Best Management Practices: Grizzly Bears and Forest Management in Southwest BC

1. Draft 1 – January 2008 Best Management Practices: Grizzly Bears and Forest Management in Southwest BC Sue Senger Tony Hamilton

2. Background • Grizzly bears are Blue listed • Within the Lillooet TSA, all 3 Grizzly bear population units are listed as Threatened • Recent DNA evidence has led to proposals that will: • Split S. Chilcotin GBPU into east & west • Move Stein Nahatlatch GBPU to full recovery

3. Key Steps in Recovery Long Term Commitments for: • Protected Area Management for Bears • Landscape Level Forage Supply • Critical Habitat Protection – THLB allowances • Access Management • Bear-Human Conflict Mitigation

4. Practices • Landscape Level Forage Supply • Reduced stocking targets on selected site series • CWD management • Critical Habitat Protection • Identification & designation of WHAs • Access Management • Spur – activation/deactivation • Mainline – multi-stakeholder access planning

5. Draft 1: Important Spring Habitat • PEM units • AV=Avalanche track, • HM=Herbaceous Meadow (at Parkland boundary), • WM=Wet Meadows, • WS=Wetland-shrub-dominated, • WE=Wetland-Undistinguished open water, sedge & shrub

6. Van Horlick –Important Spring Habitats Draft 1

8. Moving from Important to Critical • Landscape analysis (field & map based) • Outcome=Class 1 & Class 2 determination • Conduct site investigations to verify class & establish forest buffer • Designate as critical, establish WHA

11. Spring Habitat THLB Overlap by Watershed

12. Field Verification of Buffer So far just modeling on the basis of 50m buffer NEXT: • Walk the habitat boundaries • Assess quality & distribution of adjacent security and thermal cover (bear sign?) • Buffer provides additional functions: wind, shade, water, snow movement, etc. • Layout buffer for site specific objectives

14. Cutblock Field Assessments (n=55) • Independent of bear points • Largely subjective (semi-quantitative) • Data collection includes: • Roads • Layout (buffering of critical habitat) • Food production • Site variables – BEC, site series, stocking, etc. • Photos

17. Practices • Landscape Level Forage Supply • Reduced stocking targets on selected site series • CWD management • Critical Habitat Protection • Identification & designation of WHAs • Access Management • Spur – activation/deactivation • Mainline – multi-stakeholder access planning

18. Yes No CWD CWD Stocking Stocking No Stocking No Stocking Harvest Maybe No Yes No Class 1, then protect as critical habitat When Class 2 is rare, then protect as critical habitat Class 2-5, when Class 2 is common Not near critical Near Critical Roads Is Not Class 2-3 Is Class 2-3 Layout Landscape forage deficit? No further bear concerns Silviculture

19. Next Steps • Text version of BMPs • Revised spring habitat map based on feedback • Production of multi-season class map • Revised version of stocking target tables Feedback: • Clarification of products: number, design, content & format for what audience? • Additional? • e.g. graphics regarding layout?