Administrative Review

A BC government review of certain types of legal determinations. It can lead to confirmation, cancellation or variation of the determination, or to a new determination.

Adversely Affected Person

A person, company or party that the Forest Practices Board believes could be significantly and directly adversely affected by an analyst’s review, or by a proposed Board report. A significant effect could, for example, be economic or related to employment or reputation.

Alien Plant

Plant species that have established outside their natural distribution.

Animal-Unit Month

The unit by which forage or grazing capacity is measured. The amount of dry forage required by one animal unit for one month is 450 kilograms of forage per month per cow aged 6 months or older.

Areas Requiring Improvement

Areas requiring improvement are identified practices that are in non-compliance with legislation but are not considered significant. In certain cases, the Board may wish to highlight the practice as requiring improvement, but is not likely to make a recommendation.

These items could include:

• a non-compliant forest or range activity, or activities, that does not meet the test of significance, but is considered a poor practice, and should not be repeated by the auditee.
• For example, where the auditee has constructed 30 kilometres of new road during the audit period, of which 28 kilometres are constructed well, but on a 2-kilometre section, there are 4 crossings that did not maintain the natural surface drainage patterns and were not removed at the end of construction or prior to spring freshet – contrary to legislation. While minimal harm may have occurred, this practice should not be repeated; therefore, this could be considered an area requiring improvement.
• For example, where the auditee does not conduct formal fire hazard assessments but does abate the fire hazard. Even though the fire hazard is being abated, without a formal fire hazard assessment, the auditee cannot demonstrate that it has been diligent in assessing the hazard, which is a non-compliance with legislation. This non-compliance is considered not significant since fire hazards are being abated in an effective and timely manner. As a result, this could be considered an area requiring improvement.

Bare Ground

All land surface not covered by vegetation, rock, or litter.

Basic Silvicultural Practices

Consists of: maintenance of the productivity of forest sites; restocking of denuded forest lands with commercial tree species within three years for areas west of the Coast Range and five years for areas in the Interior; and protection against damage by fire, insects and diseases to predetermined standards.

BC Timber Sales Program (BCTS)

An independent organization within the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, created to develop Crown timber for auction. BCTS was founded in 2003 with a mandate to provide the cost and price benchmarks for timber harvested from public land in British Columbia. Through 12 Business Areas and an operational presence in 33 locations, BCTS manages some 20 percent of the provincial Crown allowable annual cut.

Biodiversity (Biological Diversity)

The diversity of plants, animals, and other living organisms in all their forms and levels of organization, including genes, species, ecosystems, and the evolutionary and functional processes that link them.

Biogeoclimatic Unit

Part of the biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification system. Recognized biogeoclimactic units are a synthesis of climate, vegetation and soil data and are defined as “classes of geographically related ecosystems that are distributed within a vegetationally inferred climatic space.”

Biological Control

The use of living organisms, such as predators, parasitoids and pathogens, to control invasive plants.

Blue List Species

Species of special concern (formerly called “vulnerable”) in British Columbia. These species are not immediately threatened, but are of concern because of characteristics that make them particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events.

Broadcast Burning

A controlled burn, where the fire is intentionally ignited and allowed to proceed over a cutblock within well‐defined boundaries, for the purpose of reducing fuel hazard after logging, or for site preparation before planting.

Browse Utilization

Is a measurement of the amount of the current year’s annual growth that has been consumed by livestock. By regulation, the Forest and Range Practices Act sets the maximum browse utilization by livestock at 25%, with the intent of providing sufficient browse for wildlife and also to ensure plant vigour during critical periods.  The district manager may choose to set browse utilization standards that are lower than prescribed by regulation.

Cable Harvesting

A yarding method (the hauling/collecting of felled timber for storage) using cables, winches and grapples.

Canopy Cover

The percentage of ground covered by a vertical projection of the outermost perimeter of the natural spread of foliage of plants. Small openings within the canopy are included, and coverage may exceed 100 percent.

Channel Bed

The bottom of the stream below the usual water surface. Beds contain sediments deposited by moving water, such as rocks, sand, gravel and sediment.

