PART 3
OPERATIONAL PLANNING

Operational plans are plans for forest and range practices that will be carried out on specific areas of land. A fundamental difference between operational plans and strategic land use plans is who prepares these plans. For most of the province, operational plans are prepared by licensees, rather than by government agencies or multi-stakeholder planning tables. Prior to introduction of the provincial government’s Land Use Strategy, operational planning by forest companies was, commonly, the only type of planning conducted throughout much of the province.

The provincial government has granted rights to natural resources such as timber and forage through tenure agreements under the Forest Act and the Range Act. To exercise these rights, the holders of these agreements usually must prepare operational plans outlining how they intend to operate in specific areas. These plans must be approved by the government in advance of operations. This puts agreement holders very much in control when it comes to how and where forestry and range operations will be conducted in British Columbia. In some jurisdictions, operational plans are prepared by government agencies before legal rights to resources are granted. One of the purposes of land use plans, therefore, is to ensure that there is an overarching land use strategy that addresses resource values other than timber, which serves as the context for where licensees propose to operate.

Operational plans were required long before the Forest Practices Code was introduced. Previously, plans were required as a term or condition in tenure agreements. Policy manuals set out the expectations of government agencies regarding the format and content expected to be included in the plans. In some cases, different regions of the province operated under different policy manuals.

With the introduction of the Forest Practices Code, the requirements for operational planning were set out in legislation and regulations, so that it was no longer just a matter of contractual requirements between the government and its licensees, but a statutory requirement that they be prepared. For the most part, the Code standardized operational planning requirements across the province. Some new requirements were introduced, such as rules around streamside practices, but much of the content of the Code was taken from existing policy manuals. Throughout this Guide, the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act is referred to as the "Code," while the Forest Act is referred to as the "Act."

The operational plans required under the Code are forest development plans, silviculture prescriptions, logging plans (in limited circumstances), stand management prescriptions and range use plans.

Each of these operational plans will be discussed in this part of the Guide. With the exception of stand management plans, all of these plans were required prior to the Forest Practices Code. Initially, the Code required additional new operational plans in some circumstances, such as access management plans, five-year silviculture prescriptions, and logging plans. However, the requirements for these plans were deleted with amendments to the Code in 1998.

The following illustrates the types of operational plans that relate to forest practices and silviculture treatments.

OPERATIONAL PLANS FOR FOREST PRACTICES

Forest Development Plans	Landscape level plans. Detail management objectives, proposed harvesting and road developments for a five-year term. Generally updated and approved annually. Must be consistent with higher level plans. Focal point for public input into operational planning decisions.
Silviculture Prescriptions	Stand level plans. Describe operational activities and reforestation strategies for a cutblock. Legally binding until the stand is free growing. Must be consistent with the relevant forest development plan. Not required to be advertised for public review.
Logging Plans	Stand level plans. Describe the harvesting methods for a cutblock, and any measures that will be taken to protect forest resources during operations. Only required in very limited circumstances.
Stand Management Prescriptions	Stand level plans for "free growing stands." Required only if silviculture treatments, including spacing, pruning and fertilizing, are proposed.