Silviculture prescriptions are the main operational plan at a forest stand level, required before any logging may take place. Anyone wanting to know specific details about how a cutblock will be logged must look to the silviculture prescription. Appendix 2 of the Guide contains a sample of a silviculture prescription template. 

Silviculture prescriptions illustrate, in detail, the operational activities and reforestation requirements of a specific cutblock where harvesting is proposed. According to the Silviculture Prescription Guidebook, the “general objective” of a silviculture prescription is:

To describe management objectives, measures, and conditions that must be met to accommodate forest resources, resource features and known non-timber resources, and to ensure that the inherent productivity of the site is maintained and that a free growing stand is produced.

Once approved, the commitments in silviculture prescriptions are legally binding. The prescription remains binding until the stand is deemed to be free growing. Under the Code, a free growing stand is defined as “a stand of healthy trees of a commercially valuable species, the growth of which is not impeded by competition from plants, shrubs or other trees.” This means that the legal responsibilities for a logged area continue well after the logging itself.

The practices and strategies laid out in silviculture prescriptions are required to comply with the approved forest development plan for that area.

Licensees are required to have an approved silviculture prescription for Category A cutblocks before a cutting permit can be granted. For Crown land that is harvested under the Small Business program, silviculture prescriptions are the responsibility of the Ministry of Forests.

The obligation to prepare and follow silviculture prescriptions is not new with the Forest Practices Code, but was introduced in the Forest Act in 1987. It increased the reforestation responsibilities of licensees, partially to address the claims among US timber producers that Crown licensees in BC benefited from unfair subsidies in the amount they paid government for public timber. Reforestation of areas logged prior to 1987 is largely the responsibility of government. Those areas that are not sufficiently restocked with "healthy, well-spaced trees of a commercially acceptable species" are referred to as backlog areas. They are also subject to silviculture prescriptions before any silvicultural treatments can be undertaken to achieve free growing status. Funding for these types of prescriptions generally comes from the government or, more recently, Forest Renewal BC. The information required for backlog prescriptions is generally the same as that in standard prescriptions, except in circumstances where trees will not be harvested under the silvicultural prescription and/or mechanical site preparation will not be used, in which case section 39(7) of the Operational Planning Regulation permits some information to be omitted.

If an area proposed for logging will not be reforested, or the amount of timber being removed does not justify silvicultural treatments, licensees may be exempt from silviculture prescriptions. Other conditions for exemption, as listed in section 30 of the Code, include the harvest of timber on land that is for grazing, experimental purposes, growing of Christmas trees, or any use that is incompatible with the establishment of a free growing stand. Emergency and minor salvage cutblocks are also exempt from silviculture prescriptions.

 

3.4.1 WHAT INFORMATION IS REQUIRED IN SILVICULTURE PRESCRIPTIONS

Silviculture prescriptions contain objectives and strategies for the management of a proposed cutblock, as well as ecological information, harvesting and reforestation information. As a result of 1998 changes to the Code, the focus of silviculture prescriptions is now more on describing the end results and site conditions that must be maintained after logging and replanting, rather than the operational strategies for achieving those conditions. Former requirements to provide details and descriptions of harvest methods and silviculture treatments have been deleted.

These changes are part of the government’s overall effort to have a "results-based" Code; to reduce the required amount of paper work; and, to increase its reliance on the professional foresters who must sign silviculture prescriptions. Critics of the changes are concerned that reduced information on operational strategies lessens the ability of government (and the public) to assess the likelihood of a prescription’s success and enforceability.

The detailed content requirements are set out in section 39 of the Operational Planning Regulation. Further details may be obtained from the Silvicultural Prescription Guidebook, updated in February 2000. Some of the highlights and objectives of silviculture prescriptions are discussed below.