Clean Opinion

A Forest Practices Board conclusion arrived at when all forestry activities subject to audit are in compliance with legislation in all significant respects. The statement “in all significant respects” recognizes that there may be minor, or insignificant, instances of non-compliance.

Clearcutting

The process of removing all trees in a stand, large and small, in one cutting operation.

Climate Change

An alteration within the climate system that departs significantly from previous average conditions and is seen to endure, bringing about corresponding changes in ecosystems and socio-economic activity.

Complaint

A matter brought to the Forest Practices Board’s attention by virtue of formal written complaint. It includes information specified in the “Notice of Complaint.”

Concern

A matter brought to the Board’s attention, but not filed as a formal complaint.

Contacts

All written and oral dealings with the Forest Practices Board by the public, related to a forest matter or the Board’s complaint process.

Cross Ditch

A ditch excavated across the road at an angle and at a sufficient depth, with armouring as appropriate, to divert both road surface water and ditch water off or across the road.

Crown Land

Land that is owned by the government of Canada or the province of British Columbia.

Cultural Control

An invasive plant management practice that manipulates plant populations by cultivation, pulling, cutting, or other hand‐applied techniques.

Culvert

A culvert is one or more pipes, pipe arches, or structures below the road surface, used to let water flow from one side of the road to the other

Cutslope

The face of an excavated bank required to lower the natural ground line to the desired road profile.

Desired Plant Community

A plant community that produces the kind, proportion and amount of vegetation necessary for meeting or exceeding the land use plan or activity objectives established for an ecological site.

Dispersal

The scattering of plant seeds or movement of an animal to a new habitat.

Domestic Water Intake

A domestic water intake is the point at which water is diverted from a stream for domestic purposes (e.g. human consumption, food preparation or sanitation and household purposes).

Ecosystem

Organisms together with their physical environment, forming an interacting system, inhabiting an identifiable space.

Endangered Species

Any indigenous species, or sub‐species, threatened with imminent extinction throughout all, or most of its range.

Ephemeral Drainage

An area of land where water drains away for brief, transient periods following an influx of moisture such as from localized snowmelt or heavy precipitation.

Eradication

Elimination of every individual plant of an invasive plant population, including all viable seeds, and vegetative propagules.

Exclosure

An area fenced to exclude animals.

Fire Hazard

A hazard based on physical fuel characteristics, such as fuel arrangement, fuel load, condition of herbaceous vegetation, and presence of elevated fuels.

Fish-Bearing

Lakes, streams, and ponds that have resident fish populations.

Fluvial

Pertaining to, or produced by, the action of a stream or river.

Forage Utilization

The proportion of current year’s forage or browse production that is consumed by grazing animals.

Forest and Ranges Practices Act (FRPA)

The Forest and Range Practices Act and its regulations govern the activities of forest and range licensees in BC.  Replaced the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act.

Forest Fuels

Forest fuels are biomass material found naturally in all forest environments which are flammable and can contribute to the intensity or progress of a fire. Flammability of forest varies greatly from material to material and is also influenced by environmental factors such as moisture content, compactness or shape.

Forest Renewal

Renewal of a tree crop by either natural or artificial means.

Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP)

A key planning element in the Forest and Range Practices Act framework and the only plan subject to public review and comment and government approval. In FSPs licensees are required to identify results and/or strategies consistent with government objectives for values such as water, wildlife and soils. These results and strategies must be measurable and once approved are subject to government enforcement. FSPs identify areas within which road construction and harvesting will occur but are not required to show the specific locations of future roads and cutblocks. FSPs can have a term of up to five years.

Free-Growing Stand

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.

Fuel Management

The planned manipulation and/or reduction of living or dead forest fuels for forest management and other land use objectives (such as hazard reduction, silvicultural purposes, wildlife habitat improvement) by prescribed fire, mechanical, chemical or biological means and/or changing stand structure and species composition.

Geotextile Filter Fabric

A synthetic material placed on the flat, under road fill, with the primary functions of layer separation, aggregate confinement, and distribution of load.

