National Forest Week, Sept. 24-30, 2006
Every day, British Columbia’s forests provide us with environmental,
social and economic benefits. And despite the many challenges forestry
faces, it is one of our main economic drivers, employing about 80,000 people
directly and accounting for about half the province’s exports.
As Minister of Forests and Range, I want to grow the forest economy and
build on the progress we’ve made in the past year.
Our recently updated mountain pine beetle action plan, backed by $500
million in investments, is aimed at sustaining communities and our Interior
forests through 59 key actions to be taken in the coming year.
We continue to make communities safer and help protect them from the risk
of interface fires. We’ve mapped 1.7 million hectares of forest land around
B.C. communities that may require treatment and are supporting local
governments in developing community wildfire protection plans.
We’ll see the results of the softwood lumber agreement, which will stop
the flow of duties to U.S. lumber producers. The agreement will provide
greater certainty as we continue to support both the Coast and Interior
forest industries by providing a competitive regulatory framework. By
becoming more globally competitive, we will be able to provide more
stability for workers and communities that rely on forestry.
We are dedicated to being a world leader in sustainable forest management
so future generations will enjoy the many benefits our forests and forest
industry provide. During National Forest Week, I encourage all British
Columbians to get outdoors to enjoy our forests, and celebrate the many
benefits they provide.
Honourable Rich Coleman
Minister of Forests and Range
In the last decade, British Columbia has established itself as a world
leader in forest management. At the end of 2006, it will continue this
leadership as it completes its transition to new results-based forest
legislation.
The Forest and Range Practices Act, or FRPA, is the law that governs the
activities of forest and range companies that operate on B.C.’s public land.
FRPA sets the requirements for planning and public involvement, as well as
logging, road building, reforestation and grazing.
FRPA is designed to maintain environmental performance while encouraging
innovation, and increases reliance on B.C.’s skilled resource professionals,
including foresters, agrologists, biologists, geoscientists and engineers.
FRPA shifts the focus from ensuring every operator follows the same
processes to ensuring on-the-ground results that meet the specific needs of
each site are met.
“The science will remain but the prescriptive approach will not,” says
B.C.’s chief forester Jim Snetsinger, who is overseeing implementation of
the new act. “It is an exciting and liberating time for the strong group of
practising resource professionals who are working together in British
Columbia. They are being told they can use their best professional judgment,
creativity and innovation, as long as they come up with measurable,
verifiable results that are consistent with stated objectives.”
With a well-earned reputation for high-quality forest management and
practices, B.C. is ready to move to results-based regulations. The
province’s land use planning process is well established and sets the
management objectives for public forests. Along with the statutes governing
resource professionals, FRPA is part of a comprehensive suite of laws and
regulations regarding forest lands and resources.
B.C.’s forest industry is a leader in gaining independent third-party
sustainable forest certification, which complements the province’s
comprehensive forest management laws. As of June 2006, nearly 40 million
hectares of land was certified to one of three globally recognized forest
certification programs.
“A lot of good work has been done in the last 25 to 30 years to
understand how our ecosystems work and function, and that is the fundamental
underpinning of forest management in B.C.,” says Snetsinger. “Land use
planning builds on this, bringing in other values and social preferences.
And First Nations are very much involved, both in how forests are managed
and in direct tenure opportunities.”
Public input encouraged
Public involvement is an essential component of FRPA. Before forestry
operators can harvest one tree or build one road, they must prepare a Forest
Stewardship Plan or a Woodlot Licence Plan. These plans set out how the
licensee will address government objectives for the protection of a range of
values, including wildlife, timber, fish, biodiversity, soils, water,
forage, recreation, resource features, visual quality and cultural heritage
resources.
And, by law, plans must be made available for public review and comment.
Forest licensees generally advertise that a plan is available, and allow the
public, First Nations and anyone who might be affected by timber harvesting
activities 60 days to comment. This means that public interests are
identified earlier in the development process – not after cutblocks and
roads are already planned out. It also encourages an ongoing dialogue so the
public, companies and resource professionals are able to develop open,
stronger relationships at the local level, one that can help ensure all
interests are reflected in plans and practices.
Forest licensees must consider public views, and show how this input has
been incorporated into their plans before submitting them for approval by
the Ministry of Forests and Range.
