Higher Level Plans: Policy and Procedures -- Chapter 5-2.htm

Higher Level Plans: Policy and Procedures

Table of Contents

5.8 Regional and District Coordination

5.8.1 Introduction

Districts to work within regional strategy: If district managers decide to establish landscape units and objectives, these units and objectives should be consistent with the approved regional landscape unit planning strategy. In exceptional circumstances, the district manager may establish a landscape unit and objectives prior to the completion of the regional landscape unit planning strategy. For example, the district manager may want to establish a landscape unit to facilitate essential timber harvesting operations where there is an urgent need to provide clear direction on biodiversity management in a complex or sensitive environment.

Full consideration to biodiversity: Landscape unit objectives will be established based on the regional landscape unit planning strategy outlined below. Until then, when reviewing operational plans, district managers are encouraged to fully consider conserving biodiversity, pursuant to section 41 (1)(b) of the Forest Practices Code Act. As a minimum, operational plans should ensure that managing and conserving biodiversity remain possible at a level generally equivalent to the lower biodiversity emphasis (for a definition of "biodiversity emphasis," refer to the Biodiversity Guidebook).
When assessing how operational plans maintain options for future biodiversity management, the district manager may amalgamate operational plans across an existing convenient geographic unit in the ministry's resource inventory system. Grouping forest inventory compartments may provide such a unit.

Interim management may be more constraining: Until landscape unit objectives are established, district managers may consider existing information related to landscape level biodiversity management when approving operational plans. This information may be in the form of approved plans, timber harvesting guidelines or agreements with other ministries. If this material is assessed as being overly constraining on timber supplies, other suitable options for addressing biodiversity values, consistent with the lower biodiversity emphasis option, should be developed and considered.
For example, in some districts, draft forest ecosystem networks were developed prior to the development of the Biodiversity Guidebook. The district manager should consider these when approving operational plans. However, if these draft networks are causing significant short-term timber supply impacts, it may be necessary to conduct forestry operations within them. If such situations arise, options for maintaining the values in the draft networks should be considered. For example, if there are silvicultural systems, other than clearcutting, that would be compatible with the draft network, these options should be pursued.

District manager policy: It is advisable that the district manager make forest licensees aware of the information that will be considered with respect to biodiversity management when approving operational plans. For example, in the absence of established landscape units and objectives, the district manager may write a policy stating that, in approving operational plans, the guidance found in the Biodiversity Guidebook will be considered. The district manager should then provide forest licensees with this policy.

5.8.2 Chief Forester Direction - Policy

Regional landscape unit planning strategy to be developed

For each region, the district managers, in consultation with the regional manager and also the regional director, Environment and Lands of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (or their designate), should develop and approve a regional landscape unit planning strategy. This strategy should be developed through, but is not limited to, the following steps.

Locate draft landscape units across the region. Coordinate among districts within a region and between regions.
Determine information needs and the nature and scheduling of any required resource inventories.
Assign initial biodiversity emphasis from available options, consistent with any higher level plans declared by Cabinet.
Iteratively review boundaries and biodiversity emphases to finalize them.
Set priorities for landscape unit planning:
- identify which landscape units have priority for landscape level planning
- identify units that only require biodiversity objectives, and other units that will require objectives for biodiversity and a broader range of values and uses.
Establish a schedule for landscape unit planning and for establishing objectives. Base this on priorities for landscape units and the availability of personnel, equipment and support to plan landscape units. Ensure that the availability of these resources is integrated with other strategic planning projects such as in land and resource management plans.
Develop a public participation strategy.
Obtain the approval of the regional director, Environment and Lands, of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks for all landscape units that have an interest issued or granted under the Land Act. Landscape units with no interests issued or granted under the Land Act must be referred to the regional director later, before establishing the landscape unit, to determine if an interest has been issued or granted in the intervening period.

Many of these items are covered in more detail on the following pages.