Environmental and Ecological Information

Silviculture prescriptions contain ecological information intended to aid in establishing management objectives "to sustain forest and soil resources." This information includes site classification, identification of critical site factors (such as elevation, soil moisture and nutrient levels and site index), and a description of both existing and target stand structure (stand structure refers to the species composition, age class and density of a stand). Site classification, often referred to as stratification, divides a cutblock into management or standards units based on ecological factors. Each unit may have separate management objectives and practices. For example, a cutblock could be divided into two units, one drier than the other. The prescription may in turn specify that any harvesting on the wetter portion of the cutblock must be done using low ground pressure equipment to minimize soil degradation, while standard equipment is appropriate on the drier portion. Site classification is based on the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification system, a guide to which is available for each of the six regions of the province (Prince George, Prince Rupert, Kamloops, Nelson, Cariboo and Vancouver).

Management Objectives

In addition to ecological information, a silviculture prescription specifies certain objectives and strategies for achieving these objectives. The issues addressed by these objectives are discussed below.

Wildlife

A silviculture prescription must note known wildlife habitat areas and describe what site conditions must exist after harvesting in order to accommodate forest resources identified in the forest development plan, higher level plans, and other known non-timber forest resources. For example, the prescription must also identify any wildlife tree patches that will be left standing.

Forest health

A full assessment of forest health may, in some cases, be completed in conjunction with forest development plans. If an assessment has not already been completed, district managers may require that a pest incidence survey be carried out.

Soil conservation

Silviculture prescriptions must indicate the maximum proportion of the area that will have soil disturbance, and the extent to which that maximum amount may be temporarily exceeded to construct temporary access structures. Soil conservation is critical to ensure a site will be capable of sustaining future growth. When a stand is harvested, a certain portion of the area loses its productivity as a result of roads, landings and trails. As stated in the Silviculture Prescription Guidebook, the extent of this area should be minimized through planning and rehabilitation.

Visual quality

A site-specific visual impact assessment is required if the cutblock is within a known scenic area. The visual impact assessment must demonstrate "that the timber harvesting operations are consistent with the established visual quality objectives for that area." Visual quality objectives may be established by the district manager or contained in a higher level plan. Among other things, a silviculture prescription must contain a statement that the visual impact assessment was carried out, and that the silviculture prescription is consistent with any results or recommendations in the assessment.

Recreation

Where recreation resources or recreation features ("biophysical, physical, cultural or historic features that have recreational significance or value") are set out in a forest development plan or applicable higher level plan, a silviculture prescription must describe the post-harvest conditions that must exist to accommodate them.

Cultural Heritage Resources

Silviculture prescriptions must make note of any archaeological sites and describe any actions being taken to accommodate them. A full assessment must be completed if a district manager determines one is necessary to "adequately manage and conserve archaeological sites in the area"(such an assessment is not considered to be part of the silviculture prescription itself). By policy, prescriptions are also required to "be consistent with any First Nations agreements or approved plans [for the area]." See the Silviculture Prescription Guidebook for more information.

Range

The Forest Development Plan Guidebook provides that range tenures should be identified in forest development plans, as should measures to avoid or mitigate effects on livestock management. Silviculture prescriptions are required to describe what site conditions must exist after harvesting in order to accommodate certain range resources and range improvements, and to indicate if livestock grazing is proposed to be carried out as a vegetation management treatment on the area under the prescription.

Riparian areas

Silviculture prescriptions must describe and classify all streams, wetlands and lakes. The classification system for riparian management areas is set out in sections 59-64 of the Operational Planning Regulation. For the purposes of stream classification, the Operational Planning Regulation defines a stream as:

… any reach, flowing on a perennial or seasonal basis having a continuous channel bed, whether or not the bed or banks … are locally obscured …, if the channel bed is (a) scoured by water, or (b) contains observable deposits of mineral alluvium.

Fish streams are defined as streams that are frequented by fish, or have a slope gradient of less than twenty percent, unless:

• a fish inventory shows no fish; or
• the stream is above a known barrier to fish (as shown on a fish and fish habitat inventory map);
• all stream reaches upstream of the barrier are simultaneously dry at any time of the year; and,
• no perennial fish habitat exists upstream of barrier.

Management objectives for riparian areas are identified in forest development plans. In a silviculture prescription, these objectives are applied to specific streams and wetlands within, or adjacent to, the cutblock. The prescription must specify, for each stream and wetland, the riparian class, the reserve and management zones, and the forest operations proposed for those zones. Under the Code, there are six classifications for streams; these are discussed in Part 3.3.6 of this Guide. Stream class is based on the width of the stream, whether or not the stream has been proven to contain any fish, and whether or not the stream lies within a designated community watershed.