Operators held accountable
About 95 per cent of British Columbia’s forests are publicly owned, and
priorities for the use of these lands are developed through community-based
strategic land and resource management planning. FRPA fits within this
larger context to deliver the mix of benefits such as timber, recreational
opportunities, water quality, wildlife habitat and countless others
identified through the public planning process. The act is designed to
deliver economic and environmental benefits across the landscape
simultaneously, and not one to the exclusion of the other.
Forest companies are held accountable for all their activities under FRPA.
They must prepare plans that state explicitly what they will do and how they
will do it, or they must state the results they will achieve – and these
must be verifiable or measurable. Forest companies must also meet other
practice requirements stated directly in regulation.
On-the-ground practices are subject to investigation by compliance and
enforcement staff. In the Ministry of Forests and Range alone, more than 200
highly trained staff carry out 15,000 inspections a year to ensure that
approved strategies are carried out, and approved results are achieved.
Staff can stop activities on the spot if there is a risk to the environment.
They can also issue tickets, and assess financial penalties.
Government is committed to a results-based approach that delivers on its
objectives for the conservation of biodiversity and water quality, to name a
few. For this reason, it is investing $12 million over three years in a
science-based program to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of forest
practices and support continuous improvement of forest practices.
The public is invited to share its views on priority areas for monitoring
and evaluation. Each year, the list of priority evaluation questions that
guides activities is updated with input from resource professionals,
researchers and the public. Based on this list, staff collect data from
hundreds of randomly selected sites across the province, and experts use
this data to make recommendations to improve forest practices where
necessary. The results are peer reviewed and final reports made publicly
available.
Further information about the Forest and Range Practices Act, and how to
become involved, is available at
www.for.gov.bc.ca/code/
1. How much forest is there in B.C.?
About two-thirds of British Columbia’s 95 million hectares is forested.
The non-forested areas include alpine, rock and ice, water and areas of
human development.
2. How much protected forest is there in B.C.?
Overall, 13.8% of British Columbia is included in parks and protected
areas, where no industrial activities may take place. Where forestry
activities take place, they are strictly regulated to be sustainable, a fact
demonstrated by British Columbia’s leadership in gaining independent,
third-party certification for sound forest practices.
B.C.’s protected areas have tripled in area since 1950 and doubled since
1991. The area of protected forests increased 134% from 1991 to 2002;
protected areas now include 5.7 million hectares (10%) of B.C.’s forests. In
addition, B.C. limits resource development in large special management zones
that cover 14 million hectares of both forest and non-forest landscapes, and
in many smaller riparian and other sensitive zones. Cumulatively, they
provide substantial additional areas that help maintain ecological processes
and forest-dependent species.
3. What kinds of forest are there in B.C.?
Due to B.C.’s varied climate and mountainous terrain, B.C.’s forests are
rich in ecological diversity. They range from the rain-drenched Coastal
forests, to the dry pine forests and boreal black spruce muskegs of the
Interior.
Researchers have mapped out 14 broad biogeoclimatic zones with distinct
patterns of soil and vegetation, usually characterized by the general tree
species that dominates over time. The Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem
Classification (BEC) system is continuously refined, and is used to improve
the understanding and management of B.C.’s ecological diversity.
4. What tree species are native to B.C.?
There are 40 species of trees that are native to this province. Some
trees, like lodgepole pine, grow throughout the B.C., but others only grow
in places where they are adapted to the particular climate.
Native trees from A (apple) to Y (yew) include: Pacific crab apple, alder
(mountain and red species), arbutus, trembling aspen, birch (paper and water
species), cascara, cedar (western redcedar and yellow cedar species,) cherry
(bitter, choke and pin species), black cottonwood, Pacific dogwood,
Douglas-fir, firs (amabilis, grand and subalpine species), black hawthorn;
hemlock (mountain and western species) Rocky Mountain juniper, larch (alpine
and western species), maple (western, bigleaf, Douglas and vine species)
Garry oak, pines (limber, lodgepole, ponderosa, alpine, western white,
whitebark and yellow pine species), balsam poplar, spruce (black, Engelmann,
Sitka and white spruce), tamarack and western yew.
5. How many people work in forestry in B.C.?
About 80,000 people are directly employed in a range of occupations in
forestry and forestry-related manufacturing in B.C. About one-third are
employed in forestry occupations, while about two-thirds are employed in
solid wood products and pulp and paper manufacturing.
Activity in these sectors drives employment in other industries,
including technology and transportation. When indirect or induced employment
is included in the total, forestry and related manufacturing employs an
estimated 240,000 people.