Consultation required: In preparing this regional strategy, officials should consult with the interagency management committee and all applicable strategic planning tables, plan follow-up committees or resource boards.

MELP agreement to be obtained: The approval of the designated environment official (see Appendix 2) is required for landscape unit objectives, except those for recreation. Agreement with the strategy should be obtained from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks to ensure successful implementation.

Districts to work within regional strategy: If district managers decide to establish landscape units and objectives, these should be consistent with the approved regional landscape unit planning strategy. If district managers deem it necessary in order to adequately manage and conserve forest resources, they may establish landscape units before completing the regional landscape unit planning strategy. These exceptional circumstances should be identified in the documents required for establishing landscape units.

Timing of completion: The regional landscape unit planning strategy must be completed by October 31, 1997.

5.9 Delineation of Landscape Unit Boundaries:
Preliminary Location of Draft Landscape Units

5.9.1 Introduction

The following three sections detail how to delineate landscape units and how to assign biodiversity emphasis. These sections represent the "policy recommendations on the size and configuration of landscape units" called for in the June, 1996 edition of Higher Level Plans: Policy and Procedures. This gives planners and other staff detailed direction on these two components, fundamental to developing and implementing regional landscape unit planning strategies.

The process of delineating landscape units and assigning biodiversity emphasis is iterative and has three distinct steps:

preliminary location of draft landscape units
initial assignment of biodiversity emphasis
iterative review of boundaries and biodiversity emphasis assignment to finalize them.

Steps 1 and 2 should be completed before starting step 3.

These three steps are part of the larger regional landscape unit planning strategy, which begins with initial draft linework and leads to setting priorities for landscape unit planning and, ultimately, to the legal establishment of landscape units and objectives. The level of public involvement in each of these steps should be clearly identified as part of the regional landscape unit planning strategy. Public involvement largely depends on whether a land use planning process is in place and what is deemed appropriate locally and regionally. The following policy sections outline how to complete each of steps 1 to 3. These policies are to:

meet the dual objectives of ecological and economic sustainability in an equitable way
improve the consistency of landscape unit planning across the province (recognizing the tremendous ecological complexity and variability of the province and the need for flexibility).

5.9.2 Chief Forester Direction - Policy

Assignment of delineation task: Primary responsibility for delineating landscape unit boundaries in the regional landscape unit planning strategy should be assigned to staff with expertise in planning, ecology or resource management. Boundary delineation is a cooperative process between the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. Other agencies, such as the Ministry of Employment and Investment, should be consulted when resources within their mandates are affected. Public review requirements are described in section 5.17.

Delineate simultaneously: All landscape unit boundaries in a forest region should be delineated simultaneously to avoid gaps or overlaps among adjacent units. This process should consider landscape units already or about to be established or delineated in adjacent forest regions.

Ecological criteria

The topographic and geographic features which help to define a large watershed or group of smaller watersheds should be used as the primary determinants of unit boundaries. Criteria should include:

distinct heights of land, the primary biophysical consideration
sub-drainage units (where distinct, single, large watersheds are not present, amalgamate smaller watersheds or sub-drainages into larger units, but only if there is no functional distinction between sub-drainages-such as similar biogeoclimatic character)
major ecological barriers created by very large blocks of land alienated from forest use (e.g., fee simple urban and agriculture land in very large contiguous blocks like the City of Vancouver and the Fraser Valley)
minimize the number of natural disturbance types (NDTs)
large community watersheds (e.g., larger than 10 000 hectares, as they will likely be managed as distinct units). Wherever possible, community watersheds should be wholly contained within a landscape unit
major rivers and lakes (those that tend to truncate disturbance events or serve as ecological barriers; in general this includes lakes greater than 5000 hectares). Where major rivers are to be divided into several landscape units, consider dividing rivers by lengths along the river
significant coastal water barriers such as channels, inlets and sounds
groups of islands that are similar ecologically
the watershed atlas is a good base from which to delineate landscape units (though it is not yet available in all parts of the province).

