West-Central B.C.
Mountain Pine Beetle
Action Plan 2001

Background

The mountain pine beetle infestation in the west-central Interior has increased in the past several years as a result of favourable weather conditions and an abundance of mature lodgepole pine, and it now is the largest in B.C.’s history. This infestation is clearly a forest health emergency, one that is unprecedented and demands extraordinary measures.

The mountain pine beetle is the major species of bark beetle affecting British Columbia. The others are the spruce beetle and the Douglas fir beetle. Bark beetles burrow into the bark of mature trees, cutting off the water flow and eventually killing them. Lodgepole pine accounts for more than half of the growing stock in B.C.’s Interior and is the predominate species of commercially harvested timber in the province.

The epidemic is spread over an area of approximately 5.7 million hectares (twice the size of Vancouver Island) containing up to 900 million cubic metres of pine, of which at least 600,000 hectares is under active attack.

There are three stages involved with a mountain pine beetle infestation. Green is the earliest stage so the timber generally retains its full value; the needles may remain green for as long as a year and the beetles may still be in the tree. Red is the next stage; the beetles are no longer in the tree and the needles have turned red. Grey is the final stage; indicating the tree has been dead for some time.

The Challenge

Circumstances constraining effective beetle management and control include:

• Mild weather—Another mild winter is predicted for 2001/02, which means it is likely that the mountain pine beetle populations will survive and spread.
• Very low lumber prices and softwood lumber discussions—Already low market prices have been exacerbated by the 19.3-per-cent countervailing duty and the U.S. decision on anti-dumping.
• Market concerns—Asian buyers prefer clean, white wood and are reluctant to buy wood that is stained blue by a fungus that accompanies the mountain pine beetle infestation.
• Market capacity—The existing market cannot absorb additional lumber or chip volumes even if a viable price existed.
• Operational planning requirements—Quick harvesting decisions needed to respond to an infestation on an emergency basis may be difficult under the Forest Practices Code.

Co-ordinated Response

The British Columbia government is working with industry and communities to take action to deal with the mountain pine beetle infestation. Provincial funding to manage and control the infestation increased from $11.7 million in 1999/2000 to $16.5 million in 2000/01. This fiscal year, the cost is expected to be $36 million, which includes both direct cost to government and the loss of revenue from the higher costs incurred by industry in response to the infestation.

The strategic approach to dealing with the mountain pine beetle infestation is based on three recent initiatives:

• The CLMA/NFPA Mountain Pine Beetle Emergency Task Force, set up in 1999 to co-ordinate industry activities related to the mountain pine beetle, presented recommendations to the Premier in early summer. The task force involved the Cariboo Lumber Manufacturers Association and the Northern Forest Products Association.
• The Government Caucus Task Force of the Mountain Pine Beetle, announced by the Premier on June 25, 2001, held public meetings and solicited input from forest workers, interest groups, stakeholders and the general public. It presented its recommendations to the Minister of Forests on Oct. 3, 2001.
• R&S Rogers Consulting of Nanoose Bay was hired by the Ministry of Forests to work with the forest industry and other involved parties to develop strategic recommendations to manage the issues resulting from the ongoing infestation.

The Action Plan

The mountain pine beetle has infested $4.2-billion worth of timber in B.C.’s Interior. If left unchecked, the infestation has the potential to reduce future timber supplies, which in turn could reduce forestry jobs in as many as 30 communities across the west-central Interior. While only two very cold winters in a row will significantly reduce the mountain pine beetle population, government and industry are taking immediate action to minimize the spread of infestation and the loss of stand value.

Government agencies and the forest industry have made extraordinary efforts to address this challenge to date, and are adapting their strategies as the infestations grow. The Ministry of Forests has already worked with industry to begin streamlining administration, addressing timber pricing issues, making more volume available to harvest infested trees and allocating resources and funds to facilitate effective control. But clearly more needs to be done. This action plan is based on past experiences as well as the recommendations from the industry task force, the government caucus task force and the R&S Rogers Consulting report. All actions taken will ensure environmental values are protected, and that regional resource boards and land/resource management planning committees are involved.

