Section 3 - Private Managed Forest Land Flashcards
What is managed forest land and how much is there in the province? How much is harvested?
It’s a BC Assessment property classification that is intended to encourage private landowners to manage their lands for long-term forest production.
- Approx. 822,000 ha of private managed forest land
- 7% of the province’s total harvest
What legislation applies to managed forest land?
Private Managed Forest Land Act (PMFLAct) and regulations
- legislation does not apply to the managed forest land (TFL, WLF, lands regulated by FRPA and FA)
- only lands classed as managed forest land under the Assessment Act
What is the Managed Forest Council (MFC or Council)?
Lead agency responsible for administering PMFL Act and regulations
- reports to the Minister of Forests
What is the objective of MFC?
Encourage forest management practices on private managed forest land that take into account the social, environmental, and economic benefits of those practices.
What strategies does MFC persue?
- Encourage management of, and investment in, private forest land
- Protect key public environmental values
- Minimize the regulatory administrative cost to landowners actively growing and harvesting forest products
- Recognize private property right and protect landowners’ freedom to manage the forest to meet the management objectives
What is required when planning for private managed forest land?
- Private managed forest land legislation is results based, placing an obligation on owners to carry out forest operations in accordance with the PMFL Act and regulations
- May carry our strategic and operational level planning, but no statutory requirement for owners to submit plans to council
- Council does not approve operational plans or permits
- Plans prepared by owners are not subject to public review and comment
- If an owner considers that a variance to a regulatory requirement is justified, application must be made to council for an exemption before operations commence (Authority of exemptions is in sec. 4 of Private Managed Forest Land Council Regulation
- Owners are bound by the planning requirements of the Water Sustainability Act and the federal Fisheries Act
What are the key public environmental values that the managed forest legislation is intended to protect?
- soil conservation
- water quality
- fish habitat
- critical wildlife habitat
- reforestation
List some of the many legislations pertinent to forest practices on private managed forest land
- Private managed forest land act (protection of key public value)
- Private managed forest land regulation (provisions for critical wildlife habitat)
- Private managed forest land council matters regulation (water quality objectives)
- Private managed forest land council regulation (owner requirements regarding soil conservation, structures near streams, fish streams, water supply, etc.)
- Environmental Management Act (environmental protection)
- Water Sustainability Act (work around water, crossing of watercourses)
- Drink Water Protection Act (protection requirements, contraventions)
- Wildlife Act (SAR)
- Wildfire Act
- Fisheries Act
- Forest Act (timber mark and log scaling)
- Assessment Act
What must be submitted when owners are applying for managed forest land property assessment class?
A management commitment to the council that establishes the owner’s forest management objectives and strategies. Owners are required to report their forest management activities (harvesting, road building, maintenance and deactivation, reforestation success), annually to the council.
What is the managed forest regulatory model?
A modified results based system.
- in addition to establishing owner requirements, it was deemed necessary to define specific standards (minimum number of trees to be retained adjacent to certain classes of fish streams, minimum width riparian buffer, etc.)
How is the owner’s performance evaluated?
- No agency approval process or continuous monitoring oversight
- Conducted through various means; in response to public inquiries, verification monitoring against an owner’s annual declaration, council initiated inspections or site visits