6. What contribution does the forest sector make to B.C.?
Forest product exports, including lumber and pulp and paper, contribute
to about half of all B.C. exports by volume and value every year. The total
value of these products is more than $14 billion every year, or about $450
every second.
Through revenues like stumpage, the forest industry generates over a
billion dollars a year in direct payments to government, money that is used
to help provide vital public services like health care and education.
In many parts of the province, forestry is the main industry that
supports families and communities.
7. What is the status of the mountain pine beetle epidemic?
Fall 2005 surveys estimate that almost 8.7 million hectares are infested,
with one-third of those trees already dead.
The province is actively responding to the epidemic. The Mountain Pine
Beetle Action Plan has been recently updated and guides response strategies.
It is backed by $500 million in investments aimed at sustaining
communities and our Interior forests.
8. What kind of reforestation is practised in British Columbia?
In British Columbia, reforestation is strictly regulated so that new forests
mirror the diversity of natural forests, and support the sustainable harvest
of commercially valuable timber over time.
By law, all harvested areas must be reforested. Native tree species are used
for regenerating British Columbia's forests. Species selection and
reforestation practices are based on the ecological conditions of the
harvested area. Seeds used in reforestation programs come from two sources:
seed orchards, that produce “select” seed from trees with proven growth,
timber and pest resistance qualities, and wild stands. None of these species
or seeds have been genetically modified. The province's chief forester has
established standards to regulate the registration, storage, selection and
transfer of tree seed. These standards are aimed at maintaining and
enhancing the health and productivity of B.C.'s future forests.
The provincial government also has various programs in place to conserve the
genetic resources of BC's native tree species. These include conserving
natural tree populations in parks, protected areas and provincial forests,
and gene archives. The goal of these programs and the reforestation
requirements is to ensure that BC's forests contain plenty of genetic
diversity, an important element in maintaining ecosystem resilience.
9. What is the current AAC, or allowable annual cut?
The current AAC is 83,476,292 cubic metres. This is the maximum legal
amount of timber that may be harvested in B.C. each year. Actual harvest
volume is lower, and depends on various factors including global market
demand for B.C. forest products.
The AAC is updated on a regular basis, and is an official determination
made by the Chief Forester of B.C. In setting the determination, the Chief
Forester balances environmental, social and economic needs. Public comment
is invited in all timber supply reviews, before changes are made to the AAC.
10. How do I contact my local forest district?
The B.C. Ministry of Forests and Range, or the B.C. Forest Service,
employs about 3,300 people in 49 locations across the province. The Forest
Service headquarters are in Victoria, although the majority of staff work at
regional and district offices throughout the province.
Staff carry out field work needed to implement and administer forest and
range legislation. They also monitor field activities to ensure compliance
with government rules in place to conserve forest values. They manage forest
and range lands, plan forest recreation, establish new forests, protect a
full range of forest resources, plan forest roads and much more.
By Angela Voht
This summer, Ian Patchett heard the call of the wild – and it was a lot more
enticing than the call of the dusty library cubicles at the University of
Victoria where he is studying biology.
Patchett spent the summer working as a forest health technician for the
Ministry of Forests and Range in Powell River. His job was to investigate
the health of trees including white pines, specifically looking for a
blister rust pathogen. Some of the perks were breathtaking helicopter
flights over snow-capped mountains and after-work swims in creeks that have
no doubt cooled their share of bears.
“My office is huge and beats the heck out of the library cubicles at
school,” says Patchett, who is interested in a career with the ministry
since it would allow him to contribute professionally to forests that will
be enjoyed by generations to come.
“Maybe I’ll end up as regional manager one day and still get to go out into
the field!”
Other university and college students employed by the Ministry of Forests
and Range this summer also tell of fascinating experiences while on the job.
One of the first things Tracy LeClair had to do as a research assistant was
to brush up on her off-road driving skills and learn how to be Bear Aware. A
student of natural resource science at Thompson Rivers University, she spent
her summer working for the ministry on the Lac du Bois grasslands near
Kamloops.
LeClair did soil and biomass sampling to measure the degree to which the
grasslands are fit for continued cattle grazing. Getting to combine the
theory learned in school with real world application in the field was a
rewarding part of her summer work.
“One of the best things I’ve done is to integrate my education with my job,”
said LeClair. “It’s helped me decide that the range is where I really want
to be.”
LeClair was teamed up with Karen Burnett, a student of the University of
British Columbia’s Natural Resource Conservation program. The two spent much
of their summer working on grassland health issues together.