Objectives

The overall objectives of the action plan are to:

• minimize the spread of the beetle infestations;
• minimize the loss of timber values while respecting environmental values;
• minimize the loss of economic benefits to the local communities;
• maintain the viability of the affected forest industry; and,
• ensure the cost effectiveness of Crown direct investment and minimize the loss of Crown revenue as a result of the higher costs incurred by industry to respond to the infestation.

Principles

• Forest health activities preserve the natural legacy represented by B.C.’s forests. Investments in forest health will be determined by the values at risk, potential for success and affordability.
• Decisions concerning investments in mountain pine beetle control or timber salvage, whether direct or through the loss of revenue from the higher costs incurred by industry, will be guided by maximizing the net economic benefits.
• Infested timber will be harvested and milled in place of uninfested timber where possible, so that it does not disrupt the existing overall British Columbia market. An additional aggregate manufacturing capacity will only be considered if there is a new market to support it.
• The infestation is a natural phenomenon within the lodgepole pine ecosystem, however, there may be significant ecological consequences because of the damage to timber over vast tracts of land. All management, control and salvage activities will be conducted in a manner that manages and conserves environmental values.
• Strategies will be designed to minimize the loss of economic benefits from the forests.
• This action plan is the result of broad consultation, and implementation and communications will take place openly and regularly with the industry communities and other stakeholders.

Action Plan Elements

Beetle Management Co-ordinator

The west-central British Columbia mountain pine beetle infestation affects three forest regions and 11 forest districts in British Columbia. It has infested, or could affect, land that falls under a variety of jurisdictions—including working forests, provincial parks, protected areas, federal and private lands.

The Ministry of Forests will appoint a Beetle Management Co-ordinator to help create and oversee mountain pine beetle management efforts. This will ensure that cross-agency liaison and co-ordination occurs, that all actions are as cost effective as possible and that any issues are quickly resolved. The Beetle Management Co-ordinator will have authority over forest regions and districts affected by the infestation and will report directly to the Minister of Forests. This person will also co-ordinate cross-agency liaison and ensure that the most effective courses of action are identified and delivered.

The challenge presented by this infestation will require ongoing resources and budgets based on specific management plans and sound economic analysis. Future budgets will continue to be managed jointly, with the Ministry of Forests acting as spending authority. Industry activities that are funded directly by government or create a loss of revenue for government must be consistent with the overall management plan.

There will be regular communication with stakeholders to update progress, identify risks and outline changes to the strategies as they evolve.

Managing the Beetle

Improved Planning and Detection
Government and industry need accurate, consistent, comparable and timely data to determine the magnitude and dynamics of the mountain pine beetle infestation over time so they can develop both action and operational plans.

District level data systems initiated by the British Columbia Forest Service will be improved to provide the common basis for both the overview and detailed survey information needed to support regional and provincial strategic planning. These systems will include local information collected and interpreted in a provincially consistent fashion. The data will identify areas that have been infested, but have not yet been harvested or treated. Formal summaries will be produced semi-annually as a basis for tracking the infestations.

Continuing support will be given to privately developed airborne and/or satellite based systems to detect trees at the early stages of infestation, or green attack detection, where positive results are consistently shown. Research trials have shown some positive results so competitive contracts may be possible for current attack detection starting in 2002 where the technique proves cost effective.

Based on the common data, the high-level mountain pine beetle management strategy will be refined. The province will be divided into three zones—control, holding and no action—based on the level of infestation, risk of spread and degree of susceptibility. There will be beetle management units established in each zone, and each will be given a general operational prescription based on the stand type and condition, the potential for successful treatment and available funding. The same model will be used annually for future strategic planning on a consistent comparable base. The treatments will be based on the biology as in the past but will also be subject to a more rigorous economic test to confirm the appropriateness of the proposed treatment. Budget requests and harvest prescriptions will be based on the resultant prescriptions.

Emergency Management Zones

Administrative Streamlining
Among its recommendations to government, the forest industry emergency task force called for a number of administrative streamlining procedures. Government will work with industry to implement accepted administrative streamlining.

Emergency mountain pine beetle management zones will be identified so the application of the administrative streamlining can be focused on areas where immediate action is needed. The amended administration of the Code will be results-based incorporating the ‘manage and conserve’ principle with increased professional reliance. It will allow harvesting of infested timber in a more timely fashion. This provision will not apply to salvage logging or stand rehabilitation.

