Administrative Standards

Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor's Course

1.0 Candidate Pre-qualifications

The following pre-qualification standards are required by candidates who wish to take the Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor's Course (WDTAC) for the first time:

1.1 Candidates must have the following minimum course pre-requisites:

• 3 or more years of post-secondary experience working in the fields of forestry operations, habitat biology, parks management, arboriculture, transportation safety management, occupational health and safety, or wildland fire
suppression
• Grade 10 equivalency skills (reading, writing, basic arithmetic)
• ability to calculate percentages
• knowledge of native tree species identification.

2.0 Qualification Procedures

A candidate will receive qualification as a Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor for a 4.0 year period beginning from the date of successful completion of the Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor's Course. Successful completion of this course requires that the following three conditions be met:

• candidate pre-requisites have been fulfilled (see section 1.1)
• achieve a minimum score on the oral field exam of 85%; AND
• achieve a combined minimum average score on the written exam and oral field exam of 75%.

3.0 Restriction or Denial of Qualification

The Wildlife Danger Tree Assessor Panel (WDTAP) has the right to restrict or deny qualification where the candidate is lacking the pre-requisites defined in section 1.2, OR would be unable to perform the duties of a qualified assessor because of a physical impairment. Physical impairments of this nature would be those that would impair the candidate's ability to physically bend and manually probe or excavate tree roots, or be able to look upward and see into the upper crown of trees for aerial hazards.

4.0 Terms and Conditions of Qualification

1. The qualified assessor must follow the safe work practices and procedures of wildlife/danger tree assessment as outlined in the Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor's Course
2. The qualified assessor must only conduct wildlife/danger tree assessments in those areas in which they were trained (i.e., applicable to the WDTAC module(s) which they have successfully completed) AND have suitable qualifications and experience
3. The qualified assessor must not engage in inappropriate conduct, not restricted to but including:
   • falsely rating a tree for hazards (as either safe or dangerous) in order to achieve other objectives.

The WDTAP has the right to suspend or cancel qualification where the candidate has knowingly breached a term or condition of the certificate OR has otherwise contravened a provision or intent of the Occupational Health & Safety Regulation, or Ministry of Forests and Range or Ministry of Environment regulations (including the Forests Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act, and the Wildlife Act). Contravention of these regulations or contravention of the terms and conditions listed in section 4.0, may lead to the suspension or cancellation of qualification.

A person with a suspended certificate can be re-instated by the WDTAP by retaking the Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor's Course. The length of suspension will be determined by the WDTAP and is linked to the severity of the infraction or contravention, and whether this was committed as an act of ignorance versus an act of recklessness.

Suspension of qualification can be appealed to the Wildlife Tree Committee of British Columbia (WTC). See section 6.2 for a description of appeal procedures.

5.0 Time Period for Certification

Wildlife/danger tree assessor certificates are valid for a 4.0 year time period. To continue working as an assessor the certificate must be renewed no later than the expiry date printed on them at the time of issuance. This 4.0 year time period applies to any certificates which were issued after February 1, 1998 for the WDTAC Parks and Recreation Sites courses, and after November 30, 1998 for the WDTAC Forest Harvesting and Silviculture or Wildland Fire Safety courses.

Renewal of qualification is the sole responsibility of the certificate holder. For certificate renewal requirements, see section 7.0.

6.0 Appeal Procedure of Failure of the Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor's Course Exam

1. A candidate's initial request for a decision review of failure of the WDTAC course exam(s) should first be directed to the course examiner. The examiner will immediately review the exam results with the candidate to provide rationale and an explanation for the decision rendered, and to provide the candidate with an opportunity to ask questions. Upon request, the candidate will be given a written clarification of the exam results from the course examiner, addressing any contentious issues. The request for written clarification must be submitted to the examiner within 30 days of the examination date.
2. An appeal of the course examiner's decision may be made by the candidate to the WDTAP within 30 days of the date from which the examiner forwarded the written clarification to the appellant. The appeal is commenced by a letter, which states:
   • the matter that is being appealed;
   • the reason(s) why the candidate objects to the examiner's decision; AND
   • what decision the candidate thinks should be substituted.
A copy of the examination and the written clarification of exam results must be provided to the WDTAP. Any other documentation or evidence in support of the appeal should be attached or described. The appeal will be adjudicated solely on the basis of written evidence and submissions.
3. The WDTAP will provide the candidate with a full written explanation of the appeal decision within 30 days of receipt of the candidate's written appeal submission.

If a candidate fails a course (see section 2.0) and subsequently goes through the appeal process (see section 6.0) and is unsuccessful in the appeal ruling, then two options are open to the individual seeking qualification:

1. if the oral field exam was failed then the candidate must attend and retake the entire Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor's Course.
2. if the oral field exam was passed but the written classroom exam was failed, then the candidate can retake the written exam only and does NOT have to retake the course. The written exam retake can be held at a scheduled course offering or through an invigilated session arranged by the candidate.

Appeal of suspension of qualification must be directed in writing to the Wildlife Tree Committee of British Columbia (WTC), and will be based solely on written evidence and submissions. The appeal submission must:

• state the reason(s) why the suspended person objects to the suspension decision;
• describe any relevant information which the suspended person believes is pertinent to a reversal of the suspension decision.

The WTC will provide the appellant with a full written explanation of the appeal decision within 30 days of receipt of the written appeal submission. If the appeal decision is granted in favour of the appellant, then suspension of qualification will be lifted. In this circumstance, the original date of expiry of qualification will apply. Refer to section 5.0 for certificate extension procedures.

7.0 Renewal of Qualification

For persons who wish to renew their WDTAC qualification for an additional 4.0 year period following the expiry date of the original qualification, the following options exist:

1. For persons who can demonstrate active ongoing work experience in the field of wildlife/danger tree assessment (a minimum of 5 days active wildlife/danger tree assessment experience in the preceding year), a challenge exam or ½ day recurrency course can be taken. These will entail successful completion of an exam set by the WTC
2. For persons who DO NOT meet the requirements outlined in section 7(i), then the entire WDTAC course must be retaken and successfully completed (see section 2.0)
3. Qualification renewal for a 4 year period will be dated from the time of successful completion of the procedures described in clauses 7(i ) or 7(ii).

The WTC requires that the following criteria be met by persons who register for the 1-day Wildland Fire Safety module upgrade course:

1. persons must hold a valid certificate for the WDTAC Forest Harvesting and Silviculture module; AND
2. persons must demonstrate that they have recent fireline experience (at least 10 days over the previous 2 years); OR that they have 5 days of documented danger tree assessment experience (forestry, parks or wildfire operations) in the previous calendar year
3. if persons cannot meet the requirements described in (ii), then they must take the full 2-day WDTAC Wildland Fire Safety module if they wish to gain this certification.