Gully

A channel or miniature valley cut by concentrated, non-continuous runoff such as during snowmelt or following heavy rains.

Habitat Enhancement

Any manipulation of habitat that improves its value and ability to meet specified requirements of one or more species.

Harvest Schedule

Helicopter Harvesting

An aerial harvesting system whereby logs are removed vertically from the forest and flown to a roadside landing or drop zone.

Herbicide

A chemical that kills or regulates growth of plant species or groups of species.

Highgrading

A partial harvest removing only the most valuable tree species, or trees of desirable size and quality, without regard for the condition of the residual stand.

Hydrologic Recovery

Hydrologic recovery is the process by which the hydrologic characteristics of a watershed that has been subject to harvesting are restored to near pre-harvest condition by forest regeneration.

In-Growth

In-growth is the process whereby previously open forests become denser and treed grasslands become more densely covered with young trees.

Incursion

An activity, such as harvesting or road construction, that removes trees in an old-growth management area.

Invasion

The arrival of an organism in an area where it was not formerly represented.

Jurisdiction

The Forest Practices Board’s authority to investigate. To be within the Board’s jurisdiction, the matter complained of must have happened after June 15, 1995, and concern a party’s compliance with the requirements of Parts 2 to 5 of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the regulations, the appropriateness of government enforcement under Part 6, compliance with Parts 2 and 3 of the Wildfire Act, and the appropriateness of government enforcement under Part 3.

Land And Resource Management Plan (LRMP)

A strategic, multi-agency, integrated resource plan at the sub-regional level. It is based on the principles of enhanced public involvement, consideration of all resource values, consensus-based decision making, and resource sustainability.

Landform

A distinct topographic feature, is three-dimensional in form, and is generally defined by ridges, valleys, shorelines, and skylines. Landform examples include hills and mountains.

The forest legislation uses the term landscape in its definitions of visual alterations. However, human perception studies show that the people tend to assess visual disturbance on landforms rather than landscapes. Hence, visual impact assessments are carried out on landforms, not landscapes.

Landscape Unit

Planning area delineated on the basis of topographic or geographic features. Typically they cover a watershed or series of watersheds, and range in size from 5,000 to 400,000 hectares.

Leave Strip

see riparian leave strip.

Local Resource Use Plan (LRUP)

A plan approved by the district manager for a portion of the provincial forest that provides area-specific resource management objectives for integrating resource use in the area.

Management Direction and Control

Where management asserts its authority to ensure those elements of an organization (including its resources, systems, processes, culture, structures and tasks) support people in the achievement of the organization’s objectives.

Management Zone

The outer portion of a riparian management area situated adjacent to a stream, lake, or wetland and established to conserve and maintain the productivity of aquatic and riparian ecosystems when harvesting is permitted.

Maximum Density

The maximum allowable stand density above which stands must be spaced to a target density of well-spaced acceptable stems to achieve free-growing status.

Measures

Under the Forest and Range Practices Act, a forest licensees’ operational plan must include measures to deal with natural range barriers and invasive plants. The measures are documented actions a forest licensee commits to carrying-out if their forestry operations are likely to impact natural range barriers or result in the introduction or spread of invasive plants.

Mechanical Harvesting

The process of harvesting timber using mechanized means.

Mineral Claims and Tenures

A legal title to the minerals on, or under, a specified area of land.

Native Plant

Plant species that are part of the original flora of an area.

Negative Opinion

See adverse opinion.

Non-Jurisdictional Concern

One that appears to involve a matter that is outside the Forest Practices Board’s jurisdiction.

Non‐Native

A species that is not native to the region in which it is found.

Noxious Weeds

Any weed designated by the Weed Control Regulations in the Weed Control Act and identified on a noxious weed control list.

Old Growth

A forest that contains live and dead trees of various sizes, species, composition, and age class structure. Old-growth forests, as part of a slowly changing but dynamic ecosystem, include climax forests but not sub-climax or mid-seral forests. The age and structure of old growth varies significantly by forest type and from one biogeoclimatic zone to another.

