Forest Practices > Forest Health > Forest Investment Account

Forest Investment Account, Land-based Investment Program
Stand Establishment and Treatment Component, Forest Health Activity Area

Specific Criteria and Rationale for Eligibility of Non-Obligatory Bark Beetle Management Activities

Objectives

Approved activities are meant to:

1. augment the strategically directed beetle management efforts conducted by the MOFR but specifically avoid funding obligatory licensee activities; and,
2. follow established eligibility criteria established for all activities funded by FIA Land Based Investment Program and administered by PricewaterhouseCoopers (see Aerial Photography).

The distribution of priorities and the application of appropriate management activities is described by the TSA's Beetle Management Strategy that is based on the Provincial Bark Beetle Management Technical Implementation Guidelines. TSAs are subdivided into Beetle Management Units (BMUs) and, based on beetle population size and distribution and other factors, those units with manageable populations will be identified as suppression BMUs. At this time, FIA eligibility will be restricted to activities focused on the application of single tree treatments in suppression BMUs.

Obligations by tenure

As described above, the areas in which beetle management activities are considered obligatory are defined under the Forest and Range Practices Act, individual license documents and TFL management plans. Eligible activities for FIA funding are applied in areas that are outside of these obligatory areas.

BC Timber Sales licensees have recently been made eligible for FIA funding.

For Forest Licensees, the activities listed below are eligible if they occur in areas outside of the area where they are obligated to do the work. This area is usually determined by agreement between the individual licensee and the district manager based on operational considerations. As a guideline, the default area of 400 m from active cutting permits and road permits for ground detection was provided to district managers by way of MFR policy. The area of responsibility may also vary for aerial vs. ground based activities with the aerial portion being up to 1 km (vs. 400 m for ground surveys) from active CPs and roads. In some cases, the district manager may not require an assessment within any area outside of active cutting permits or road permits. Because of this variability, it is essential that the district(s) be consulted to determine the area of responsibility applicable in the proposed work area which then sets the boundary of eligibility for LBIP and FIA Bark Beetle funding.

At this time, there is no legally binding obligation for conducting single tree treatments although some volume-based licensees may voluntarily accept the stewardship responsibility for small patch removal and some single tree treatments in specific circumstances.

For Tree Farm License proposals, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) may request a copy of the Management Plan or license document that confirms the licensee's forest health obligations to ensure the proposal's eligibility. The licensee will also have to demonstrate that they have a strategy in place that identifies the area where the proposed activities will occur within a suppression BMU (using criteria established by the MFR).

Woodlot licensees and community forest agreement holders are eligible for FIA funding (see eligibility list) to conduct detailed detection, ground surveys and single tree treatments unless these treatments are being conducted by another party.

Eligible Activities:

• Detailed aerial surveys (STANDARDS) conducted outside of a licensees operating area (i.e., survey costs that are not normally included in an appraisal estimate for Woodlands overhead);
• Ground surveys (STANDARDS) whose intended objective is to lay out single tree treatments - these surveys are located outside of the obligated area of responsibility (check with the district manager to determine if this is an obligation and the conditions that apply); (see note below)
• Single tree treatments (STANDARDS) that include: fall and burn, fall and peel (note special option for small volume recovery described below)
• Pheromone funnel traps for monitoring bark beetle attack timing
• Information system development leading to a standardized TSA-wide reporting system that meets the reporting requirements for Provincial bark beetle strategy performance

Proposals for bark beetle management activities must be compatible with the District's bark beetle management strategy available from the District Manager or the Regional Forest Entomologist.

Licensees are not to use FIA funds on activities that are currently eligible appraisal costs that may be charged under overhead (see Interior Appraisal Manual - Schedule 3 - Total Woodlands Overhead section 9. Beetle Probing/Tree Marking).

NOTE: Where a ground survey for single tree treatment reveals an infestation of significant size to change the treatment prescription to harvesting (the number of trees to remove makes a harvesting operation economic), then the costs incurred for conducting the survey are FIA eligible only up to the point when the trees are located (i.e., establishment of an "infestation site"). The licensee will be responsible for all costs associated with block layout. PwC will be examining if the licensee is able to provide these costs during their audit.

Harvesting of uneconomic wood is now an eligible activity under specific conditions. Long skid brood-removal single tree harvesting and helicopter logging will be eligible for FIA funding but only in very specific circumstances. See Specific procedures and criteria.

Back to the FIA forest health approved treatments Index

Last updated on September 05, 2007
The contact for this web page is: tim.ebata@gov.bc.ca