Glossary
 

Aboriginal rights

• Refer to practices, traditions or customs ("activity[ies]") which are integral to the distinctive culture of an aboriginal society and were practiced prior to European contact, meaning they were rooted in the pre-contact society (the date is no longer prior to 1846, the date British sovereignty was asserted in B.C.);
• Must be practiced for a substantial period of time to have formed an integral part of the particular aboriginal society's culture;
• Must be an activity that is a central, defining feature which is independently significant to the aboriginal society;
• Must be distinctive (not unique), meaning it must be distinguishing and characteristic of that culture;
• Must be based on an actual activity related to a resource: the significance of the activity is relevant but cannot itself constitute the claim to an aboriginal right;
• Must be given a priority after conservation measures (not amounting to an exclusive right);
• Must meet a continuity requirement, meaning that the aboriginal society must demonstrate that the connection with the land in its customs and laws has continued to the present day;
• May be the exercise in a modern form of an activity that existed prior to European contact;
• May include the right to fish, pick berries, hunt and trap for sustenance, social and ceremonial purposes (for example, ceremonial uses of trees and wildlife locations);
• May include an aboriginal right to sell or trade commercially in a resource where there is evidence to show that the activity existed prior to European contact "on a scale best characterized as commercial" and that such activity is an integral part of the aboriginal society's distinctive culture;
• May be adapted in response to the arrival of Europeans if the activity was an integral part of the aboriginal society's culture prior to European contact;
• Do not include an activity that solely exists because of the influence of European contact; and
• Do not include aspects of aboriginal society that are true of every society such as eating to survive.

Aboriginal rights arise from the prior occupation of land, but they also arise from the prior social organization and distinctive cultures of aboriginal peoples on that land. Treaty negotiations will translate aboriginal rights into contemporary terms.

(MARR, Glossary of Treaty-Related Terms. http://www.gov.bc.ca/arr/rpts/glossary/default.htm)

(Adapted from MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from COSEWIC. http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct0/assessment_process_e.cfm#tbl5)

(Adapted from MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

Current operational use of the term “backlog” or “backlog planting” is usually restricted to areas harvested before 1988 that are of Good or Medium site productivity. This is based on the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act of 1995, which re-defined a backlog area as “an area from which the timber was harvested, damaged or destroyed before October 1, 1987; and, which in the district manager’s opinion, is insufficiently stocked with healthy, well-spaced trees of a commercially acceptable species.”

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

British Columbia’s low-elevation biogeoclimatic zones are:

• Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF)
• Coastal Western Hemlock (CWH)
• Bunchgrass (BG)
• Ponderosa Pine (PP)
• Interior Douglas-fir (IDF)
• Interior Cedar–Hemlock (ICH)
• Sub-Boreal Spruce (SBS)
• Boreal White and Black Spruce (BWBS)
• Sub-Boreal Pine–Spruce (SBPS)
• Montane Spruce (MS)

The high-elevation zones are:

• Mountain Hemlock (MH)
• Engelmann Spruce – Subalpine Fir (ESSF)
• Spruce–Willow–Birch (SWB)
• Alpine Tundra (AT)

Descriptions of each zone are at http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hre/becweb/resources/classificationreports/provincial/index.html

An interactive map showing all zones is at http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/biogeo/biogeo.htm

(Canadian Forest Service. Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector. http://carbon.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/cbm/index_e.html)

(Adapted from the definition used for temperate and boreal forest in: United Nations. 2001. The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000. http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y1997e/y1997e1m.htm#bm58)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

More generally, community forest may refer to any forestry operation managed by a local government, community group or First Nation for the benefit of the entire community. The majority of community forests in B.C. are on Crown land under a timber tenure such as a forest licence, tree farm licence or community forest agreement.

(Adapted from MFR, Community Forests. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hth/community/)

(Adapted from the definition used for temperate and boreal forest in: United Nations. 2001. The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000. http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y1997e/y1997e1m.htm#bm58)

(The Montréal Process. http://www.mpci.org/rep-pub/1995/santiago_e.html#2)

(Canadian Forest Service. Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector. http://carbon.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/cbm/index_e.html)

(Bailey, R.G. 1998. Ecoregions: the ecosystem geography of the oceans and continents. Springer-Verlag: New York)

In British Columbia, ecoregion is defined differently, and used with the term ecosection:

An ecoregion is an area with major physiographic and minor macroclimatic or oceanographic variation. There are 43 ecoregions in British Columbia of which 39 are terrestrial. Ecoregions are meant to be mapped at 1:500,000 for regional strategic planning.

