Kelvin Hirsch CFS S&T Forum, Ottawa, Ontario November 5-8, 2001

1. Integrating Fire and Forest Management to Enhance Timber Production Kelvin Hirsch CFS S&T Forum, Ottawa, Ontario November 5-8, 2001 Natural Resources Canada Ressources naturelles CanadaCanadian Forest Service Service canadien des forêts

2. Presentation Outline • Background on Fire in Canada • Critical/Emerging Issues • Key CFS Initiatives • S&T Considerations • Linkages to CFS, NRCan objectives & programs • Partnerships/Collaboration • CFS Requirements

3. Wildfires are a natural component of most of Canada’s forest ecosystems • Ecological effects • ecosystem health and productivity • biodiversity • landscape metrics • Socio-economic impacts • life and property • timber supply • water and air quality

4. Forest Fires in Canada Fires > 200 ha (1980-1989) • 8,500 fires per year • fire management costs ~$500 million annually • 0.3-7.5 million ha burned per year • large fires dominate • (3% > 200 ha = 97% Area Burned)

5. Critical/Emerging Issues 1. We are living and working in/near a flammable forest • Public safety • Property/infrastructure protection • Health issues (smoke (local and long-range) transport) • Ability to use of fire for ecological purposes

6. Critical/Emerging Issues 2. Full commitment of available timber in many regions • Fires can significantly impact forest companies and forest-based communities (e.g., AAC reductions of 50-75% can be company and community ending events) • “Buffer stocks” are no longer readily available to offset long-term impacts of fire on total wood supply and flow • Forest industry is considering moving further north (QC, ON, SK) • Forest management is risk management (stakes are getting higher)

7. Increases in: • ignitions • fire season length • fire weather severity • fire intensity • area burned Critical/Emerging Issues 3. Increasing fire activity under a changing climate

8. Critical/Emerging Issues 4. Traditional approaches to fire suppression are reaching their physical and economic limit of effectiveness • Wildfires cannot be eliminated from the landscape • A small percentage of fires (2-4%) will continue to escape initial attack and have the potential to become large

9. Critical/Emerging Issues Recap • Increasing pressure on the forest land base • High and possibly increasing fire activity • Current fire management approaches are reaching their limit of effectiveness

10. “Fire-Smart” Forest/Land Management Innovative Approaches are Required to Address these Issues • Balancing the social, economic and ecological impacts of fire • Proactive thinking • Assesses impact of forest management on the fire environment (vice-versa) • Strategic and operational activities • Stand and landscape levels

11. Understanding the role of fire in the ecosystem • (past, present, future) • Fire history analysis • Landscape fire assessments • Future fire regimes Key CFS Projects/Initiatives

12. Land base • Incorporate risk from fire into spatial timber supply modelling • Strategically located treatments to impede fire spread • Evaluate effectiveness and impact using existing models Fire-Smart Key CFS Projects/Initiatives 2. Landscape-level fuels management to reduce wildfire size

13. Big trade-off • Allow suppression resources to focus on fighting forest fires (reduce number of escape fires) • Decrease risk associated with the use of prescribed fire Key CFS Projects/Initiatives 3. Reduce the risk from wildfire in the Wildland-Urban Interface

14. Integrating Fire and Forest Management Initiative Features • New program (late 1990s) based on emerging issues • Incorporates past and current fire research in fire behaviour, fire ecology, fire management systems, climate change • Assesses the impacts of forestry and fire on each other • CFS has a small inter-establishment group (5-6 people) (PFC, NoFC, GLFC, CFL) • Extensive external partnerships • Universities (Alberta (SFM), Toronto, UQAM, Chile) • Land Management Agencies (BC, AB, SK, ON, QC, Parks Canada) • Industry (Millar Western, Tembec, Domtar) • Associations and Municipalities

15. Integrating Fire and Forest Management Initiative Features • Client-based; results-oriented • Knowledge exchange is a major component • workshops, professional development courses, scientific and non-technical material, web site • Relevant to CFS & NRCan objectives/programs • Ability to practice SFM and competitiveness of Canada’s forest industry • (e.g., intensive forest management, Forest 2020, climate change adaptation) • Safety of Canadians

16. Integrating Fire and Forest Management Initiative Requirements • No new resources required at this time • Back-fill vacancies (2) • Further enhance linkages to other disciplines, networks & research organizations • (social sciences, biodiversity, pest management, ecosystem processes, climate change) • Continue to leverage majority of resources (>50%) through collaboration and partnership • CFS is ideally suited to continue to take leadership role

17. Knowledge generation Explore alternatives Gain insight Pilot studies Operational trails Modify policies and practices Innovation Closing Thoughts Multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach to addressing emerging national issues Use/develop basic research/knowledge Develop new/integrated models Impact & Visibility

18. Thank You Natural Resources Canada Ressources naturelles CanadaCanadian Forest Service Service canadien des forêts