Where it is not possible to define landscape unit boundaries using the criteria above, use the following secondary criteria. The unit is:

ecologically functional
encompassing highly connected ecological systems
encompassing the scale of ecological process at the landscape level (e.g., large natural disturbances in NDT3)
physiographically distinct (e.g., large floodplains or long, narrow trenches).

A rationale should be provided for using any of these secondary criteria.

In areas of uniform topography

In areas where topography is uniform or drainage patterns are poorly defined, or discernible topographic definition is limited because of features like glaciers, subdued terrain or large bodies of water:

seek other permanent natural features
consider using administrative boundaries (e.g., districts, resource management zones, tree farm licences [TFLs], etc.)
consider using observable man-made features, such as roads, railways, transmission lines or pipelines if their location is accurately geo-referenced to locate boundaries or aggregate subunits.

Compatibility of administrative boundaries

Each landscape unit should be entirely within a single district. However, ecological criteria may result in a landscape unit that crosses district boundaries. If the ecological boundary for a landscape unit is likely to cause major administrative problems or planning difficulties, review the compatibility of administrative boundaries with respect to the ecological criteria.

If reasonable compatibility is achieved (ecological integrity of the unit remains intact), then consider using the district, regional, timber supply area (TSA) or TFL boundaries.

If the administrative boundary severely breaks up a logical ecological unit, then:

Use the ecological boundary and arrange to work cooperatively with the adjacent district or region when developing and implementing landscape unit objectives.
If difficulties remain, document and refer the outstanding issues to the director of the Forest Practices Branch. The director, in consultation with colleagues in the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, will monitor and review these issues regularly to develop recommendations on long-term solutions.

Where appropriate, consider the boundaries of resource management zones that are proposed or already established, or zones from a higher level plan declared by Cabinet. The boundaries of existing local resource use plans and total resource plans should also be considered. Boundaries of overlapping zoning or planning polygons should coincide wherever feasible, to facilitate coordination and implementation. These other boundaries should be considered when they coincide with logical topographic or geographic features creating landscape units that are ecologically effective and meet the ecological criteria listed above.

Protected areas and private land: When landscape unit boundaries are first delineated, present or proposed protected areas, provincial parks and national parks should be included within the draft landscape unit. When landscape units are legally established, national parks must be excluded because they are federally owned lands where provincial laws do not apply.
Note that landscape unit boundaries are to be based primarily on ecological factors, not on ownership. In some districts, there may be landscape units with over half of the area in private land. In this case, landscape unit objectives do not apply to private land and apply to only part of the overall unit. In these types of units, objectives also provide a broader ecological context for the use of private landowners and administrative authorities when dealing with resource conservation concerns (e.g., water quality, runoff peak flows, fish and wildlife habitat protection measures, green space zoning, visual and recreation management). Landscape units as defined above may prove to be relevant units for analysis and management by regional districts and other government departments, to address more than just biodiversity objectives or other resource values as defined by the Forest Practices Code.
Landscape unit objectives only apply to Crown land in provincial forests or private land in a TFL or woodlot licence. Other Crown land and private land should be clearly identified and is not covered by the objectives. However, forested portions of existing provincial and national parks and protected areas should be taken into account when developing seral stage biodiversity objectives. This approach is contingent on whether the long-term management goals for the affected area of the park or protected area are compatible with achieving the seral stage objective. For example, there may be plans to develop a ski hill or build a road in that portion of the park in coming years. Consultation with park managers is essential.