Burnett echoes Karen’s enthusiasm for the integrated learning the job
provided.
“I’ve learned a lot about soil characteristics. Before Lac du Bois it was
hard to make the connections between the material I learned in class and how
it actually worked in nature – how plant growth is affected”.
The Ministry of Forests and Range has seen almost 100 students come through
its doors this summer, and hopes to see more next year. With nearly 55 per
cent of its professional and technical workforce expected to retire by 2020,
the ministry is paying close attention to recruitment and workforce planning
issues. One key strategy is making sure more students have information on
forestry-related occupations and look to government as an employer of
choice.
By hiring university and college students who are enrolled in co-operative
education programs, or “co-ops,” the ministry benefits from the energy and
enthusiasm that students bring to the workplace, while the students get paid
work experience before graduation—a definite benefit when competing for jobs
later.
Matt Gardiner is another student whose co-op term has left him with a more
work-detailed resume. He attends Camosun College in Victoria where he’s
enrolled in the applied communications program.
Gardiner spent the summer working as a web advisor for the Aboriginal
Affairs Branch, adding to and reformatting the branch’s internal
communications web site, as well as organizing events for National
Aboriginal Day.
“When I graduate next spring I hope to further my career in communications,”
says Gardiner. “If I could have my job of choice with the B.C. Forest
Service I would love to work as a communication officer for the Protection
Program and go anywhere in B.C.”
Students in co-op programs alternate terms of school with work in areas of
their choice. A student in a four-year degree program will typically get 16
months of work experience, while students enrolled in shorter programs, such
as college diplomas or graduate school degrees, include fewer work terms to
accommodate less time at school. It’s also possible for work terms to be
combined into eight consecutive months, or for co-op students to be offered
regular employment after a co-op position.
For more information on co-op education programs
or careers with the Ministry of Forests and Range,
click here.
About the author: Angela Voht was a co-op student with the B.C. Forest
Service herself. When her co-op term ended she returned as an auxiliary
employee and is now going back to the University of Victoria this fall to
finish her degrees in sociology and writing.
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| Thompson Rivers University student Tracy LeClair had to brush up on her
off-road driving skills before starting work as a research assistant on the
Lac du Bois grasslands near Kamloops. Her summer job with the Ministry of
Forests and Range enabled her to apply real-world lessons to the theory she
learned in the classroom. |
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The steep slopes near Whistler were just one of the spots that student Ian Patchett visited this summer as a forest health technician for the Ministry
of Forests and Range. Here, the University of Victoria biology student is
investigating a research plot of whitebark pine, assessing the growth of the
trees and checking for any presence of disease. |
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BC Timber Sales (BCTS) is the province’s largest forest licensee –
managing 20 per cent of the province’s allowable annual cut and totalling 16
million cubic metres of timber by 2007. Yet BCTS is also the licensee right
next door, with staff in 33 communities around the province.
BCTS was formed in April 2003 with a mandate to establish a market price
for Crown timber. Relying on a competitive auction process, BCTS helps
determine actual market values for timber. These auction prices are used to
determine the stumpage rates payable on all Crown timber, ensuring the
public gets fair value for the use of its resource.
Since 2003, BCTS has sold more than 34 million cubic metres of timber and
planted more than 100 million trees. Every year, it constructs 700
kilometres of road, installs 100 bridges and plants seedlings on 27,600
hectares.
A part of the B.C. Forest Service, BCTS is committed to meeting the
highest standards of forest management. As a first step, it has achieved
certification of its Environmental Management Systems (EMS) in all 12 of its
administrative units to the standard of the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO 14001). It has also made significant progress in
gaining recognition by independent, third party agencies for its sustainable
forestry management. To date, just over 2.4 million hectares in four
business areas have achieved certification by the Canadian Standards
Association.
Among the customers of BCTS are market loggers, sawmill operators, timber
processors, re-manufacturers and major licensees. Timber is sold on the
basis of highest bid, to deliver on the mandate of providing benefits to
British Columbians through the commercial use of public forests.
Relying on its employees and the services of private sector contractors,
BCTS conducts forestry planning, timber cruising, layout and engineering,
road construction and maintenance, bridge installations, and silviculture
activities such as tree panting, surveys and stand treatments.
BCTS supports the creation of a strong culture of safety across the B.C.
forest sector and considers safe and healthy worksites integral to its
success. The organization advocates increased safety awareness and is
committed to the safety of all people affected by its operations –
employees, contractors, licensees and the public.