(MoE, Ecoregions of British Columbia. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/ecology/ecoregions/index.html)

(Adapted from MoE, Ecoregions of British Columbia. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/ecology/ecoregions/index.html)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(COSEWIC. http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct0/assessment_process_e.cfm#tbl5)

(Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(COSEWIC. http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct0/assessment_process_e.cfm#tbl5)

(Adapted from COSEWIC. http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct0/assessment_process_e.cfm#tbl5)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

1. An aboriginal governing body, organized and established by an aboriginal community, or
2. The aboriginal community itself.

(MARR, Glossary of Treaty-Related Terms. http://www.gov.bc.ca/tno/rpts/glossary/default.htm)

(Adapted from the definition used for temperate and boreal forest in: United Nations. 2001. The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000. http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y1997e/y1997e1m.htm#bm58)

(1) forest dependent and forest dwelling: A species requiring forest conditions for all or part of its requirements for food, shelter or reproduction.
(2) forest dependent but not forest dwelling: A species not using or living in forest habitats, but that is significantly affected by disturbance or changes in adjacent forests.
(3) forest using but not forest dependent: A species that is not forest dependent, but makes marginal use of forest habitats.
(4) known to be forest-associated, but information is insufficient to categorize it as (1), (2) or (3).

(Adapted from a workshop for the National Status 2005 report on criteria and indicators. Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. http://www.ccfm.org/)

(Adapted from Genes Trees and Forests, Brochure 9. 1983. MFR, Research Branch. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Bro/Bro09.htm and Yanchuk, A.D., M. Carlson, and J. Woods. 1992. Genetic Diversity in Forest Management. Information Leaflet. B.C. Min. For., Res. Br., Victoria, B.C.)

(Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(The Forest Genetics Council of British Columbia, Glossary of Forest Genetics Terms. http://www.fgcouncil.bc.ca/index.html)

(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Third Assessment Report, Glossary of Terms. http://www.ipcc.ch/pub/syrgloss.pdf)

(Adapted from: Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(Adapted from: the definition used by The Montréal Process. http://www.mpci.org/rep-pub/1995/santiago_e.html#2)

(Adapted from State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Faculty of Forestry. Forest Genetics Glossary. http://www.esf.edu/for/maynard/GENE_GLOSSERY.html#Germplasm%20conservation and Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(MFR, Aboriginal Affairs Branch. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/haa/Docs/Public_Q&A_Oct27_2004.htm#general1)

Category I – Protected area managed mainly for science or wilderness protection (Strict Nature Reserve/Wilderness Area);
Category II – Protected area managed mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation (National Park);
Category III – Protected area managed mainly for conservation of specific natural features (National Monument);
Category IV – Protected area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention (Habitat/Species Management Area);
Category V – Protected area managed mainly for landscape/seascape conservation and recreation (Protected Landscape/Seascape);
Category VI – Protected area managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems (Managed Resource Protected Area).

The categories reflect a gradient of management intervention. In Categories I–III, strict protection is the rule and natural processes are paramount, Category II and III sites combining this with facilities for visitors. In Category IV, in effect the managed nature reserve, the manager intervenes to conserve or if necessary restore species or habitats. Category V is about protecting cultural, lived-in landscapes, with farms and other forms of land-use. The new Category VI, the sustainable use reserve, is a protected area deliberately set up to allow use of natural resources, mainly for the benefit of local people.

(IUCN. 2000. Protected areas: Benefits beyond boundaries – WCPA in action. http://www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/pubs/other.htm#action)

(Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

In British Columbia, private land classified as “managed forest land” under the Assessment Act is given favourable tax treatment to encourage private landowners to manage their lands for long-term forest production. To maintain the classification, management of the land must meet the requirements under the Private Managed Forest Land Act.