Unit size: At this stage, the size of landscape units is based primarily on ecological factors and should be the outcome of applying the above criteria. The size of landscape units should reflect the size of the natural disturbance regime characteristics of the biogeoclimatic types present. Sections 5.10 and 5.11 address concerns regarding impacts on short-term timber supply and other resource values.
The size of landscape unit should also be commensurate with the ecological complexity of the area. Since ecological complexity often results from topography, landscape units will generally be smaller in complex terrain and larger in relatively uniform terrain. However, ecological complexity does not necessarily indicate disturbance size. On the coast and in the Cariboo, ecological complexity is generally associated with mountainous areas, which also happen to be wet areas. Consequently, disturbance size is small and landscape units tend to be smaller. In the Kootenays and Omenica there are mountainous areas with NDT 3 (large disturbance) characteristics. In these areas, landscape units may be generally larger, despite having similarly complex terrain.
The size denotes the gross area of the landscape unit. The timber harvesting land base can be significantly smaller than the gross area.
The suggested maximum size is up to about 100 000 hectares. Provide the rationale for using landscape units larger than this.

Document and file the unit boundary rationale: The rationale for each landscape unit boundary location and size should be clearly documented in the regional landscape unit planning strategy. This is particularly important for units that are anomalous or otherwise deviate from the criteria listed above. A sample form is attached as Appendix 11.

5.10 Assignment of Biodiversity Emphasis Options

5.10.1 Introduction

In accordance with the Biodiversity Guidebook, biodiversity emphasis is to be allocated based on the timber harvesting land base within the planning area in the following proportions:

lower	30-55 per cent (average 45 per cent)
intermediate	35-60 per cent (average 45 per cent)
higher	10 per cent

This balances conservation of biodiversity with social and economic impacts on a provincial level. Flexibility is needed in allocating biodiversity emphasis among the planning areas of a region, because their biodiversity conservation priorities may differ. Although the higher biodiversity percentage is fixed at 10 per cent, there is flexibility in the stated ranges for allocating the lower and intermediate emphases within the planning area.

5.10.2 Chief Forester Direction - Policy

Biodiversity emphasis assigned: After landscape units are delineated and ranked for biodiversity, timber and other resource values (as described below), biodiversity emphasis should be assigned to all landscape units in a district. These assignments must reflect the guidance on biodiversity emphasis from the Biodiversity Guidebook and the regional landscape unit planning strategy and must be consistent with any higher level plans declared by Cabinet. Such higher level plans may assign biodiversity emphasis themselves, based on the policies presented here, or may provide direction that must be considered when biodiversity emphasis is assigned.
If a Cabinet declared higher level plan does not exist, or if the higher level plan does not assign biodiversity emphasis, the district manager may assign biodiversity emphasis, based on this policy and the regional landscape unit planning strategy and with the approval of the designated environment official.

Steps for assigning biodiversity emphasis based on available options

The following steps outline an acceptable approach to assigning biodiversity emphasis:

Apply ecological criteria to rank biodiversity values for each landscape unit.
Apply criteria to rank timber values for each landscape unit.
Apply criteria to rank or consider other resource values for each landscape unit.
Determine the total timber harvesting land base for the planning area and the target number of hectares allocated to each emphasis.
Review and compare higher level plans and biodiversity, timber and other resource values for each landscape unit, to recommend biodiversity emphasis assignments.
Present recommendations to land use planning tables or incorporate them into the regional landscape unit planning strategy.

Steps 1 through 4 could be done concurrently or in a different order. However, steps 5 and 6 should be preceded by the first four steps.

1. Apply ecological criteria to rank biodiversity values for each landscape unit

The first step in allocating biodiversity emphasis is to rank the biodiversity values of landscape units, based on ecological values. Use the following criteria and a decision process (decision tree or weighted factor scoring) to determine this ranking of landscape units. Document the process used to determine the ranking, showing all methods and calculations. Documentation is particularly important in planning areas lacking technical data and inventory, where there is a greater reliance on the local knowledge of ministry staff or recommendations from land and resource management planning processes.