Harvesting and Reforestation Information

Silviculture prescriptions must describe the proposed silviculture system for a cutblock, indicating whether it will be clearcut or partially cut. The actual harvesting system to be used is no longer required information, although the forest development plan will specify whether a block is to logged by cable, aerial or ground-based methods. Where the method is other than cable or aerial, silviculture prescriptions must specify the hazards for compaction, erosion and displacement of the soil. These decisions are based in part on both the ecological information noted earlier in the prescription and any geographical constraints.

Reforestation objectives and strategies form a significant component of any silviculture prescription. Reforestation is directed in part by the target stand structure, which is in turn a reflection of the intended future use of the stand. Reforestation objectives, however, are directed primarily by site-specific ecological conditions and regional stocking standards. Stocking standards indicate, for each type of ecosystem within a region, which tree species are ecologically suitable, and to what densities they should be grown. The standards are based on the natural occurrence of a particular species in an area; they generally restrict reforestation to species that are native to a site. Preferred species are those which are the most ecologically suited to the site, while acceptable species are those which may not traditionally have dominated the site but are nonetheless capable of growing under such conditions. Reforestation standards and objectives may vary for each standards unit of a cutblock. For example, the preferred species for a dry unit may include Douglas fir, while for a wetter unit the prescription could specify a higher component of species such as spruce. Both the Silviculture Surveys Guidebook and the Establishment to Free Growing Guidebook (available for each of the six regions of the province) give more detailed information regarding stocking standards and reforestation requirements.

Under the terms of a silviculture prescription, a licensee’s legal obligation for a cutblock does not end until that block has been declared free growing. The prescription specifies a time frame within which a cutblock must achieve free growing status. Free growing is defined as "a stand of healthy trees of a commercially valuable species, the growth of which is not impeded by competition from plants, shrubs or other trees." To achieve free growing status on a cutblock, licensees are required to "create the post harvest stand structure and site conditions specified in the prescription." This includes meeting specific stocking standards, densities and health conditions. Any treatments necessary to fulfill these obligations are the responsibility of the licensee. Such practices may include brushing, spacing, pruning or treatments to reduce pest infestations or disease. Section 70(4) of the Code lists all of the specific requirements that must be met in order to achieve free growing status.

Until an area has been declared free growing, adjacent cutblocks are not permitted to be clearcut. This may, in some cases, impede licensees from achieving the objectives set out in longer term harvest planning exercises (for example, cutblocks previously considered to be eligible for harvest may be delayed as a result of adjacency constraints). As such, there is significant incentive to reach free growing status as quickly as possible so that the harvest of adjacent areas is not restricted. By prescribing partial cutting systems in both forest development plans and silviculture prescriptions, adjacency issues can be avoided, as partial cuts are not currently subject to adjacency constraints. Some licensees, in an effort to ensure blocks will reach free growing status as quickly as possible, have turned to the use of larger growing stock (often genetically "improved"), and may favour the planting of hardier species.

Mapping and Assessments

A map of the cutblock area is an important component of a silviculture prescription. Maps should be at a scale large enough to clearly illustrate all of the features and values referred to in the prescription. They must delineate the standards units within a cutblock and illustrate both the ecological conditions and the proposed harvesting method for each unit.

The assessments listed below must be carried out by licensees preparing silviculture prescriptions. They do not have to be submitted to district managers; however, they must be made available upon request. There is no provision requiring that they be made available to the public. District managers may, however, require a licensee to provide assessments to the public if making an order that the prescription be made available for review and comment (see public input discussion in Part 3.4.3). Otherwise, where the assessments are in the possession of a government agency, for example, if the district manager has requested the assessments, they constitute information that the public would have access to under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act.

Assessments that are required for the preparation of silviculture prescriptions are summarized in the following table. Silviculture prescriptions must be consistent with the results and recommendations of these assessments; however, they are not considered to be part of the prescription.