Opportunity to be Heard

An opportunity for a holder of a licence to review evidence and present its position to a statutory decision-maker with respect to a supposed contravention, before a decision on the contravention is made.

Overlanding

Placing road construction fill over organic soil, stumps and other plant materials, corduroy or geotextiles, any of which is required to support the fill.

Partial Cutting

A general term referring to silvicultural systems other than clearcutting, in which only selected trees are harvested. Partial cutting systems include seed tree, shelterwood, selection, and clearcutting with reserves.

Party (to a complaint)

As defined in the Forest and Range Practices Act, “party” means

(a) the government,
(b) the holder of an agreement under the Forest Act,
(c) the holder of an agreement under the Range Act,
(d) a person responsible for establishing a free growing stand as a result of an agreement referred to in section 29.1 (1) or (3),
(e) a person responsible for maintaining or deactivating a road, under a regulation under section 155 (1) (d), or
(f) a person referred to in section 122 (2) who may be audited or investigated under that section.

Phreatophyte

A deeply-rooted plant deriving its moisture from subsurface sources.

Prescribed Fire

Knowledgeable and controlled application of fire to a specific unit of land to meet predetermined resource management objectives.

Professional Reliance

Reliance on the judgment of appropriate professionals who are authorized and qualified to provide a service.

Pugging

Deep hoof prints left by large ungulates on moist, fine-textured soils of streams and wetlands.

Quality Assurance Framework

A framework for a program that ensures efficient and effective processes are utilized to ensure that the program is in compliance with statutory requirements. These processes could include inspections, monitoring and audits.

Range

Any land supporting vegetation that is suitable for grazing.

Range Land

Crown range and land subject to an agreement under section 18 of the Range Act.

Range Practice

A prescribed activity (e.g., grazing of livestock, cutting of hay, and activities related to these practices, or activities related to constructing, modifying, or maintaining a range development) that is carried out on Crown range by the holder of an agreement under the Range Act or by a person other than the holder of the agreement.

Range Stewardship Plan

An operational plan under the Forest and Range Practices Act that may be prepared in place of a range use plan by those who have demonstrated a level of competence in range management. This plan is less prescriptive, provides options for more flexibility for experienced operators, and encourages innovation.

Reach

A relatively homogeneous portion of a stream that has a sequence of repeating structural characteristics.

Red List Species

Indigenous species that are extirpated, endangered or threatened in British Columbia.

Reforestation

The re-establishment of trees on denuded forest land by natural or artificial means, such as planting and seeding.

Remediation Orders

To an agreement holder are orders to do work to remedy a Forest and Range Practices Act contravention, including any damage done to the land.

Reserve

An area of forestland that, by law or policy, is not available for harvesting. Areas of land and water set aside for ecosystem protection, outdoor and tourism values, preservation of rare species, gene pool, wildlife protection, etc.

Rill

A small channel created on steep slopes by water erosion.

Riparian Area

The banks and adjacent areas of a stream, river, lake or wetland. It contains vegetation that, due to the presence of water, is distinctly different from the vegetation of adjacent upland areas.

Riparian Leave Strip

An unharvested border of forest around a riparian feature.

Riparian Management Zone

A portion of the riparian management area established to conserve the fish, wildlife habitat, biodiversity and the water values of the riparian management zone, and to protect the riparian reserve zone, if any, within the riparian management area.

Risk

Risk is a hazard (probability of occurence) combined with consequence.

Risk Management

The “art” of weighing the assessed risks (i.e., the likelihood of a potential loss to an environmental, social or economic value) against the expected benefits that may be gained from that action or decision.

Road Prism

A road prism is the area consisting of the road surface, any cut slopes, ditches or road fill.

Salvage

Property or goods saved from damage or destruction.

Scenic Area

Means any visually sensitive area or scenic landscape identified through a visual landscape inventory or planning process carried out or approved by a district manager.

Seral

Refers to species or communities that are eventually replaced by other species or communities through succession.

