Preservation — The preservation VQO requires that no visible change occur in the landscape from forest development practices.
Retention — The retention VQO requires that management activities or alterations not be visually apparent. The goal is to repeat the line, form, colour and texture of the characteristic landscape.
Partial retention — The partial retention VQO requires that alteration remain visually subordinate to the characteristic landscape. Repetition of the line, form, colour and texture is important to ensure a blending with the dominant elements.
Modification — The modification VQO allows alterations to dominate the original characteristic landscape. However, alterations must borrow from natural line and form to such an extent and on such a scale that they are comparable to natural occurrences.
Maximum modification — The maximum modification VQO permits a dominant change to the original landscape, particularly in the foreground and middle ground. Alterations may be out of scale or show detail quite different from natural occurrences. In the background, changes should appear to be natural occurrences.