private managed forest land council update — june 2013
DESCRIPTION
Presentation by the Private Managed Forest Land Council (PMFLC)—Stuart Macpherson (Executive Director) and Rod Davis (Chair)—to the Private Forest Landowners Association at their 18th annual conference in Nanaimo, BC on June 20th, 2013.TRANSCRIPT
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Program Update
Rod Davis, Chair&
Stuart Macpherson, Executive Director
Presentation to the Private Forest Landowners Association June 20, 2013
Council’s Mandate
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Independent provincial agency established under the Private Managed Forest Land Act
Protect key public environmental values on private Managed Forest land in British Columbia• soil conservation, drinking water quality, fish habitat,
and reforestation• regulating forest practices• conducting inspections, audits, investigations• administrating penalties, remediation orders, stop
work orders
Council Membership
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Chair:Rod Davis
Owner Representatives:
Government Representatives:
Will Pryhitko Michael Alexander
Blair Robertson Rod Visser
Regulations
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Private Managed Forest Land Act is the Authority for three regulations: Private Managed Forest Land Council Regulation
(Council’s regulation) Private Managed Forest Land Regulation (Gov’t
regulation) Private Managed Forest Land Council Matter’s
Regulation (Gov’t regulation)
2013 Fee Increases
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Fees increased 33% from 2012 [increase of 4% from 2011]
In 2012 a one-time 18% rebate was provided as a result surpluses accumulated over previous years
Council has increased expenditures 18% to address communications priorities, legal counsel, and office operations
The general administration fee was increased to $120
Effectiveness of Current Model
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Results-based regulatory model High rate of compliance (99.5% based on 15%
inspection rate) Cost-effective - funded by land owners Council cost is $0.85/ m3
Private managed forest land located province-wide on both the coast and interior
Issues
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Conversations with local governments and public have highlighted some common concerns: Urban interface issues Viewscapes, habitat Watershed management and
domestic water quality Species at risk Noise Governance
Program Overview
823,200 ha (259 MFs) in program
• 640,000 ha coast; 183,200 ha interior
• 179 MFs coast; 80 MFs interior
<1% decrease in area from 2012
6 new owners
2 MF withdrawals
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2012 Program Activity
Harvest volume - 3.94 million m3
Harvest area - 8570 ha
Road construction - 414 km
Restocked - 9980 ha
Regenerated - 8970 ha
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Investigations2012/13: 12 self-reported slides, 2 into fish
streams
Slides were not associated with operations; some were associated with old roads
2 underwent formal investigation
Overall stream and water quality impacts were judged to be temporary
Compliance continues to be high
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Effectiveness Audit 2012 Objective: Determine whether the forest management objectives in the
Private Managed Forest Land Act are being achieved.
Soil conservation – protect soil productivity by minimizing the area occupied by roads, landings & trails
Water quality – protect human drinking water
Fish habitat – retain sufficient streamside trees & understory vegetation to protect habitat conditions
Critical wildlife habitat – to facilitate the long-term protection of that habitat
Reforestation – regenerate areas with healthy & commercially valuable stand of trees
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Effectiveness Audit 2012 (con’t)
Purpose to verify whether the regulatory regime achieves the desired environmental outcomes
Sampled 14 MFs reporting operations, ie harvesting, reforestation etc in 2006/2008
Mix of MFs both < & > 1000 hectares
Field work completed last fall; report is pending
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Effectiveness Audit Results
On balance a positive outcome Forest stewardship practices align with industry standards
Owners self – motivated to manage
However some room for improvements in practices noted
Soil conservation
Site loss from roads etc < 7%
Low ground disturbance from harvesting
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Effectiveness Audit Results
Water Quality Minor siltation issues - low harm to fish
habitat
Good awareness & communication with LWI holders
Regs don’t include protection of Water Licence intakes issued for domestic water consumption
An MF may be only part of LWI catchment
Unable to provide assurance that water quality objective for human drinking water can be achieved
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LWI dam & intake
Effectiveness Audit Results
Fish Habitat Well constructed stream crossings and
maintenance of ditches – few siltation problems
Older roads main source of siltation
Riparian management requirement mostly being exceeded but windthrow is an issue, particularly Class C streams
Windthrow means that objective for LWD and bank stability riparian may not be achieved
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68% blowdown adjacent to Class C Stream
Effectiveness Audit ResultsCritical Wildlife Habitat
No areas designated - not auditable
However evidence of voluntary measures - locally important habitat recognized and reserved
Reforestation Performance is outstanding
Reforestation within 2 years
Stocking levels greatly exceed requirements
Successful regeneration on track
Some local issues with brush competition and ungulate browsing, root disease
Self - interested in maintaining forest productivity16
Inspection ProgramObjective: Inspect all MFs at least once every 5
years, new MFs within 3 years2012 Program: 27 MFs inspected: 21 on Coast; 6 in Interior Assessed performance re MCs & legislation Good performance overall; operations with “soft
footprint” Areas for Improvement
Update MCs & maps Monitor plantations / regen up to SR
Opportunity to discuss management practices with a professional as well
2013 Program: Targeting 32 MFs (25/7) includes 10 new MFs
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Contacts:
Stuart Macpherson, Executive DirectorTel: (250) 386-5737
Email: [email protected]
Rod Davis, ChairTel: (250) 882-0072
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.pmflc.ca/
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