For more information about BCTS,
see our website. For more information on certification in general, see
the BC Forest
Certification search tool.
BCTS Business Area Profiles:
- Editors: Key statistics for each of the 12 BCTS Business
Areas are provided below. To confirm the areas served by each business
office, check this map.
Business Areas: Babine (Burns Lake), Cariboo-Chilcotin (Williams
Lake), Chinook (Chilliwack), Kamloops, Kootenay (Nelson), Okanagan-Columbia
(Vernon), Peace-Liard (Dawson Creek), Prince George, Seaward-tlasta (Port
McNeill), Skeena (Terrace), Strait of Georgia (Campbell River) and Stuart-Nechako
(Vanderhoof)
Business Area Name: Babine
Main Office Location: Burns Lake
Other communities in area: Houston, Smithers
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 1,431,182 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 4,710,000 seedlings
Certification achievements: ISO 14001 for the entire business area, and a
portion of the Morice Timber Supply Area has been CSA certified, totalling
81,532 hectares.
Business Area Name: Cariboo-Chilcotin
Main Office Location: Williams Lake
Other communities in area: Quesnel
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 1,679,835 m3
Trees planted in 2005-06: 6,051,025 seedlings
Certification achievements: Received Certificate of Registration with the
Environmental Management System Standard ISO 14001 in February 2006.
Business Area Name: Chinook
Main Office Location: Chilliwack
Other communities in area: Squamish, Queen Charlotte Islands, Maple Ridge
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 361,281 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 1,039,603 seedlings
Certification achievements: ISO 14001 2004 Standard
Business Area Name: Kamloops
Main Office Location: Kamloops
Other communities in area: Barriere, Ashcroft, Chase, Savona, Logan Lake,
Princeton, Lillooet, Valemount, Clinton, Lone Butte, Forest Grove, Lac La
Hache. Blue River, Vavenby, Lytton, Gold Bridge, Spences Bridge, Cache
Creek, 100 Mile House, Clearwater, Merritt
Timber sales offered in 2005-06:1,526,718 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 5,518,055 seedlings
Certification achievements: ISO 14001 - 2004 standard, with CSA Z809
standard in the Kamloops Timber Supply Area (totalling 270,440 hectares) and
in the Merritt and Clearwater areas, totalling 65,839 hectares.
Business Area Name: Kootenay
Main Office Location: Nelson
Other communities in area: Cranbrook, Creston (East Kootenay); Castlegar,
Trail, Nakusp, New Denver, Grand Forks (Arrow Boundary)
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 1,017,874 cubic metres offered; total sold
1,002,514.
Trees planted in 2005-06:2,519,905 seedlings
Certification achievements: ISO 14001
Business Area Name: Okanagan-Columbia
Main Office Location: Vernon
Other communities in area: Revelstoke, Golden, Salmon Arm, Kelowna,
Penticton
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 1,037,535 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 2,006,570 seedlings
Certification achievements: EMS Certified in 2005
Business Area Name: Peace-Liard
Main Office Location: Dawson Creek
Other communities in area: Fort St. John, Fort Nelson
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 1,349,647 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 2,269,640 seedlings
Certification achievements: The entire Business Area is ISO 14001 certified,
with CSA certification in the Fort St. John Code Pilot area with Canfor-FSJ
totalling 2,023,126 hectares, and CSA certification in Fort Nelson with
Canfor-FN.
Business Area Name: Prince George
Main Office Location: Prince George
Other communities in area: Mackenzie, McBride, Valemount
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 2,340,041 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 1,496,195 seedlings
Certification achievements: ISO 14001 for Prince George Business Area, CSA
for the Prince George operations.
Business Area Name: Seaward-tlasta
Main Office Location: Port McNeill
Other communities in area: Alert Bay, Bella Coola, Bella Bella, Coal
Harbour, Port Alice, Port Hardy and Sointula
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 808,592 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 755,800 seedlings
Certification achievements: EMS ISO 14001
Business Area Name: Skeena
Main Office Location: Terrace
Other communities in area: Stewart, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Kitwanga, and
Hazelton
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 793,770 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 1,360,020 seedlings
Certification achievements: EMS ISO 14001
Business Area Name: Strait of Georgia
Main Office Location: Campbell River
Other communities in area: Powell River, Port Alberni, Sechelt, Duncan,
Courtenay, Comox, Ucluelet and Gold River
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 1,459,082 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 1,551,197 seedlings
Certification achievements: EMS ISO 14001 in December 2004, progressing
towards CSA for select areas by 2007-08.