 

SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED FOR SILVICULTURE PRESCRIPTIONS

Type of Assessment	Where Assessment Required	Authority
Gully Assessment	This assessment is applicable only on the Coast in areas where timber will be harvested from a gully.	Operational Planning Regulation section 37(1)(c)
Terrain Stability Assessment	Required if: • the area has been identified as having a moderate likelihood of landslides or potentially unstable terrain or; • indicators of potential slope instability are noted or; • the district manager deems it is necessary; or, • the area is subject to joint approval and no assessment was completed with the forest development plan because the area is being harvested as major expedited salvage or emergency. Areas with moderate likelihood of landslides are exempt if they are in the interior, harvested using cable or aerial systems and do not have any bladed or excavated trails.	Operational Planning Regulation section 37(1)(b)
Visual Impact Assessment	Required if harvesting will occur in a known scenic area.	Operational Planning Regulation section 37(1)(a)
Archaeological Impact Assessment	Required if the district manager determines it is necessary to adequately manage and conserve archaeological sites in the area.	Operational Planning Regulation section 37(1)(e)
Riparian Assessment	Required to determine the riparian class of all streams, wetlands and lakes in or adjacent to the cutblock, as well as to identify fish streams in community watersheds.	Operational Planning Regulation section 37(1)(f)
Pest Incidence Survey	Required to determine the nature and extent of forest health factors on the cutblock.	Operational Planning Regulation section 37(1)(d)

For further information on riparian assessments and terrain stability assessments, please refer to the discussion in Part 3.3.6 under forest development plans. The general intent of assessments required only at the silviculture prescription stage is summarized below.

Gully Assessments

Gully assessments are required on the Coast in areas where harvesting is proposed in a gully. They are intended to identify areas where there is potential for hazards such as debris flooding and debris flow, and to propose management strategies to minimize the risk for such hazards. A gully is defined in the Operational Planning Regulation as an area containing a stream where the overall stream gradient is at least 25%, and a reach of that stream, greater than 100m long, has:

• a sidewall greater than three metres;
• a side slope greater than 50%; and,
• a stream channel gradient greater than 20%.

Gully assessments, as described in the Gully Assessment Procedure Guidebook, consist of three stages. The first stage involves responding to a series of questions in seven categories, each related to a different risk factor. The categories are:

• identification of the gully;
• downstream impact potential;
• upstream impact potential;
• water transport potential;
• fan destabilization potential;
• post logging conditions; and,
• debris flow initiation potential.

In the second stage, the severity of potential problems is ranked based on the response to questions in the first stage. The final stage of an assessment involves the establishment of management objectives and strategies to meet those objectives in a range of situations.

Visual Impact Assessments

Visual impact assessments are conducted in order to "estimate the potential visual impact of proposed operations on scenic landscapes." They are completed in areas that have known scenic values, the majority of which have previously been assigned a rating in each of four categories: visual sensitivity, visual absorption capacity, existing visual quality, and visual quality objectives. These ratings limit the allowable impact of development in an area.

The completion of a visual impact assessment involves the establishment of site lines from key viewpoints to the proposed cutblock to determine how much of the proposed operation will be visible. Proposed developments can then be modified, through the use of applications such as photo manipulation or computer modeling, to determine the impacts of various approaches and enable planners to select the most suitable design. Once completed, visual impact assessments are used to evaluate "whether or not the [proposed] development will enable the visual quality objectives to be met."

For further information, consult the Visual Impact Assessment Guidebook, and the discussion on scenic areas in Part 4.2.10 of this Guide.

Archaeological Impact Assessments

Archeological impact assessments are completed, when required by a district manager, in areas where proposed developments may impact archaeological sites. The objectives of an assessment, according to the Forest Development Plan Guidebook, are to identify and evaluate archeological resources within the work area, to identify and assess all impacts on archeological resources that might result from the work; and, to recommend alternatives for managing unavoidable adverse impacts.

Archaeological sites are not defined in the Operational Planning Regulation; however, a working definition is set out in a protocol agreement between the Ministry of Forests and the Archaeology Branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Small Business and Culture. It states that an archaeological site is any location that contains physical evidence of past human activity. Examples of archaeological sites include shell midden deposits, burial sites, pictographs and petroglyphs, and creek mouth and intertidal zone boulder fish trap structures.