(Private Managed Forest Land Council, Managed Forest Program. http://www.pmflc.ca/program.html)

(Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(Adapted from the definition used for temperate and boreal forest in: United Nations. 2001. The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000. http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y1997e/y1997e1m.htm#bm58)

(Adapted from MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Royal Roads University, Centre for Non-Timber Resources, 2006. http://www.royalroads.ca/programs/faculties-schools-centres/non-timber-resources/ntfp/)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

The following working definition based on location, species and age information available from forest cover inventories is used for quantitative analysis in this and other publications:

Old growth is defined as all Coast region forests more than 250 years old, Interior forests dominated by lodgepole pine or deciduous species more than 120 years old, and all other Interior forests more than 140 years old.

(Adapted from the definition used for temperate and boreal forest in: United Nations. 2001. The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000. http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y1997e/y1997e1m.htm#bm58)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

Ranking is the process of assigning a risk of extinction “score” (i.e., rank) to each species. The purpose is to identify species most at risk, as well as to establish baseline ranks for each.

(MoE, Species Ranking in British Columbia. http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/ranking.pdf)

In British Columbia, the Conservation Data Centre ranks species into three lists:
RED = extirpated, endangered or threatened in B.C. (red-listed species and sub-species have, or are candidates for, official Extirpated, Endangered or Threatened Status in B.C.),
BLUE = special concern,
YELLOW = not at risk.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/atrisk/red-blue.htm#purpose

(Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(Adapted from MFR, Tree Improvement Branch. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hti/speciesplan/index.htm)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from the Glossary definition for “special management area” in the Ft. St. John Land and Resource Management Plan.
http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/lup/lrmp/northern/ftstjohn/plan/appc.htm#r)

A singular or plural term for a population or series of populations of organisms that are capable of interbreeding freely with each other but not with members of other species. Includes a number of cases:

• endemic species: a species originating in, or belonging to, a particular region. Both "endemic" and "indigenous" are preferred over "native."
• exotic species: a species introduced accidentally or intentionally to a region beyond its natural range. "Exotic" is preferred over "alien," "foreign" and "non-native.’
• subspecies: a subdivision of a species. A population or series of populations occupying a discrete range and differing genetically from other subspecies of the same species.

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

The species counts in the Species diversity indicator are for naturally occurring species and subspecies found in B.C. or now presumed extirpated in B.C. Extinct species are counted separately. Distinct populations are not counted as separate species. The species counts are generally consistent with COSEWIC’s use of the term “wildlife species”, limited to B.C.:
“A species, subspecies, variety or geographically or genetically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and is either native to Canada or has extended its range into Canada without human intervention and has been present in Canada for at least 50 years.”

(COSEWIC. http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct0/assessment_process_e.cfm#tbl5)

(Adapted from Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

The holding, particularly as to manner or term (i.e., period of time), of a property. Land tenure may be broadly categorized into private lands, federal lands, and provincial Crown lands. The Forest Act defines a number of forestry tenures by which the cutting of timber and other user rights to provincial Crown land are assigned.

(MFR Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from “Terrestrial” in: Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(COSEWIC. http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct0/assessment_process_e.cfm#tbl5)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from MFR, Annual report 2003/04. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/mr/annual/ar_2003-04/for.pdf and
MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel. 1995. Report 3: First Nations’ Perspectives Relating to Forest Practices Standards in Clayoquot Sound. p. 11)

• A location associated with traditional beliefs of an aboriginal group about its origins, cultural history or world view;
• The location of a trail, sacred site or resource gathering site such as berry grounds;
• A location where a community has traditionally carried out economic, artistic or other cultural pursuits important to maintaining its identity; or
• The traditional home of a particular cultural group.

(Adapted from Ministry of Forests.1996. Traditional Use Study Program: Funding Proposal Instructions.)

(Adapted from: MFR Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

• Dispersed retention - retains individual trees scattered throughout a cutblock,
• Aggregate (group) retention - retains trees in clumps or clusters.

The main objectives of variable retention are to retain the natural range of stand and forest structure and forest functions. With retention systems, forest areas to be retained are determined before deciding which areas will be cut. This system offers a range of retention levels. The system also provides for permanent retention of trees and other structures after regeneration is established. Variable retention can be implemented with a range of harvesting systems and can be combined with traditional silvicultural systems such as shelterwood or selection.

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Dunster, Julian A. 1996. Dictionary of natural resource management. UBC Press: Vancouver)

(MFR, Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)

(Adapted from: MFR Glossary of Forestry Terms. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/)