Leslie Resource Consulting Forest Manager Outline 1. Introduction - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Co-operative watershed management Erik Leslie, RPF Leslie Resource Consulting Forest Manager

Outline 1. Introduction to HP Community Forest 2. Management objectives 3. Forest management approach 4. Market-based instruments 5. Opportunities and barriers 2

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The Harrop-Procter Forest  11,000 ha  Domestic watersheds  Sensitive terrain  100 year old forests  Douglas-fir, larch, pine, spruce-balsam, cedar/ hemlock  Very little logging on Crown land 5

The Harrop-Procter Community  Diverse rural population  Concerns about industrial clearcutting in watersheds  Advocated for local control since 1970’s  Many advocated for protected status  Strong-willed and persistent, organized, volunteer spirit

1980’s and 90’s: The ‘War in the Woods’

Harrop-Procter Community Co-op  Harrop-Procter Watershed Protection Society: successful CF application 1999  HPCC incorporated in 2000  Member-owned co-operative, board elected directly from community Board includes small business owners, accountant, ecologist, former tree planters, timber framer, carpenter, retired physiotherapist, beekeeper/ blueberry farmer, mechanic.

Forestry operations

Value-added (lumber) operations

BC Community Forest Program  Provincial pilot program initiated in 1998, recognition of need to diversify tenure system  88 communities expressed interest  Ten successful pilot applicants  Currently 58 communities involved in program  Range in size from 1,000 to 85,000 hectares  1.5% of provincial AAC  25 year replaceable forest tenure

2 . Management objectives

HPCC/ HPWPS objectives  Watershed protection  Protect water quality, quantity, timing of flow  Ecologically-based forest management  Maintain biodiversity and ecological integrity  Multiple use (not just timber)  Promote local employment  Model of progressive, alternative forest management approach

BBWMP objectives (2.1.4 and 2.4.4)  Lands are managed with source water protection as the highest priority  Integrated landscape management principles are applied to all land management decisions  Landscapes support healthy ecosystems with and abundance of economic, aesthetic and recreational opportunities  Land is conserved / managed for multiple uses with minimal impact on water — protect ecological integrity

Climate Change : Adaptive management  Ecosystems are dynamic  wildfire, insects, disease  Change is inevitable, rate of change will increase  Hotter, drier summers  More extreme disturbances  Evolving understanding of ecosystem ‘health’ and ‘ecological integrity’ objectives  Implementing objectives will require adaptive, flexible approach

3. Management approach  Ecosystem-based, precautionary  Comprehensive reserve network  Zoning for multiple uses  Site-sensitive logging, partial cutting

“Ecosystem - based” approach  Focus on ecological functions and integrity  Natural disturbance regimes, forest composition and structure  Landscape ecology, conservation biology  Precautionary principle — reserves, lower harvest level  Balanced activities, social/ community well-being

Reserve network  Multiple spatial scales  Landscape  Site/ stand  Sensitive sites  Soils  Terrain  Riparian  Old growth forests  Rare ecosystems  Caribou habitat 18

Zoning  Multiple forest uses  Recreation  NTFP harvest  Cultural areas  Connectivity corridors  Riparian zones  Wildland-urban interface zone  Landscape-level fuel breaks 19

Site-sensitive logging 20

4. Market-based instruments

FSC certification  Voluntary market branding  Integral to HPCC business plan  Forest Stewardship Council certified since 2003  Niche market  Logs  Lumber — added value  Price premium (5 – 10%)

Other market-based instruments  Carbon offsets  Pacific Carbon Trust —provincial ‘carbon neutral’ commitment  Voluntary carbon offsets market  Cap and trade would increase price / tonne CO2  Ecosystem services  If ‘public goods’ were monetized (e.g., water, fire protection, visual quality, wildlife habitat)

5. Opportunities and barriers

Barriers  Tenure system focused on timber  Log and lumber markets are very competitive and volatile  Limited market-based incentives for improved management for non-timber values  Poor economies of scale  Hard to access capital

Opportunities  Diverse, niche markets available  Small scale vertical integration can be efficient  Novel approaches possible, if flexible  People want to support sustainable, community-based enterprises

Erik Leslie, RPF Thank you! erikl@netidea.com office (250) 229-2221 www.hpcommunityforest.org 27