Business Area Name: Stuart-Nechako
Main Office Location: Vanderhoof
Other communities in area: Fraser Lake, Fort St. James
Timber sales offered in 2005-06: 2,400,071 cubic metres offered
Trees planted in 2005-06: 5,570,575 seedlings
Certification achievements: EMS ISO 14001 Registered
The mountain pine beetle epidemic affecting the Interior’s mature pine
forests is one of the most serious forestry issues facing British Columbia
today.
By the end of last year, 8.7 million hectares – an area about the same
size as New Brunswick – had entered the "red-attack" stage. The cumulative
volume of affected timber is now more than 400 million cubic metres.
The Province of British Columbia is committed to mitigating the impacts
of this growing natural disaster with its Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan.
The Action Plan, recently updated for 2006-2011, is the cornerstone of the
province's coordinated response to the infestation.
It guides all levels of government, the forest industry, communities and
other stakeholders working to ensure B.C.’s forest values, community
stability and economic well-being are maintained for the long term.
One of the Action Plan’s seven priority objectives is recovering timber
and as much economic value as possible from attacked stands.
To that end, several increases have been made to the allowable annual cut
– up 15 million cubic metres in the past few years. More loggers are working
and sawmills across the Interior are running flat-out as a result of the
uplifts.
That’s just the beginning though. Government and industry need to
continue to focus on new and innovative uses that will extend the shelf life
of beetle-attacked timber, meaning long-term security for Interior
communities.
TallOil Canada Inc. has been awarded major tenures to produce beetle-wood
pellets for European energy markets. TallOil hopes to open as many as four
pellet facilities, each plant employing as many as 70 workers and another
100 jobs in logging, hauling and silviculture.
A similar large-size forest licence for harvesting beetle-wood will
result in increased production of oriented strand board in British Columbia.
First Nations are an essential partner in addressing the pine beetle
problem. About a dozen beetle-related agreements have been signed with First
Nations, providing them with economic benefits while contributing to the
timber recovery efforts.
During this period of increased harvesting, close attention continues to
be paid to forest stewardship and meeting requirements for riparian
protection, conservation of water quality and fish habitat, soil protection
and biodiversity.
As the beetle-damaged timber is recovered, B.C. also needs to ensure its
infrastructure is able to keep up to the increased log hauling on forest
service roads and highways.
The province is investing $90 million in road maintenance and another $20
million in forest service road upgrades over the next three years to help
protect forest worker and public safety.
On another safety note, beetle-attacked forests represent an interface
fire risk for communities. The Ministry of Forests and Range’s protection
program is carrying out fuel management activities and implementing wildfire
mitigation where necessary to lower the hazard.
Business is booming now. But what about the inevitable decrease in
activity when the timber supply declines? That’s where the economic
diversification work being done as part of the Mountain Pine Beetle Action
Plan comes into play.
The province has created the $185-million Northern Development Initiative
Trust, including $30 million specifically for beetles, to help northern
communities prepare for the long-term challenges ahead.
To help make sure investments are backed by solid planning, the
provincial government is funding regional community groups like the
Cariboo-Chilcotin and Omineca beetle action coalitions to develop strategies
for strong, prosperous and diverse local economies for the future.
Southern Interior community leaders and the provincial government are now
assessing the best way for those communities to engage in the beetle
response.
Non-timber economic development opportunities – whether it’s the
potential for oil and gas development, increasing agriculture or eco-tourism
– are also being explored for their potential to contribute to more
diversified local economies.
Recovering value from attacked forests, encouraging economic
sustainability for communities, and maintaining public safety are only half
of the Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan’s priority objectives.
Reforestation is key considering the size of the infestation and the fact
80 per cent of B.C.’s mature lodgepole pine forests could be attacked by
2013.
B.C. needs to ensure a legacy of healthy forests for future generations.
Government is doing this by investing more than $161 million in its Forests
for Tomorrow reforestation program aimed at maintaining timber supplies and
addressing ecosystem needs such as biodiversity.
Science and research continues to have an especially important role to
play in the beetle battle. Ministry of Forests and Range scientists, among
the best in their fields, are working collaboratively with other researchers
to gain a better understanding of the beetle and its impacts.
In addition to stewardship principles, researchers are also trying to
pinpoint the exact shelf-life of beetle-attacked timber, because it does
vary depending on geographic location and site condition.
