Private Forest Matters

Safety First! How to Make Forest Safety Your First Priority

Summer 2013

In This Issue

Safety First! How to Make Forest Safety Your First Priority 1

Private Forestry Recognition Awards 2

Highlights from the 2013 Forestry Forum 2

Out and About with the PFLA 2

PFLA Policy Update 3

Biosolids, Riparian Enhancement and the Urban Interface 4

Contact Information

P.O. Box 48092Victoria, BC V8Z 7H5

Tel: 250 381 7565Fax: 250 381 7409

www.pfla.bc.ca

Rod Bealing - Executive Directorrod.bealing@pfla.bc.ca

Ina Shah - Office Managerinfo@pfla.bc.ca

Continued on page 2

Because safety is a top priority, and a lot canchange in a short period of time, we’ve coll-aborated with one of our favourite resources (Managing Your Woodlands: A Non-forester’s Guide to Small-scale Forestry in British Colu-mbia) to highlight some important points to consider when putting together a safety plan for your operation.

Hiring a crew to do the harvesting for you?

Poor log markets, over the past 7 years, had a devastating effect on B.C.’s local workforce. A lot of experienced and qualified contractors were forced to leave the business. The resultis a potential shortage of workers and equi- pment available to meet an increased demand for harvesting activity.

Statistics show incidents of injuries rise as markets pick up after a period of inactivity and a new crop of inexperienced workers step up to meet the renewed demand for harvesting. Given this set of circumstances, it’s more important than ever for forest ow-ners to be diligent about a safety plan for your operation. Make it a priority to have aconversation with your contractor about safety and certification.

In British Columbia, it’s a legal requirement for manual tree fallers in forestry operations to be trained and certified. The BC Forest Safety Council is the certifying body that ensures competency standards and an appropriate level of experience. When you’re

hiring a contractor, look for a certified faller and a certified crew. Once you’ve chosen your contractor, have a pre-work meeting to walk and review the site and share any and all information that might impact the safety of the operation.

Public safety is your responsibility.

You’re responsible for the public’s safety on your property. If you have trails, roads, public access or any other potential for people — dog walkers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, star-crossed lovers — to access your operating area you need to take steps to keep them safe.

• Notify your contractor of any area used by the public

• Close trails

• Lock gates

• Post signs

• Be alert

General Safety Tips for Forest Workers

• Know basic first-aid. At minimum, carry a whistle and a pressure bandage and know how to stop bleeding and treat shock. Consider taking the Level 1 Occupational First-Aid course (time well spent!).

Group photo! Participants of the 2013 forest field tour

• Always let someone know where you’re going and when you expect to return. Leave a note in your vehicle if your plans change.

• Carry a communication device with you. Check in frequently with someone who knows where you are. Ideally, don’t work alone. Have a buddy with you.

• It’s always a good idea to wear hard hats and high-visibility vests when you’re in the woods and never approach a working machine until you’re certain the operator can see you.

• Fatigue, adverse weather conditions, poor visibility, inexperience and poor communication are frequently contri-buting factors to injuries in the woods.

• Remember: safety is a state of mind. Your attitude and your actions are important. Be alert. Be prepared. Be careful.

Out and About with the PFLAZucchini Racing at Cowichan ExhibitionSeptember 6-8, 2013

An excellent opportunity to engage the co-mmunity just for the fun of it, PFLA is proud to co-sponsor the 3rd annual zucchini racing competition at the Cowichan Exhibition. We look forward to an action-packed weekend connecting with families, elected officials, forest owners, community members and busloads of enthusiastic school kids.

Federation of BC Woodlot Association’s AGMSeptember 19-22, 2013

PFLA is excited to attend the Federation of BCWoodlot Association’s annual general meet-ing and conference in Campbell River and Quadra Island this year. If you’re interested, please visit their website (www.woodlot.bc.ca) for detailed conference schedule andregistration information.

Pg 2

Private Forestry Recognition Awards

Here at the PFLA we’re lucky to work with talented and impressive people passionate about the contributions they make to thesustainable management of B.C.’s private forests. At our recent AGM in June, PFLAcouldn’t resist the opportunity to acknow-ledge four noteworthy individuals for their tenacious contributions to private forestry.

Richard Ringma was presented with the coveted PFLA cutting board as a modest gesture of our appreciation. With almost 40 years experience in coastal B.C. log sales and distribution, Richard brings energy, enthusiasm and determination to PFLA’s market access efforts. His helpful analysis of the fibre supply and fibre demand situation on the B.C. coast is valuable information weuse to educate key audiences and help dispel some of the myths and rhetoric that surround log exports. PFLA is lucky to know Richard and we appreciate all his energy and hard work.

PFLA supporting member Steve Lackey also received the coveted PFLA cutting board inrecognition of his ongoing support for pri-vate forestry. With over three decades of practical forest stewardship experience, and a strong talent for reforestation and community relations, Steve is a highly respected member of B.C.’s private fore-stry community. We also owe a rumble of applause to Steve for the outstanding job he did organizing this year’s forestry field tour — thanks Steve!