For further information, consult the Archaeological Impact Assessment Guidelines (Heritage Conservation Branch, 1989) and the Forest Development Plan Guidebook.

Pest Incidence Surveys

Pest incidence surveys are performed at a stand level, "if required by the district manager," in order to determine the nature and extent of forest health factors such as pest infestations and disease. Surveys should clearly illustrate "the types and severity of damaging agents present" as well as a description of the stand and the impact of the infestation (Forest Health Surveys Guidebook). A completed pest incidence survey must also include:

• the number of infected hectares;
• the infected areas as a percentage of the entire block;
• for partial cuts, the percentage of trees damaged by each forest health factor; and,
• a map showing the locations of infected areas.

The sampling techniques (e.g. larval surveys, pheromone baiting) used for pest incidence surveys will depend on several factors, including the pest species, developmental stage (e.g. larval or adult) and the desired result. The results of pest incidence surveys can be used to develop strategies for pest management. Potential management strategies for each of the different pests and diseases commonly found in British Columbia are detailed in a series of guidebooks concerning forest health (see, for example, the Bark Beetle Management in BC Guidebook).

Where Assessments are Not Required

The above assessments are not required for emergency harvesting operations, unless the district manager requests in writing that a terrain stability field assessment be carried out.

For minor salvage operations or expedited major salvage operations, a visual impact assessment is not required unless requested by the district manager in writing.

3.4.2 APPROVAL OF SILVICULTURE PRESCRIPTIONS

Silviculture prescriptions are subject to the same approval criteria as forest development plans, set out in section 4(1)(a) and (b) of the Code:

• the plan or amendment was prepared and submitted in accordance with the Code, the regulations and the standards; and,
• the district manager (and designated environment official for joint approval areas) is satisfied that the plan or amendment will adequately manage and conserve the forest resources of the area to which it applies.

The 1997 Code amendment requiring that the district manager also be satisfied that the plan or amendment adequately addresses the government’s economic objectives for the area, including any economic direction for forest resources provided in a higher level plan, is not yet in force.

 

3.4.3 OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC INPUT

Silviculture prescriptions contain information which is often important to public concerns about particular areas, and which is not available elsewhere. Silviculture prescriptions are now the only plans which contain stand level operational details concerning how a licensee intends to log a site (for example, what trees will be retained in riparian management areas, or in special management zones where wildlife habitat values are to be maintained). The opportunities for formal public review and comment on silviculture prescriptions are limited.

Prior to the Forest Practices Code, silviculture prescriptions were required to be advertised and made available for review and comment under the Silviculture Regulation. When the Code was introduced, these requirements were removed, and became requirements for forest development plans instead.

With the 1998 changes to the Code, many assessments which are important to the public, such as riparian, visual impact, archaeological and terrain stability assessments, were removed from the content requirements of forest development plans. They are required to be carried out at the silviculture prescription stage instead, which is a more appropriate scale for some assessments. However, this change could mean that these important issues are no longer available for public review and comment.

Section 47 of the Operational Planning Regulation authorizes district managers to give written notice to licensees requiring them to make silviculture prescriptions, and the assessments on which they are to be based, available for review and comment. There are no predetermined time periods, such as the usual sixty day period, as these details are left to the notice itself.

In most instances, cooperative licensees seeking rapport with the public will make silviculture prescriptions available for viewing regardless of there being no legal requirement to do so.

For discussion on the Ministry of Forests’ policy on consultation with First Nations, please refer to Part 3.3.8 above.

For Further Reference

Legislation: Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act. ss.12, 22, 23, 30, 31, 36, 39-43.

Regulations: Operational Planning Regulation. BC Reg. 107/98, ss.2, 37-47, 59-64, 68.

Silviculture Practices Regulation. BC Reg. 109/98, ss.11,12, 23-27.

Guidebooks: Silviculture Prescription Guidebook. February 2000.

Establishment to Free Growing Guidebook (one for each forest region). May 2000.

Silviculture Surveys Guidebook. December 1995.

Riparian Management Area Guidebook. December 1995.

11/19/03