveness monitoring results are intended to allow users to make comparisons of particular habitat elements of interest. Example comparisons are presented and discussed for some basic elements (all stems, all snags, snags >10 m tall, snags and stems by size, wildlife tree class and species), but not all their innumerable combinations.

In January of 2002, the Forest Practices Branch of the BC Ministry of Forests and Range initiated this preliminary assessment of the adequacy of the provincial Wildlife Tree Policy as a coarse filter mechanism for conserving habitat for wildlife tree-dependent species. This project addresses the biological effectiveness of policy and resulting stand management practices and builds directly on the Phase 1 project "Evaluation of wildlife tree retention for cutblocks harvested between 1996-2001 under the Forest Practices Code." Explicit policy and management guidelines regarding wildlife tree retention were released initially in the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia (1995 Biodiversity Guidebook and 1999 Landscape Unit Planning Guide), followed by the provincial Wildlife Tree Policy and Management Recommendations in 2000.

As part of the FRPA Resource Evaluation Program, this evaluation project was initiated to answer the following questions:

1. What was the range and average size of cutblocks harvested under the Forest Practices Code from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2002?
2. What were the trends in use for clearcutting versus partial cutting silvicultural systems from 1996-2002?
3. What impact did the 40/60 rule have on cutblock size and distribution from 1996-2002?
4. Did cutblocks larger than the maximum size specified by the 40/60 rule emulate regional natural disturbance patterns?

The 40/60 rule was established in 1995 under the Forest Practices Code to reduce the number and size of the large progressive clearcuts that were occurring across the province at that time. The 40/60 rule limits maximum cutblock size to 40 hectares in the Coast Forest Region (except the North Coast Forest District (NCFD) which was set at 60 hectares during the study period) and eight (8) districts in the Southern Interior Region. Maximum cutblock size is set at 60 hectares in the Northern Interior Region and five (5) districts in the Southern Interior Region. The 40/60 rule continues to apply today under the Forest and Range Practices Act.

This report outlines the value of incorporating the use of geographical information systems (GIS) into the Forest and Range Evaluation Program (FREP). As the program grows in size and scope, GIS could become a valuable tool for:

1. communicating FREP results to staff, the public and private stakeholders;
2. facilitating field data collection; and
3. providing the capability for more sophisticated and spatially explicit analysis of project data.

The specific questions addressed by this preliminary GIS needs assessment were:

1. What are the potential uses of GIS in FREP?
2. What GIS resources currently exist within FREP, or are accessible to program staff within the MoFR and other BC government ministries?
3. What additional resources are required for/associated with the potential GIS uses within FREP?
4. What are the recommended uses for GIS in FREP in the short and long term, if any?

The Recreation Site Effectiveness Evaluation Pilot Project was designed to gather baseline information about the current state of Ministry of Forests and Range (MoFR)recreation sites throughout British Columbia, and to evaluate the effectiveness of current recreation site management policies and practices within the province. More specifically, the project addresses the following primary research question:

1. Are Forest Service recreation sites across British Columbia meeting baseline standards for facilities and maintenance, and able to provide safe, sanitary and environmentally sound recreation experiences?

The project objectives were to evaluate a selection of RUPs from four representative areas of the province to determine if current RUPs meet Code content requirements.

Peace Forest District and Nadina Forest District in the Northern Interior Region (RNI) and 100 Mile House Forest District and Okanagan-Shuswap Forest District in the Southern Interior Region (RSI) were selected for this evaluation. These districts were chosen because they represent four of the significant regional landforms and vegetation types in British Columbia, and each district has significant numbers of range agreements and livestock grazing on Crown range.

This report provides a proof of concept for a provincial summarization of the stand-level biodiversity resource stewardship monitoring under the Forest and Range Evaluation Program (FREP). A general summary is given for the 201 cutblocks sampled during the 2005 FREP field season. This was the first year of operational data collection for stand-level biodiversity. More detailed analysis results are presented for the 72 cutblocks that were sampled in the Sub-boreal Spruce (SBS) zone, where baseline data was available to allow for comparisons to natural trends.

A Ministry of Forests team evaluated a number of representative Range Act agreement areas in four forest districts during September and October of 2004. Agreements with range use plans approved after December 31, 2000 were given priority. Key areas, selected to be indicative of management and level of use, within primary range were evaluated.

Eighty-six sites were visited and the following data collected and analyzed: rangeland health (functionality), stubble heights, visual obscurity, browse utilization and form class, current and desired plant communities (seral stage), and invasive plant species. Digital photos were taken at each site.

Of the 69 uplands evaluated, 25 rated as Properly Functioning Condition (PFC) to slightly at risk, 13 rated as moderately at risk, and 31 rated as highly at risk to non-functional. Of the 7 wetlands evaluated, 3 rated as PFC to slightly at risk, 1 rated as moderately at risk, and 3 rated as non-functional. Of the 10 stream reaches evaluated, 2 rated as PFC to slightly at risk, 4 rated as moderately at risk and 4 rated as highly at risk to non-functional.

This report examines if the indicators of reforestation as outlined in the FSJPP SFMP sections 6.28, 6.29, and 6.30 are achieving the stated objectives by analyzing and comparing the information within the FSJPP Annual Report and Ministry of Forests and Range (MFR) data bases (RESULTS and FTA).

This report presents monitoring results for 44 large cutblocks (> 100 ha) harvested between 1995 and 2005. In December 2005, British Columbia’s Chief Forester issued guidance on biodiversity management pertinent to large cutblocks. Therefore, the results reported here represent a pre-guidance baseline of stand-level biodiversity on large cutblocks.

In 2005, a high number of fatalities and serious injuries occurred in British Columbia’s forest sector. Of the 50 fatality claims accepted by WorkSafeBC for this sector,1 33 deaths were recorded in the forestry and log-hauling categories. In response, the Forests and Range Practices Advisory Committee requested that the Forest and Range Evaluation Program (FREP) conduct an evaluation project to investigate some of the reasons behind these deaths and injuries.

This report summary presents a brief overview of the evaluation project’s methodology, findings, and recommendations.

Two harvested cutblocks were thoroughly sampled using the Forest and Range Evaluation Program sampling methodology for stand-level biodiversity monitoring. This was done to assess the validity of the recommended plot sample intensity. The number of plots established was double or more the recommended plot sample intensity as described in the Protocol for Stand-level Biodiversity Monitoring (Province of British Columbia, 2007). Tree and coarse woody debris indicators were estimated based on varying numbers of the established plots. No bias was found in the estimation of the indicators for large trees, large snags, CWD volume or density of long pieces of CWD. The means of these indicators were relatively stable at all sampling intensity. However the precision of the mean (standard error) for the large snags density indicator is low at the recommended sampling density. The mean of number of species sampled does have an inherent bias influenced by sampling intensity. The number of species found tends to increase with increased number of sample plots.