PFLA was also pleased to recognize Island Timberlands’ employees Morgan Kennah and Kraig Urbanoski for their creative, con-sistent and persistent community relation efforts in the urban interface. Along with the coveted PFLA cutting board, Morgan and Kraig were presented with the less-con-ventional, light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek tacvest award loaded with tools and resources to help support their work.

Highlights from the 2013 Forestry Forum

Continued from cover

We’re pleased to announce PFLA’s 18th an-nual forestry forum was a big hit. A buzz ofenergy emanated as information, ideas andconversation circulated among old friends, new connections and veteran PFLA conference goers.

The morning started off with a detailed ti-mber market analysis from TimberWest logmarketer, Geoff Martin. Next, senior regional officer for WorkSafeBC, Ron Judd, provided a comprehensive description of owner, licensee and prime contractor safety resp-onsibilities during forestry operations. Along with a detailed and engaging presentation chock full of graphics, charts, images and statistics demonstrating the benefits of building with wood, Peter Moonen of WoodWorks! BC brought what no other presenter did — prizes!

After a quick refreshment break, Stuart MacPherson and Rod Davis gave an upd-ate from the Private Managed Forest Land Council (PMFLC) that included a brief outline of the purpose and structure of the council; an overview of the program; a description of harvest activity for 2012; an explanation for the 2013 fee increase; highlights of the current model; and common concerns rais-ed by the public and local government. The presenters concluded: the Managed Forest Program is “well regulated and performance is quite outstanding.”

Stuart Macpherson also provided cursory findings from a third party effectiveness audit performed to determine if the regulatory model achieves its desired environmental outcomes (final report pending).

Just before lunch we were treated to a lively and entertaining report from Canadian Association of Forest Owner (CAFO) chair, Domenico lannidinardo, describing the organization’s progress as they continue to expand and build on their initial successes as the voice for Canada’s forest owners.

The afternoon rolled along with a carbon market update from Matt Walsh of New Zealand Carbon Market Farming. Matt continues to be optimistic about emerging Canadian carbon markets and encourages forest owners to pay close attention to the California market, pursue compliance credits over voluntary credits and be sure to partner with experts.

The afternoon session wrapped up with aninformative scan of the B.C. political lands-cape presented by the always insightful andarticulate Mike Brooks. Thanks to all the pres-enters for making this year’s forum a success.

You can find more detailed summaries and complete PowerPoint presentations on the PFLA blog (www.pfla.bc.ca).

PFLA Policy Update

PFLA spends a big chunk of our time dilig-ently engaged on a number of important policy files relevant to forest owners across the province. Here’s a brief update to keep you informed about five important policy areas we’re working on right now.

1. Migratory Birds Convention Act and Regulations

Environment Canada is responsible for imp-lementing the Migratory Birds Convention Act and Regulations. The legislation, intro-duced around the turn of last century, was intended to preserve stocks of ‘meat birds’. Today, it presents a challenge for Canadians because it prohibits the ‘taking’ of migrat-ory birds, of which there are now over five hundred listed. Recently, government has received pressure to pursue the letter of the law rather than the intent.

The migratory bird definition includes birds, fledglings, eggs and nests — occupied andunoccupied. All resource-related activities inCanada — from farming to hydro reservoirsto windmills to forestry, not to mention mov-ing vehicles, tall buildings and household cats — encounter some aspect of this mig-ratory bird definition. In other words, this is a national problem not confined to forest management. In fact, forest management is comparatively benign. We disturb our land infrequently and by maintaining forest cover we actually create and sustain bird habitat. However, pressure from environmental gro-ups keeps government’s focus on forestry.

In response to these pressures, Environment Canada continues to develop “better man-agement practices” for operators to follow, along with a database of nesting seasons for various birds. Environment Canada will make this information available and landowners areexpected to manage their operations accord-ingly. The implications of this approach could mean extended curtailment periods during nesting season, which would have significant impacts for multiple industries.

PFLA is engaged in this process to help government recognize that responsible forest stewardship has a minor and tem-porary impact on birds, while onerous andunnecessary regulation has serious implica-tions for forest owners. We’re proud that theway we manage our land supports biodiver-sity, but we expect to be recognized for our conservation efforts, and treated with respect and fairness if it’s deemed necessary to restictprivate property in order to protect a public resource.

2. Species at Risk Act

Parks Canada is in the process of developing a recovery plan for the Northern Goshawk, a raptor identified as threatened by the Committee On the Status of Endangered Species in Canada (COSEWIC). PFLA and the Canadian Association of Forest Owners (CAFO) are engaged in this process to ensure government is aware of, and takes into account, the extent to which Northern Goshawks are thriving in managed second-growth forests, and the voluntary measures forest owners already take to protect these birds and their habitat.

PFLA is urging Parks Canada to make time inthe planning process to incorporate the best available science and to get out into the field and learn more about how Northern Goshawks have adapted to second-growth managed forests. In July, PFLA participated in a field tour to show federal agency staff and other interested stakeholders firsthand the habitat situation for Northern Goshawks on private forest land.