There’s also a strong focus on spread control activities to prevent
damage in areas that are susceptible but not yet experiencing epidemic
infestations. For example, B.C. and Alberta are working together to remove
infested trees along the shared border.
All of these efforts are part of B.C.’s overall Mountain Pine Beetle
Action Plan for facing the beetle challenge head-on. For more information or
a copy of the Action Plan, please visit
Mountain Pine Beetle in British Columbia.
Beetle Facts:
- The mountain pine beetle is tiny, measuring six millimetres in
length (about the size of a grain of rice).
- Provincially the infestation has now affected 8.7 million hectares
(about the size of New Brunswick).
- The current epidemic has now killed a cumulative total of more than
400 million cubic metres of pine.
- B.C.’s Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan has seven priority
objectives:
- Encourage economic sustainability for communities
- Maintain and protect worker and public health and safety
- Recover value from attacked timber
- Conserve long-term forest values
- Limit further damage to susceptible areas
- Restore forest resources
- Coordinated response and project management
Knowledge and understanding are key weapons in the battle against the
mountain pine beetle.
Ministry of Forests and Range researchers are applying their knowledge,
experience and ingenuity to study the effects of the beetle on British
Columbia’s forest resources.
By designing new projects, maintaining established research, debating
issues and extending their expertise, researchers are learning and conveying
results to forestry workers to help them better understand and manage the
forest resource. The primary benefit of research will be seen in producing
sufficient knowledge to enable timely adaptation to changes.
As the mountain pine beetle infestation expands across the Interior of
B.C., larger and larger areas of mature, and now young, lodgepole pine trees
are dying. Salvage logging and planting are the most common methods of using
the wood and regenerating the forest.
While researchers continue to study the effects of standard operational
practices on forest resources, they are also investigating the potential for
natural regeneration to reforest both salvaged and unlogged areas, the
growth of smaller trees previously shaded by taller pine, and the potential
for non-pine trees retained in mixed stands to remain healthy and form a
potential intermediate timber crop.
To support field studies and to understand how mountain pine beetle
outbreaks affected trees in the past, researchers are also reconstructing
the record of historic natural disturbances through dendrochronology.
The loss of pine trees also affects other plants in the forest, as well
as animals, insects, the soil and the water flowing from the forest.
Throughout the Interior, the effects of individual and extensive tree
mortality on plant biodiversity, wildlife, aquatic habitat, water supplies,
soil productivity, erosion, and stream channels are being studied.
Specific examples of research being conducted in the Southern Interior
Region include projects to determine if:
- soil disturbance levels are higher in salvage logged areas and if
incidents of excessive disturbance are increasing,
- increases in snow melt runoff from dying and dead areas of the
forest are likely to be large enough to increase the risk of flooding,
landslides, and stream channel instability, and,
- changes in the water cycle late in the summer might affect forest
regrowth, water supplies, or aquatic habitat.
The results of these, and other, research projects will be applied in the
development of forest management strategies and planning tools that help to
sustain forest resource values as the province deals with the epidemic.
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| This photo shows a pine stand that is
part of a research trial in the Central Interior. These pine have
grown after previous fires in such high densities that they have not
been affected by the mountain pine beetle. The trial is aimed at
increasing the growth of trees in such areas to mitigate reductions
in the future timber supply. |
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This photo shows a stand of lodgepole
pine in the West Chilcotin, where “white gold,” or pine mushrooms
grow. Almost all pine in the area has been severely attacked by the
mountain pine beetle, and research is under way to find ways to
ensure a future mushroom harvest in the wake of the epidemic. |
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The mountain pine beetle infestation is moving
through several watersheds that serve as permanent research sites,
including Heller Creek northwest of Kamloops. Researchers are
monitoring streams such as these to determine the impact on them and
to help inform forest practices. |
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By Stan Hagen
Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts
One of the strengths of British Columbia’s tourism industry is the vast
variety of attractions and amenities available to residents and visitors –
from outdoor to urban adventures. For those wanting a taste of Super,
Natural British Columbia there are a wide range of choices – from
world-class resorts to back-to-nature camping. Along with B.C.’s extensive
provincial park system there are over 1,200 forest recreation sites and 650
trails covering thousands of kilometres.
B.C.’s recreation sites and trails program involves dozens of activities,
ranging from the quiet enjoyment of scenery to the physically demanding
challenges of mountaineering, mountain biking and snowmobiling. The goal of
the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts’ recreation program is to
provide a variety of opportunities for outdoor recreation by protecting the
forest recreation resource and managing its use.