Ecological criteria include:

ecosystem representation (emphasizing ecosystems and habitats not or poorly represented in existing protected areas)
ecosystem complexity (e.g., diversity of biogeoclimatic units, habitat types)
identified wildlife (includes regionally significant management species and threatened and endangered species). Focus on species with life cycle requirements likely to be significantly affected by forest development at the landscape level
the area's sensitivity to development (based on natural disturbance type; NDTs 1 and 2 being highest)
connectivity of ecological units, including proximity to protected areas, to produce an ecologically sound regional biodiversity mosaic. In general, higher rankings go to landscape units:
- with currently low levels of fragmentation (e.g., no or few roads)
- that provide high levels of connectivity to adjacent units (e.g., large patches of old growth and forest interior conditions)
- that are adjacent to a protected area and that could provide buffering, wildlife travel corridors or connectivity to complement the protected area.
current condition, a comparison of capability (the biodiversity value rank from the previous criteria) with current forest cover condition. This determines whether seral stage targets associated with the proposed emphasis assignments can be met. Emphasis options should be assigned to landscape units with conditions at the time of the assignment above the targets associated with that emphasis. Where this is not possible, consider enhancement and protection measures that will allow targets to be achieved over a specified period.

After applying the criteria and ranking landscape units numerically, group them into higher, intermediate and lower biodiversity values. This displays biodiversity rankings in an acceptable way and also identifies landscape units with similar biodiversity values.

2. Apply criteria to rank timber values for each landscape unit

The second step in allocating biodiversity emphases is to determine the timber value ranking of the landscape units. Select from the following criteria, based on local needs. Use a decision process (decision tree or weighted factor scoring) to determine this ranking of landscape units. Document the process used to determine the ranking in a way that shows all methods and calculations.

Timber value criteria include:

potential economic value of the timber in a landscape unit, based on:
- site productivity and species mix
- age class distribution
- area of operable timber
silviculture and engineering investments
proximity to wood processing facilities
existing constraints on timber harvest to maintain non-timber values (e.g., recreation, biodiversity, visuals, First Nations, community watersheds) and anticipated overlap with biodiversity requirements.

3. Apply criteria to rank or consider other resource values for each landscape unit

The third step, where local conditions necessitate, is to rank other resource values of the landscape units (e.g., minerals, agriculture, recreation). Develop criteria and a decision process (decision tree or weighted factor scoring) to determine this ranking of landscape units. Document the ranking process in a way that shows all methods and calculations.

In some instances it may not be possible to rank other resource values and it may be more appropriate to develop a process that ensures other resource values are considered when assigning biodiversity emphasis. Again, clearly document how other resource values will be considered.

4. Determine the total timber harvesting land base for the planning area and the target number of hectares allocated to each emphasis

The distribution of biodiversity emphasis (45-45-10 per cent) refers to the proportion of the timber harvesting land base covered by each emphasis. Therefore it is necessary to calculate the timber harvesting land base for the entire planning area. This timber harvesting land base is defined in the most recent timber supply review for the planning area (or as redefined in a higher level plan such as the Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan).

In some instances it may not be appropriate to use the timber harvesting land base as defined in the timber supply review. In these cases, the district manager and the designated environment official should arrive at a mutually acceptable definition of the land base to which the emphasis allocation applies.

Once the land base (normally the timber harvesting land base) to which the emphasis allocation applies has been determined, the target number of hectares covered by each emphasis can be calculated. This will serve as a useful guide when developing the emphasis recommendations for individual landscape units in the next step.

For example, it may be useful to prepare a summary table such as the following:


Emphasis option	% of THLB*	No. ha THLB

Higher	10	10 000
Intermediate	45 (30-55)	45 000 (30 000-55 000)
Lower	45 (35-60)	45 000 (35 000-60 000)
Total	100	100 000

* timber harvesting land base

It is not necessary to change the percentage allocations with every new timber supply review that redefines the timber harvesting land base. Only a very large change to the overall timber harvesting land base would require a re-allocation of biodiversity emphasis.

5. Comparatively evaluate higher level plans, biodiversity, timber and other resource values by unit and recommend a biodiversity emphasis for each landscape unit

The fifth step is to develop biodiversity emphasis assignment recommendations. These result from comparatively evaluating higher level plans (zones and strategic objectives that apply to all or portions of each landscape unit) and the biodiversity, timber and other resource values for each landscape unit.