Timber Pricing

Clearly, one of the major factors affecting beetle management and control is that of timber pricing. Long-standing and universally accepted pricing principles, such as point of appraisal, least cost haul and average efficient operator, constrain the ability to respond to the infestation.

Average costs based on surveys over broad areas, movement between selling price zones or milling cost zones and lags in reflecting cost increases or market fluctuations challenge the licensee’s viability in the face of this challenge.

These kinds of factors have resulted in a cautious approach to changes in cost recognition for ‘best beetle practices’. In this environment, the strategy regarding timber pricing is to adopt a cost-neutral principle to recognize increased operating costs for industry for those ‘best beetle practices’ that can be shown to have a positive cost/benefit. ‘Best beetle practices’ include, but are not limited to activities such as incremental hauling, small patch harvesting, long skidding for beetle control and hand falling/line skidding.

Estimates of the volumes involved in the various applications and the costs of each are being considered, so that the revenue implications can be calculated. Recognizing that forests are a Crown asset and that forest health is in our best interest, recommendations will be made to Treasury Board that the incremental ‘best beetle practices’ costs be taken off the waterbed and the loss of Crown revenue be accepted. This loss will be partially offset by the additional revenue from the sale of the uplift volumes in the Lakes and Quesnel timber supply areas (TSAs).

While competitive sales will be focused at mountain pine beetle control, they will be awarded on revenue considerations where possible.

The strategy of transferring small business cuts between units to assist in mountain pine beetle control or salvage rather than or prior to moving major licence volume will minimize the revenue loss and avoid the need for amending timber pricing principles. As indicated in the protecting communities section of this plan, this will be done where it makes economic sense.

Specific concerns have been raised relating to dead, dry sawlog quality logs. These concerns will be addressed in the broader review of timber pricing that is currently ongoing.

Due to the wide variation in moisture content between current and older attacked timber and with the blue stain caused by the mountain pine beetle infestation, there is reason to believe that milling costs, lumber recoveries and market values will be adversely affected. The Forest Service will participate with industry in the necessary studies to determine the potential impact on timber pricing.

Protecting Communities

The infestation of mountain pine beetle has the potential to significantly disrupt forest-based economic benefits flowing to communities by a long-term reduction in timber supply. Strategies to minimize the negative impact on communities and to provide local opportunities for First Nations and others to help manage the infestation include:

1. Direct as much local harvesting as possible into beetle-infested timber to reduce potential loss. Given cost considerations, the priority will be to remove infested trees through small patch harvesting if this will control the spread and reduce the harvest of uninfested trees.

2. In areas where there is more infested timber than can be cut within the TSA allowable cut, licensees from adjacent TSAs or small business volumes from those TSAs will be directed into the infested areas as a cut transfer. This will only occur if the transfer means less uninfested timber is harvested elsewhere, and if a Forest Service business case shows it is cost effective.

3. Once the infestation subsides, dead stands will be harvested before the log value is lost. This will minimize the harvest of uninfested stands while providing local employment. A study will be initiated to help planners determine when salvage efforts should take place.

4. If it appears that remaining stand values have or will deteriorate, rehabilitation requirements will be determined and plans developed based on environmental and economic criteria, with consideration for the local employment potential.

5. Where new opportunities exist resulting in additional licences, the strategy is to avoid new primary milling capacity aimed at producing additional dimension lumber or chips provincially.

6. Although the risk of catastrophic fire is relatively low, there is still a need to manage the fire threat. Through the course of the infestation, the fire hazard will change—from dry red needles to dead standing timber and finally heavy fuel loads on the forest floor if stands are left untouched. To address this potential hazard:

   • The Canadian Forestry Service will be asked to determine the need for specific fire behaviour modelling of these various stages of fire hazard, and take action if necessary.
   • Fire protection organizations will co-ordinate their fire preparedness and fire suppression activities so they are prepared to respond in the event of a fire.
   • Hazard mapping due to beetle activities will be incorporated into the protection information systems annually. Special consideration will be given to beetle-related fire hazards during training or discussions with community interests about forest fire protection.

