Forest Practices Branch BC Forest Service

1. Forest Practices BranchBC Forest Service January 19, 2010 November 2009

2. Objectives • To share the key findings from the Fort St. John Pilot Project (the Pilot Project) • To identify some key lessons learned that may be useful for the evolution of the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) • To identify the current next steps for the Pilot Project

3. Background • The Ministry of Forests and Range developed enabling legislation in 1999 to permit pilot projects that would explore new ways to manage forest and range resources in British Columbia • The legislation’s purpose was to enable pilot projects to examine different ways to create efficiency and reduce costs for both industry and government, while maintaining or enhancing forest management standards and involving the public • The legislation was created to enable innovative forest practices, and required that protection of forest resources be at least equivalent to that provided under the Forest Practices Code of BC Act (the Code) • In addition, pilot projects were required to be consistent with the Code's preamble, which defined sustainable use of forests and required the balancing of the many forest values, while meeting the economic, social, and cultural needs of peoples and communities, including First Nations

4. Context • Stemming from this legislation, the Pilot Project was established by Regulation on November 30, 2001 • Of the six original Code pilot projects developed to explore different types of forest regulation, only the Fort St. John and Stillwater pilot projects are still active • The Fort St. John Pilot Project area encompasses the 4.7 million-hectare Fort St. John Timber Supply Area in northeastern British Columbia • It is located within the boreal forest and consists of a complex mosaic of coniferous, deciduous and mixedwood stands, with a wide range of age classes

5. The Team • Staff from the Ministry of Forests and Range district, region and headquarters; Ministry of Environment; and Pilot Project Participants (forest licensees and BC Timber Sales), subject matter experts, and also members of the public undertook an extensive and collaborative review of the Fort St. John Pilot Project • The results of this review are presented in Fort St. John Pilot Project Review Report (November 2009)

6. The report evaluated the Pilot Project’s relative success, and whether it meets the required tests listed in Section 53 (1) of the Fort St. John Pilot Project Regulation (the “Regulation”). • This report assessed whether the Pilot Project: • (a) provides equivalent protection to forest resources and resource features as are provided under the Forest Practices Code of BC Act and the regulations; • (b) is consistent with the preamble to the Act; • (c) provides for adequate management and conservation of forest resources; • (d) adequately provides for public review and comment respecting forest practices; • (e) adequately provides for monitoring of the pilot project; • (f) provides adequate public access to • (i) planning documents and assessments used in the pilot project, and • (ii) records that this regulation requires to be prepared, and • (g) is cost effective for one or more of the following: • (i) holders of agreements under the Forest Act; • (ii) the government for the small business forest enterprise program; • (iii) the government for administering forest practices.

7. Evaluation Results • The evaluation indicates that the Pilot Project successfully met the tests. It also found numerous examples of innovation, such as the multi-block silvicultural assessment. • However, a full assessment of effectiveness may take longer, and the Pilot Project’s lifespan from inception to this review may not yet enable a confident verification of all of the Regulation’s tests • For example, reforestation performance at a landscape level requires further analysis. The evaluation also found challenges, such as the increased time for district staff to administer two systems for tenures and reporting, and to effectively tackle compliance and enforcement processes • Overall, the Fort St. John Pilot Project has produced some significant successes, but it has also presented some challenges to the ministry in dealing with the administrative and compliance differences

8. Cost • The overall economic contribution of the Regulation to the Participants’ cost structure is estimated as a reduction of 5 percent from 2001 costs, which equates to $2.75/m3 of logged volume • FRPA may also be providing similar savings but this was not part of the evaluation

9. The report compares the Fort St. John Pilot Project Regulation model and that of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Forest Act. • The six theme areas examined are: • Strategic and operational planning; • Public interest and involvement; • Harvest authorization; • Compliance & Enforcement, and monitoring; • Forest practices; and, • Costs.

10. Benefits of the Pilot Project include • A comprehensive SFMP was developed and contains landscape level strategies for timber harvesting, road access management, patch size, seral stage distribution and adjacency, riparian management, visual quality management, forest health management, range and forest management and landscape level reforestation

11. Benefits of the Pilot Project include • The use of a Forest Operations Schedule (approval not required) that identifies approximate location of cutblocks and roads that can be used: • by the Participants to demonstrate cumulative impact of planned forestry activities on key landscape level objectives; • by the Participants to provide a fair distribution of blocks; and, • to improve the scope and effectiveness of public consultation.

