This guidebook has been prepared to help forest resource managers plan, prescribe, and implement sound forest practices that comply with the Forest Practices Code.

Guidebooks are one of the four components of the Forest Practice Code. The others are the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, the regulations, and the standards. The Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act is the legislative umbrella authorizing the Code’s other components. It enables the Code, establishes mandatory requirements for planning and forest practices, sets enforcement and penalty provisions, and specifies administrative arrangements. The regulations layout the forest practices that apply province-wide. Standards may be established by the chief forester, where required, toexpand on a regulation. Both regulations and standards are mandatory requirements under the Code.

Forest Practices Code guidebooks have been developed to support the regulations, but are not part of the legislation. The recommendations in the guidebooks are not mandatory requirements, but once a recommended practice is included in a plan, prescription, or contract, it becomes legally enforceable. Guidebooks are not intended to provide a legal interpretation of the Act or regulations. In general, they describe procedures, practices and results that are consistent with the legislated requirements of the Code.

The information provided in each guidebook is used to help users exercise their professional judgement in developing site-specific management strategies and prescriptions designed to accommodate resource management objectives. Some guidebook recommendations provide a range of options or outcomes considered to be acceptable under varying circumstances.

Where ranges are not specified, flexibility in the application of guidebook recommendations may be required, to adequately achieve land use and resource management objectives specified in higher-level plans. A recommended practice may also be modified when an alternative could provide better results for forest resource stewardship. The examples provided in many guidebooks are not intended to be definitive and should not be interpreted as being the only acceptable options.