7. Harvesting is the most effective tool available for mountain pine beetle management, and the cost is offset by the retained value of the timber, revenue to the Crown, and economic benefits for communities. The effectiveness of harvesting as a beetle management tool is currently constrained by availability of volume and cut control issues.

   • Harvest Volumes
     The strategies identified under protecting communities relate also to increasing available harvest volumes on a temporary basis. The immediate focus of all harvesting from within the TSAs will be on current infestations where there is a strong likelihood that spread will be reduced.
     Given the very limited ability for the lumber market to absorb increased production, a strategy of substitution is being adopted. Wherever possible, infested timber will be substituted for harvest of uninfested timber in adjacent units as long as it is economically feasible. If necessary, major licence and small business volumes will be directed into infested areas from adjacent units. Forest Service staff will work with licensees to identify potential transfer volumes and apply the economic test.
     Uplift volumes resulting from temporary increases in the allowable annual cut by the chief forester will be used primarily to harvest infested trees.

   • Cut Control Flexibility
     There will also be cut control flexibility provided so infested volumes purchased by major licensees may be credited against that licensee’s cut to avoid penalties. Additionally, woodlot licence holders may be allowed to harvest beetle-infested volumes outside their licence area rather than harvesting uninfested timber within the woodlot licence area.
     The log hauling season will be extended on a site-specific basis as long as it does not result in environmental damage or risk the spread of the infestation by hauling during the beetle flight.

Improved Transportation Infrastructure

There is a lack of access into infested areas south of Ootsa Lake and in the Kluskus supply block of the Quesnel TSA, which has contributed to the spread of the mountain pine beetle in the past and constrains harvesting now.

Cost-effective access into the South Ootsa area is needed so heavily infested timber can be transferred into adjacent TSAs or within the Lakes TSA. The British Columbia Forest Service, in conjunction with Ministry of Transportation and forest industry staff, will prepare options for Cabinet consideration to address these access issues. The options will identify how much each party will contribute and will offer an economic-based business case analysis to guide decision-makers.

Options include using privately operated barge ferries on Ootsa and possibly Francois Lakes and creating link roads between major road systems to facilitate inter-district hauling of beetle-infested timber. All evaluations of transportation options will consider the capital or construction, maintenance and additional log hauling costs; as well as environmental impacts and safety issues.

Finally, each forest district is to assess the extent to which the current road deactivation policy is impacting mountain pine beetle detection and control. If it is found that the impact is substantial, options are to be identified, analysed and presented to the Beetle Management Co-ordinator for consideration. This analysis must include costs, impact on mountain pine beetle control and Code liabilities.

Environment and Land Use

Mountain pine beetle infestations are natural phenomena, but the size of the infestation and its potential ecological consequences require a response linked to existing land management plans.

The Beetle Management Co-ordinator will meet with interested parties and the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management—the agency responsible for higher-level plans—to ensure that beetle management strategies are integrated with the land management strategies. The result will be clear, concise management prescriptions, which address the reality of the beetle epidemic while respecting the resource values identified and managed under the plans.

All activities at the stand level will be planned and implemented in a way that respects the principles of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia. Shorter planning periods will be considered where infested trees need to be harvested quickly to control the spread of the mountain pine beetles. Salvage or rehabilitation activities must meet the existing operational planning requirements of the Code.

The Beetle Management Co-ordinator will invite input from the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management on how mountain pine beetle management efforts may be affecting the objectives of land use plans, and what strategies are necessary to mitigate any negative impacts.

Federal Contribution

The mountain pine beetle infestation represents a tremendous challenge to the people of British Columbia. Despite the growth of the infestation over most of a decade, the economic implications to the local communities, the provincial and the federal government are significant.

The Province will pursue a commitment from the federal government for emergency funding. The funding could be used in a number of ways including:

• log storage or feasibility studies to look at the options for log storage such as leaving it on the stump, under sprinklers or in freshwater reservoirs;
• research into beetle detection or control;
• environmental impact studies; or
• rehabilitation of denuded sites.

Reporting and Review

This action plan will be reviewed annually to identify the magnitude and dynamics of the infestation and the extent to which the strategies adopted address the issues. This review will occur in November to coincide with updated overview beetle survey information. The review will result in a public reporting complete with recommendations for amending the strategies as required.