12. Benefits of the Pilot Project include • This pilot project involves a public advisory group (PAG). In addition to a public advisory group, a scientific advisory committee was used to provide input and recommendations in the development of the SFMP landscape level strategies and indicators • Requiring additional forms of information such as periodic Participant-funded independent audits to enhance the ability of government to assess the risk to the Crown associated with particular forest operations

13. Benefits of the Pilot Project include • The pilot project provides the Participants with greater efficiency by allowing them to include discretionary content in the SFMP by proposing a variance from any requirement of the regulation. The value of this is that it can be done without either establishing an objective or making a regulation that must be linked to a provision that will then be disapplied if the corresponding result of strategy is approved • The pilot project integrates CSA certification processes with provincial regulatory processes

14. Benefits of the Pilot Project include • The broad flexibility of the regulatory model, particularly at providing for innovation to address changing circumstances • The use of a single coordinated, comprehensive sustainable forest management plan (including all higher level strategic plans) that applies to all licensees and BCTS to achieve significant strategic planning benefits, and social and economic benefits by: • establishing one consistent set of performance standards for all licensees and BCTS based on local conditions; and, • placing priority on setting and achieving landscape or multi-block targets, rather than individual block targets;

15. Areas of Concern with the Pilot Project • The Regulation, was created under the Forest Practices Code of BC Act and subsequently moved to FRPA, this has created some legislative linkage issues with other relevant legislation (particularly the Forest Act) • We need to consider migrating beneficial elements of the Regulation into FRPA and consolidating regulations

16. Issues with evaluating performance under the Regulation • These include uncertainties about the following areas and the consequent need to develop tools for assessing: • Overall achievement of landscape level strategies to provide adequate assurance to the government in respect of management of Crown forest resources before expanding the use of some of these types of landscape level strategies in other areas of the province; • Reforestation performance on the Pilot Project area, particularly whether or not the new multi-block standards have been achieved; and • Compliance with other landscape level objectives and standards. Participants report out on results in Annual Reports, and the ministry requires additional tools or technology to confirm whether performance requirements have been met.

17. Issues with administration of the Regulation • Ministry Staffing and Engagement – The Pilot Project has required additional time and resources from district, region and headquarters staff. • MFR staff believe they do not have sufficient time or resources to address and make modifications to provincial policy and procedures that apply only to one unique area • Statutory Decision Making – The statutory decision-making structure under the Regulation requires that decision-making be executed by the Ministry of Forests and Range region and district, as well as by the Ministry of Environment • As we move forward the Fort St. John Pilot Project and Innovative Forestry Practices Agreement (IFPA) requirements must be harmonized with FPRA

18. Information Systems and Business Processes • The Pilot Project has created additional unique costs for the Ministry of Forests and Range due to the requirement for: • Alternate business processes required to handle authorization and tenure issues; • Changes to the FTA and RESULTS information systems required to accommodate the Pilot Project; and, • Reviewing and analyzing the reforestation data compiler.

19. Compliance and Enforcement • Under the Regulation, some ministry C&E staff in the Peace District must be familiar with two regulatory models • In addition, the landscape level performance requirements necessitate the development and use of sophisticated assessment tools • This requires additional staff training and capacity building

20. Next steps • The goal is to continue the Fort St. John Pilot Project; • During the next few years both MFR and MOE expect that there will be an opportunity to apply the lessons learned from the Pilot Project on a provincial basis • Additionally, there will be a period for transitioning the Pilot Project to a single legislative model so that the benefits that have resulted from it will not be lost to the Participants

21. The goal is to continue the pilot project based on the assumption that staff representing MFR, MOE, and the Participants will work collaboratively to: • Further evaluate existing landscape level strategies • Develop landscape level strategies for forest health which consider the implications of landscape level strategies for climate • Develop landscape level strategies for deciduous and mixedwood management

22. The goal is to continue the pilot project based on the assumption that staff representing MFR, MOE, and the Participants will work collaboratively to: • Develop additional tools, technology and procedures to effectively monitor and measure achievement and compliance with landscape objectives and standards

23. The goal is to continue the pilot project based on the assumption that staff representing MFR, MOE, and the Participants will work collaboratively to: • Explore opportunities for further streamlining CSA certification, detailed reporting and compliance and enforcement inspections • Confirm that landscape level targets actually fulfill the stewardship objectives for which they were developed • Integrate the key lessons learned and benefits derived from the Pilot Project and the Innovative Forestry Practices Agreement (IFPA) projects into FRPA

24. New Working Group • To achieve this a Working Group has been created to address the preceding items

25. Summary Consider incorporating the following elements from the Regulation into FRPA: • The Sustainable Forest Management Plan (SFMP) • The Forest Operations Schedule (FOS) • The Public Advisory Group (PAG)