3. Private Managed Forest Land Act Critical Wildlife Habitat — MoU

All private managed forest land in B.C. issubject to the critical wildlife habitat pro-visions of the Private Managed Forest LandAct and regulations. The basic policy prin-ciple is this: when habitat required for the survival of a species cannot be provided by public land, government has the option to make arrangements with landowners to protect critical wildlife habitat that exists on private land.

These regulatory provisions were established in 2000, but despite the best management practices and certification-driven work owne-rs do to identify, study, monitor and protect listed species, to date, the provincial govern-ment has not found it necessary to designate critical wildlife habitat on private managed forest land.

Even with positive outcomes for the listed species, forest owners were concerned the federal Species At Risk Act review process wasn’t recognizing their voluntary efforts. The B.C. government wanted to demonstrate that B.C. adequately protects endangered wildlife. So, PFLA and the province began working together to address these concerns, and re-cently, a memorandum of understanding was drawn up and signed to guide the way forward.

4. Firefighting Cost Sharing Agreement

The Wildfire Management Branch has made some changes to the pricing structure of the firefighting cost sharing agreement. Not all of these changes were welcome; particularly the significant interior rate increases. PFLA is engaged with government and staff at the Protection Branch to advocate on behalf of owners.

5. Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation

The Ministry of Environment continues to develop regulation intended to address pu-blic health risks from smoke. Part of the policy intention is to reduce the amount of smoke hazard related to open burning – including prescribed burns on managed forest lands.

Prescribed fire is an important tool for foresthealth and minimizing wildfire risk. Alterna-tives to well-planned and well-implemented prescribed burning practices are expensive and ineffective, and increase the potential for reduced forest health and catastrophic wildfires that threaten forests, livesand communities.

Because a large portion of B.C.’s private managed forest lands are located close to communities, forest owners are at risk of being effected by policy changes. PFLA is working with the B.C. government and allied associations in an effort to ensure common sense prevails.

Pg 3

Pg 4

Biosolids, Riparian Enhancement and the Urban InterfaceWhat do biosolids, riparian enhancement and the urban interface have in common? They’re all highlights from the PFLA 2013 forest field tour. You’d think, after 18 years of private for-estry tours, we’d run out of interesting places to visit, but thanks to the organizing efforts of Steve Lackey this year’s tour secured PFLA’s reputation for producing engaging and informative field tours year after year.

First stop: VIU Forest

The 2013 tour kicked off with a visit to the Vancouver Island University (VIU) forest where Jim Wilkinson welcomed the group to the tour and provided background info-rmation about the 1,700 hectare forest (700 ha Crown woodlot and 1,000 ha private land) managed by the VIU forestry department sin-ce 1988 and composed of 78% Douglas-fir, 11% lodge pole pine and 7% red alder.

After the introduction, participants split into three smaller groups to learn about Douglas-fir thinning, red alder with recedar underplanting and western white pine pla-ntations. The three sites provided excellent opportunities for detailed discussion about planting, pruning, thinning and harvesting.

Right on schedule, we followed the forest trail through the stand of 90-year-old Douglas-firsand hopped back on the bus to head to ournext destination: the VIU biosolids demon-stration site. Because poor soil conditions severely limit tree growth on some of the VIU forest sites project coordinators looked to the Regional District of Nanaimo’s

abundant supply of municipal biosolids as an ecologically sensible way to improve forest health while diverting waste from the RDN’s landfill.

Once we reached the site, organizers dividedthe tour into three stops: a discussion of the untreated control site, info about disc trenching to enhance Douglas-fir growth on salal-dominated sites, and an overview of the biosolids program and the application process.

Thanks to research silviculturist, Ryan D’Anjou, participants received impressive amounts of detailed information, including:

• charts and graphs to compare data from the three sites

• costs associated with the different treatments

• survival rates, height growth and site index estimates

• stem diameter growth and crown diameter measurements

For more information about the tour or the project, check out the PFLA blog or visit the VIU website.

Next stop: a visit to Centre Creek in the Englishman River watershed

A visit to Centre Creek on TimberWest prop-erty in the Englishman River watershed made an ideal lunch spot. TimberWest recently par-tnered with the Mid-Vancouver Island Habitat

Enhancement Society (MVIHES), a local strea-mkeeper group, to prepare and execute a riparian enhancement plan for Centre Creek.Tour participants enjoyed sandwiches in theshade while biologist and riparian manag-ement expert, Dave Clough, explained theplanning process for the project. Faye Smithfrom the MVIHES was also available to desc-ribe the group’s participation in the Centre Creek project.

Last stop: Talking urban interface issues with Island Timberlands

It takes decades to grow a merchantable sta-nd of timber. When your forest land is located right next door to some of Vancouver Island’s fastest growing communities, this leaves pl-enty of time for community members and recreational enthusiasts — mountain bike clubs, equestrian riding groups, hikers, dog walkers — to grow attached to the land you intend to harvest. At a recently harvested site in the Englishman River watershed Kraig Urbanoski and Ken Epps, from Island Timberlands, talked with the group about some of the challenges and successes they’ve had working with communities in the urban interface.

A big PFLA thanks to all the organizers, tour hosts and participants who took time out of your busy schedules to join us. Check out our Facebook page for more tour photos.