These biodiversity emphasis recommendations must be consistent with higher level plans declared by Cabinet and the allocation targets developed in step 4.

It may be useful to prepare a summary table such as the following.

Land-
scape
unit # Bio-
diversity
rank
Timber
rank Other
resource
rank Higher
level
plan zone
THLB
(ha)

1 1 2 1 Special management zone 2 000

2 8 5 2 General management zone 17 000

3 3 1 2 Enhanced management zone 5 000

At this stage, verify or adjust the landscape units to achieve the target distribution for biodiversity emphasis (45-45-10 per cent).

When developing biodiversity emphasis recommendations the following information should be considered:

Generally, only one emphasis should be assigned per landscape unit. More than one emphasis per landscape unit is acceptable, but only as the exception and if a strong rationale is provided explaining why more are necessary to achieve the desired distribution of higher, intermediate and lower emphasis.
- When considering assignment of more than one emphasis per landscape unit, the following options are acceptable, given the above qualifications:
  - Split a larger landscape unit into smaller landscape units, but only if the smaller landscape units still meet the ecological landscape unit delineation criteria.
  - Assign more than one emphasis, stratifying on biogeoclimatic subzones within the landscape unit.
- When considering either approach, note the flexibility inherent in meeting biodiversity objectives under a single biodiversity emphasis-for example, by concentrating "leave areas" within sub-components of the landscape unit (small sub-drainage or a valley bottom). This inherent flexibility, in most cases, should offset having to designate smaller landscape units or assign more than one emphasis.
The comparative evaluation of higher level plan zones and strategic objectives, and of biodiversity, timber and other resource values should result in an assignment of biodiversity emphasis which minimizes conflicts and short-term impacts.
The higher biodiversity emphasis should be assigned to those landscape units with the highest biodiversity values up to the 10 per cent allocation limit, taking into account other resource values as follows:
- Where landscape units have the same biodiversity values, but are in different resource management zones (RMZs), the higher emphasis should be assigned to the units in zones where biodiversity values have increased importance. While higher biodiversity values can generally be expected in Special RMZs, some SRMZs may be deemed special for primarily recreational purposes. Likewise, some General or even High Intensity RMZs may have high biodiversity values.
- Where landscape units are the same with respect to biodiversity values, assign higher emphasis to the landscape unit with the least impact on timber or other resource values.
Higher biodiversity emphasis landscape units should be dispersed throughout a planning area. Likewise, avoid applying the lower biodiversity emphasis across extensive, contiguous areas in a planning area. A strong regional mosaic of biodiversity emphasis will contribute to overall ecosystem representation and connectivity.
The lower biodiversity emphasis should be applied to not more than approximately half of the gross area of any biogeoclimatic subzone within a planning area.

6. Present information to land use planning tables or incorporate it into the landscape unit planning strategy

The sixth step is to present the information gathered in steps 1 to 4 with the resulting recommendations to land use planning tables for use in their land use planning processes or the information and recommendations may be incorporated into the regional landscape unit planning strategy.

Depending on the level of public involvement agreed to in each region's landscape unit planning strategy, the public or the land use planning tables may be involved in all components of the landscape unit delineation and the biodiversity emphasis option allocations.

5.11 Iterative Review of Boundaries and
Biodiversity Emphases to Finalize Them

5.11.1 Introduction

This section explains how to iteratively review draft landscape unit boundaries and biodiversity emphasis recommendations. This review is to:

identify landscape units with potentially high conflicts or severe short-term impacts (biodiversity, timber or other values)
make adjustments where appropriate
finalize landscape unit boundaries and recommended biodiversity emphasis assignments.

