2018 Conference and AGM
May 24–26, 2018 Burns Lake, BC
The 14th annual event, hosted by the Burns Lake, Chinook and Cheslatta Community Forests brought together representatives from thirty community forests, First Nations, elected officials, the provincial government, forest professionals, researchers and students. The over capacity crowd brought some challenges, but the hosts drew upon local resources and made everyone welcome and comfortable.
CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
Day 1 began with a presentation from the three host communities on the background and story of their licences. With the days of the huge beetle kill salvage coming to an end, we heard about the strategies to manage for a long term sustainable harvest and for ecosystem restoration. We headed out to the Kager Lake Recreation Area and the site of the Burns Lake Community Forest partial harvest and hazard mitigation project. We also went to the Chinook Community Forest to see what the land looks like when there is less than 5 tons per hectare remaining as a fire mitigation target. Let’s just say there was hardly a stick in sight.
On Day 2 we heard from Ministry of Forests, Lands Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (MFLNRORD) staff on current initiatives including the 2017 Flood and Fire Review Report recently released. Kevin Kriese, ADM Regional Operations North, spoke to the new, modernized approach to Land Use Plans (LUP). The new approach will be specific and consider the particular issue that needs to be solved or what needs to be reflected differently in current LUPs. The new approach must also consider the changing dynamics of a changing climate, be data driven and include accumulative assessments. Processes will be co-designed with First Nations.
MFLNRORD Minister Doug Donaldson was the keynote speaker for Friday’s lunch, where he announced the Lower North Thompson Community Forest Society as the recipient 2018 Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry. He also met with the BCCFA Board of Directors and Executive Director to discuss the next steps to move ahead on the BCCFA WUI Expansion Concept and agreed to further work exploring the costs and benefits of expansion.
Representatives from the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation (MIRR) , spoke about the new collaborative and innovative tone in the ministry and how Minister Scott Fraser has directed the staff to be open and to have discussions that were not previously on the table. Linda Robertson explained that MIRR is seeking to move beyond legalistic approaches, focusing on transactions such as compensation for rights and title. The focus is on shared values and relationships that foster self-determination for First Nation Peoples and that we all can work to build relationships outside project transactions.
Casey Macauley, RPF concluded his presentation with the reflection, “People have long memories”. Important to keep in mind when entering the community with a resource extraction proposal: Where does your social license come from as a forester? Is it the AAC? Or is it the community and its presence and their need for support?”
The final session on day 3 of the conference was about fire. Brian McNaughton shared the very emotional experience and feelings of helplessness as an evacuee from the Williams Lake fires, and the deep impact on people (youth in particular). From under his RPF hat, he said that it is “time to rethink our management paradigm. Get deciduous trees back in the forests!”
Lori Daniels cautioned us, “Do not let the fires of 2017 be another wake up call. BC’s forests and communities are not resilient to wildfires and climate change. Transformative change is urgently needed.”
Bruce Blackwell stressed the importance of fuel management and said that, “The main wildfire objective of fuel management strategies is to shift stands from a high crown fire potential to low surface fire potential. ” In other words bringing the fire to the ground, helps to control the fire and make a situation where fire fighters can actually attack.
Stephan Martineau introduced the risk management approach they are using in the Slocan Valley fuel treatments. They asked: Were there some areas that burned more frequently? Were there fire movement paths in the landscape? They turned to fire behaviour modelling and have identified a landscape level plan for fuel mitigation that includes prescribed burns.
One conference participant commented about his experience, “Thank you very much for organizing and delivering last week’s event. I have never enjoyed one quite so much, nor found the content so useful, nor the friendships and contacts that developed from it so worthwhile.” Another said, “The conference was excellent, very relevant to what we are doing, and well organized and put together. Congrats on a job well done. I enjoyed networking and met a lot of interesting people. The presentations were all very good, I took a ton of notes. I noticed that in some presentations, you could hear a pin drop, everyone was paying such close attention!
We would like to thank the sponsors and all host volunteers for making the 2018 event so spectacular. The 2019 BCCFA Conference and AGM will be held in Mission in June, hosted by the Mission Municipal Forest.
PHOTOS
Conference Presentations
Host Communities Field Trip Day
Burns Lake Community Forest
“BLCF was initiated in 2000, same year MPB epidemic exploded. Entire history has been reactive, first MPB control, then salvage. To a great degree, MPB has been ‘in charge’ of BLCF management. All that BLCF and ministry staff have known is reacting to MPB. MPB salvage program will end in the next few years. Board recognizes this as a major turning point in history of BLCF. The nature of the turning point can be described as: BLCF has been managed as if it were part of the Lakes TSA. This was OK while we reacted to MPB epidemic. Problem is we had to forego advantages of area-based tenure. Going forward, BLCF and ministry staff must think and act in ways that unlock potential of area-based tenure. Need to implement a new vision and objectives to create change.”
Chinook Community Forest
The Chinook Community Forest has an AAC of 150,000 cubic meters per year for the first three years. The AAC drops to 63,000 cubic meters per year for the last two years of the five-year cut. In 2021 they will perform an AAC calculation to determine its long-term AAC.
Using Lidar To Evaluate Old-Growth Attributes in OGMAs
Research Question: Are OGMAs in the Chinook Community Forest retaining old-growth attributes?
Session 1 – Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (MFLNRORD) Engagement Reports and New Priorities
“What I saw yesterday during the field trip was a forest community being innovative. I saw partnerships with Industry making use of the resource in a manner not commonly seen across the province. I saw improbable utilization…some piles didn’t look like they’d make firewood. And most importantly, I saw partnerships with First Nations…strengthening the common interests in practicing good forest stewardship…and sharing in the benefits of what the community forests can offer.”