B.C. is known for its large range of biogeoclimatic zones. From alpine
tundra in the north to the arid valleys of the Okanagan, these distinct
zones support their own unique ecosystems.
B.C.’s network of forest recreation sites can be found in nearly every
one of those zones. In the northeast, forests of spruce, willow and birch
are inhabited by moose, bear and deer, and feature an abundance of lakes and
rivers for canoeing, boating, fishing. In central B.C., forests of pine,
Douglas-fir and aspen are mixed with rangeland, home to black and grizzly
bear and mountain goats. There, you can hike to exposed fossil beds in the
Chilcotin, explore an abandoned mining town or, in winter, cross-country ski
its many trails. As you travel the high backcountry of Coastal B.C. you may
expect to see lush alpine meadows, blue-green lakes, and rugged mountain
landscapes, where you might spot a caribou or deer.
Many of B.C.’s forest recreation sites offer information kiosks and
interpretive boards, which enhance the recreation experience by providing
educational information on the history, flora and fauna in the area. The
majority of recreation sites and trails are accessible via a network of
backcountry roads, while others are hike-in only. Many sites are small and
rustic – seldom visited and sure to offer solitude; others are hidden just a
short distance off paved roads.
A number of recreation sites offer boardwalks for wheelchair
accessibility. The majority of B.C.’s forest recreation sites contain only
basic structures and facilities such as toilets, picnic tables and fire
rings, with no potable water or electricity.
Most of B.C.’s forest recreation sites and trails were built through the
generosity of volunteers from local organizations. About half are managed
and maintained through partnership agreements with communities, First
Nations, outdoor recreation groups, forest companies and other
organizations. Some groups, such as school and seniors groups, manage forest
recreation sites as way to promote volunteerism, health and fitness in their
community.
Nearly half of B.C. residents use our provincial forests regularly. Every
year, there are more than 2 million visitors to our recreation sites and
trails. But whether you visit a forest recreation site for camping, mountain
biking, wildlife viewing, hiking, spelunking, fishing and hunting – or
simply as place for your family to connect – the Ministry of Tourism, Sport
and the Arts’ recreation sites and trails program provides an abundance of
recreational opportunities for every age and interest.
For more information on B.C.’s forest recreation sites and trails, visit:
http://www.tsa.gov.bc.ca/sites_trails/.
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| A view of the Upper Lillooet Recreation Site near
Pemberton. |
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Northern forest recreation sites provide plenty of
quiet lakes for canoeing and fishing. |
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| The views are spectacular from the Conehead Recreation
Site on the Queen Charlotte Islands. |
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Equine enthusiasts enjoy outings from forest
recreation sites in the Central Interior. |
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- Explorer Captain Cook was the first European to make use of B.C.’s
forest products. Sailing masts were fashioned from the tallest
Douglas-firs.
- B.C. lumber was used for trestles, ties and bridges on the Canadian
Pacific Railway.
- B.C.’s first sawmill was built in 1847 at Esquimalt Harbour.
- B.C. is the world’s largest exporter of softwood lumber.
- Less than 1% of forest land is harvested each year.
- B.C. is Canada’s most ecologically diverse province, with temperate
rainforests, dry pine forests, alpine meadows and more.
- B.C. has more than 40 different species of native trees.
- B.C. spruce was used to build British Mosquito fighter bombers
during the Second World War.
- The masts and booms of the famous Bluenose schooner, pictured on the
dime, were made from B.C. Douglas fir.
- One metric tonne of dry wood pulp will make...1 tonne of newspaper,
1,400 lbs of magazine paper and 0.9 tonne of toilet paper.
- Sawmills use computers and lasers to get the most value out of every
log.
- Roofing shakes are made from blocks of wood too small to cut into
lumber.
- An average house requires 15,000 board feet of lumber.
- Tree cellulose is a thickening ingredient in ketchup, ice cream and
thousands of common foods.
- Disposable medical lab coats are made from the woven fibres of
western redcedar.
- Wood is the only renewable, biodegradable, natural and non-toxic
building material in the world.
- B.C. planted its five billionth tree in 2002.
- The first lumber sawn in B.C. was floor planks for a Vancouver
Island dairy farm.
- B.C.’s first pulp mill was built in 1894 at Port Alberni.
- More than half of B.C.’s old growth forests are protected in parks
or otherwise off-limits to harvesting.
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