5.11.2 Chief Forester Direction - Policy

Identification of landscape units with potential high impacts or conflicts

Once draft landscape units have been delineated and initial biodiversity emphasis assigned, regional landscape unit planning teams should promptly review them. They should ensure that the recommendations do not obviously impact severely on short-term timber supply, existing or proposed operations, biodiversity, other resource and environmental values, or land use plan objectives.

This review is to be an overview, to efficiently identify or "red-flag" landscape units with potentially severe or urgent conflicts due to the size or configuration of the landscape unit or the biodiversity emphasis assigned.

Staff should rely largely on expert opinion and local knowledge. This review is not intended to be a detailed, full-scale, unit-by-unit timber supply, environmental or socio-economic analysis. Criteria to identify units that have potential for high conflict or impact include but are not limited to:

age class distribution below the seral stage targets associated with the recommended biodiversity emphasis
multiple licensees without the ability to relocate them or mitigate negative impacts on their wood supply
anticipated high conflict with other resource values (e.g., large pending mine development, high-value wilderness recreation opportunity)
critical biodiversity values at risk
ecosystems or biodiversity values not adequately represented
limited options for old growth retention.

Acceptable adjustments to mitigate major impact

If the review indicates that a major impact may result from landscape unit size or configuration or the assigned emphasis, consider the following adjustments to mitigate the impact.

Any adjustments made must ensure that the ecological integrity of each resulting landscape unit is maintained.

Acceptable adjustments to mitigate impacts at this step, include:

amalgamating adjacent units (this is encouraged, where appropriate, to reduce the overall number of landscape units, for future administrative efficiencies)
reconfiguring units
adjusting biodiversity emphasis assignments within the allocation targets.

Where adjustments cannot easily be made: There may be units for which it is not possible to mitigate impacts with the above adjustments or to obtain interagency agreement to make such adjustments. In these instances, staff involved in preparing recommendations should outline the issues involved, summarize the characteristics of the landscape units and prepare options for the land use planning table if one exists and is dealing with this matter. Alternatively, the district manager and designated environment official may have to resolve the issue. More detailed environmental or timber analysis may be required and warranted, on an individual unit basis, to help finalize landscape unit boundaries and biodiversity emphasis assignments.

Finalize landscape unit boundaries and emphasis assignments: Finalize landscape unit boundaries and biodiversity emphasis assignments, based on this section, and submit them as a completed component of the regional landscape unit planning strategy.

5.12 Timetable for Establishment of Landscape Units and Objectives

5.12.1 Chief Forester Direction - Policy

Timetable to reflect high priorities

A timetable should be developed, based on the priority assigned to individual landscape units and the staffing capability of participating ministries. The following types of areas should be given high priority for landscape units and objectives:

areas with few remaining options for retention of old growth
areas with high conservation values at risk from forest and range management practices
areas with multiple forest development plans that need coordination
areas where forest development plans propose concentrated development that would significantly reduce future options for managing biodiversity and other non-timber forest resources.

5.13 Determining Land Act Interests

5.13.1 Legislative Reference

Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act (Part 2, Strategic Planning, Objectives and Standards)

4.(2) Before establishing a landscape unit, the district manager must obtain the approval of the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks, or a person authorized by that minister, if land within the proposed landscape unit is subject to an interest issued or granted under the Land Act.

5.13.2 Chief Forester Direction - Procedures

Information to MELP: In accordance with section 4(2) of the Act, the district manager will send the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks authorized person a map of the landscape unit or units and appropriate background information, including any knowledge that staff may have of any interest issued or granted under the Land Act. This should be done prior to developing landscape unit objectives.

Form letter to be provided Land Act interests to be identified: The district manager will prepare a form letter to facilitate a response from the authorized person.

Land Act interests to be identified: The Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks authorized person will be requested to determine if there are any interests issued or granted under the Land Act. If there are, that person will indicate their approval or otherwise for the establishment of the landscape unit.

No interest: If no interests are issued or granted under the Land Act, the authorized person should be requested to indicate this as well.

5.14 Establishing Landscape Unit Objectives

5.14.1 Legislative Reference