Report on the 2017 Flood & Fire Review
“Eight CFAs were impacted by wildfire last year, totaling 25 000 ha which is an awful lot of hectares to burn in the CFA context. There is funding out there! Think, rehab and wildfire restoration projects.” Chief Maureen Chapman and George Abbott’s recently released report, “Addressing the New Normal: 21st Century Disaster Management in British Columbia” includes 108 recommendations.
Rural Development Review
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Marc Imus, MFLNRORD Regional Economic Operations Branch Kamloops, Director, Southern Interior Region
Following the Rural Engagement process, the “What We Heard” report will be released Spring 2018. “We see so much potential for Community Forests.”
Modernized Land Use Planning and Managing for Multiple Values
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Kevin Kriese, ADM Regional Operations, North Area, MFLNRORD (No PowerPoint)
Kevin spoke to the new, modernized approach to Land Use Plans (LUP). The new approach will be specific and consider the issue that needs to be solved or what needs to be reflected differently in current LUPs. The new approach must also consider the changing dynamics of a changing climate, be data driven and include accumulative assessments. Processes will be co-designed with First Nations. “LUP is often a call for a conversation.”
Session 2 – BCCFA Major Projects Update
The Year in Review
“There is a need for a stronger role for CFAs in land stewardship and management. 2017 has shown the important role of community forests in mitigating natural disasters. CFAs might be the “best tools we have in the toolbox” to address these issues because we put Indigenous peoples and wildfire management in the focus.”
“Building Relationships and Cultivating Social Licence—A Guide for Small Tenure Holders In BC”
BCCFA’s new extension guide was developed for managers of small tenures in BC. Building social licence is a continuum. It’s a range of engagement strategies, supplements to legal requirements for license of small tenure holders. We observed: “providing busses for seniors in communities are not enough to build social licence. These activities are transactional. Social license needs more. It’s about building strong relationships.”
Session 3 – Land Based Investments Panel
Overview of land based investment funds and objectives
“New provincial Forest Carbon Initiative – BC has greenhouse gas reduction targets and forestry needs to play a role in this reduction. Funding is available through FESBC for activities incremental to regular business. Projects must meet costs per ton targets and be verified to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Site Restoration and Reforestation
“Because we can only address a percentage of what is required, we need to prioritize. The tools are better today, which can help us to do an assessment to determine what type of stands we should be treating. Where is the economic opportunity, and what are we going to be left with when there is no longer value in a stand to treat them? Where are the stands that we need to treat, what is economically feasible to harvest, and where are the stands that are not feasible to harvest, and how will those serve other non-timber values in the future?”
Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC)
“FESBC is a relatively new society: reducing GHGs, reducing wildfire risk, improving habitat are key goals. We are also advocates for good stewardship on the land base. Staff role: We are technical advisors, as well as your sales people. If you convince us, we convince our board for you. Finite funding: Treatment, more so than planning is our focus. Carbon projects have priority for next 4-5 years. Applicants must demonstrate social license in your application.”
Session 4 – Indigenous Relations and Building Social License
“We must move beyond the legalistic approaches with First Nations, focusing on transactions such as compensation for rights and title. Focus should be on shared values and relationships that foster self-determination. We must build relationships outside project transactions, and work across sectors (industry, government, community) to achieve this. CFAs are all about partnerships and values. They lead this call for innovative types of partnerships.”
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Lisa Ambus, Project Leader, North Region Negotiating Team, Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation (No PowerPoint)
“It is good to hear that 50 percent of CFAs are held by FNs or have at least collaboration. But in terms of where we have come from, there is a significant gap. The CFA is an opportunity to put core principles of reconciliation into action. What can you bring to this? What can you be doing to advance reconciliation with FNs? Every CFA should engage with those questions.”
Unlocking your Social Licence – Improving How We Engage
“Where does trust come from? Trust is between people first. If people trust you, they may or may not choose to trust your organization too. Agreements are made by people and people have long memories. You can do everything legally correctly and still fail to gain trust. The effort to regain trust is far more difficult than establishing it in the first place.”
Session 5 Wildfire – Science, Risks and Management Panel
“We must better govern our use of fire, and work on fire mitigation. We must increase forest health and rethink our management paradigm. We need to get deciduous trees back in the forests!” Brian shared his first-hand experience as an evacuee from the 2017 fires in the Cariboo.
Community Wildfire Prevention Summary Report May 2018
Wildfires of 2017 cannot be another “wake-up call”. BC’s forests and communities are not resilient to wildfire and climate change. Transformative change is urgently needed. Surface fires + fire exclusion + fuel buildup = reduced resilience. State of emergency is the new reality. BUT these events are not beyond our control. We can effectively engage in fuel management. “We need to manage fuels as a form of adaptation.”
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Stephan Martineau, Manager of SIFCo – the Slocan Integral Forestry Co-Op, in the Slocan Valley. Part 1 Part 2
“Maps have a great function for public buy-in. Map fire risk and proximity to individual homes to raise awareness.”
Of the top 20 BC communities at risk from wildfire, 13 have community forests. “Fuel is the only thing we can affect when it comes to fire. If we don’t start doing prescribed fires, we will have no chance to come to terms with the new hazards around wildfire. Landscape level fuel breaks installation and prescribed burning will help to shift from high crown fires to low stand-level fires— should be the priority system. We can no longer attack the head of the fire in BC”.