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Forest Investment Account 

ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES – Treatments for Bark Beetle Management

Eligible Activities

A single tree treatment is, as the name applies, the most intensive method of destroying live beetle brood in individual trees and include fall and burn, fall and peel, and topical insecticide treatment.  Small patch or single tree removal, if economic, is not an eligible activity under FIA.  Uneconomic timber extraction for specific conditions is an eligible activity but must follow specific criteria.  The general methods are described in the Bark Beetle Management Guidebook but the key activity standards are described below by treatment method.  To provide examples of wording to aid in preparation of recipient agreements, MFR contract standards for some of these treatments have been supplied for some districts. 

Key Activity Standards by Treatment Method

1. All trees marked for disposal (usually with one paint ring) will be felled. These marked trees may be current attack trees and/or Y1 trees (red trees containing live beetle larvae). This will depend upon the written direction given by the persons requesting the fall and burn.
2. All felled trees will be bucked into bolts, and piled for burning. The trees will be bucked up to 1 m. past the last sign of beetle infestation (larval galleries). The piles will preferably be placed on top of the stump for burning. Those stumps that are not burned within the piles will need to be stripped of bark to the mineral soil.
3. All trees shall be burned so that all of the bark, including the cambium, is completely destroyed.
4. Stumps will not exceed 30 cm in height.
5. All of these fall and burn operations are to be carried out with minimum disturbance to the site and uninfested trees.
6. A record of the number of trees treated at each site will be kept, in order to allow audits to occur on the operations.
7. Follow applicable Worksafe BC and employment standards.

MSMA

• MSMA is no longer being applied for bark beetle control. 

Fall and Peel

• As above for fall and burn except this activity is conducted during periods where open fires are not permitted.
• Attacked trees may be felled and debarked. This treatment is not applicable once the beetle brood have passed the pupal stage
• This method is rarely used because of its high cost per tree.

Harvest of small volumes of non-economic timber 

• See Criteria

Sample District Specific Contract Specifications for Single Tree Treatments

The table below provides example schedule A contract standards for eligible forest health activities (see notes above for specific criteria for detailed aerial detection and GPS use):

If a sample schedule A is not posted on this site, please contact the district forest health specialist for the district specific standards.  PwC may require additional standards to be included to ensure that the work is auditable.  

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Last updated on June 19, 2009
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