Shelterwood Silvicultural System

A silvicultural system in which trees are removed in a series of cuts designed to achieve a new even-aged stand under the shelter of remaining trees.

Significant Breach

Where the auditor finds that significant harm has occurred, or is beginning to occur, to persons or the environment as a result of one or many non-compliance events.

If it is determined that a significant breach has occurred, the auditor is required by the Forest Practices Board Regulation to immediately advise the Board, the party being audited, and the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

Silviculture

The art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health and quality of forests and woodlands. Silviculture entails the manipulation of forest and woodland vegetation in stands and on landscapes to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis.

Small Business Forest Enterprise Program (SBFEP) – Now Replaced By BC Timber Sales Program (BCTS)

A Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations program that enables registered individuals or companies to acquire rights to harvest Crown timber under a timber sale licence. The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Opereations holds responsibility for most forestry planning and management requirements.

Spatial

Using forest inventories to locate and map areas containing, or managed to contain, old-growth attributes. Spatially identifying these areas leads to their designation as legal or non-legal old-growth management areas.

Statute

A formal written enactment of a legislative body (e.g., the provincial legislature or federal Parliament).

Stewardship

The Forest Practices Board defines stewardship as: Ensuring responsible resource use today, while maintaining the health of the land for future generations.

For more information refer to Board Bulletin v.17: Stewardship – A Forest Practices Board Perspective

Stream Bed

The bottom of the stream below the usual water surface.

Stream Reach

See reach.

Subzone

A unit of the Biogeoclimatic Ecological Classification with less climatic variability and a narrower geographic distribution than the zone. Subzones are distinguished by a unique composition of plant species. They are climatically based and represent precipitation and temperature regimes.

Sustainable Development

Preservation and protection of diverse ecosystems―the soil, plants, animals, insects and fungi―while maintaining the forest’s productivity.

Sustained Yield

A tree or tall-shrub dominated wetland with mineral or occasionally peat soils that experiences periodic flooding and nearly permanent subsurface water flow. The waters are nutrient rich.

Tenure Holder

An individual, group or company that holds a licence agreement under the Forest Act or Range Act.

Timber Supply Review

A process, initiated in 1992, to regularly review the timber supply and the allowable annual cut (AAC) in each of the province’s 37 timber supply areas and 34 tree farm licences. Each review includes an estimate of the area’s long-term sustainable harvesting level and an analysis of projected timber supplies for the short term (20 years), medium term (21–100 years), and long term (200 years or more). Alternative AAC scenarios are investigated in terms of their timber supply, and environmental, economic, and social implications. The chief forester uses this information to determine the AACs for each management unit.

Trap Trees

Trap trees purposely attract the beetle population into pre-selected downed material so that adjacent standing timber is protected. Conventional trap trees are living, large diameter spruce which are felled to attract spruce beetles. Trap trees felled into the shade and left unbucked and unlimbed may absorb up to ten times the number of beetles a standing tree will absorb. Trap trees must be subsequently removed or treated to kill the trapped beetles.

Tree Monkey

A professional climber who ascends trees to prepare them for helicopter harvest as part of the process of single stem harvesting.

Understorey

Any plants growing under the canopy formed by other plants, particularly herbaceous and shrub vegetation under a tree canopy.

Ungulate Winter Range (UWR)

An area containing habitat that is necessary to meet the winter habitat requirements of an ungulate species. UWRs are based on the current understanding of ungulate habitat requirements in winter, as interpreted by the Ministry of Environment regional staff from current scientific and management literature, local knowledge, and other expertise from the region. Sections 9 and 12 of the Government Actions Regulation of the Forest and Range Practices Act outline the regulatory authority for establishing UWR.

Upland

Land elevated above a riparian area.

Vegetative Cover

The plants or plant parts, living or dead, which protect the ground surface. Cover may also refer to the area of ground cover by plants of one or more species.

Visual Quality Objective

A resource management objective established by the district manager or contained in a higher level plan that reflects the desired level of visual quality based on the physical characteristics and social concern for the area.

Visually Sensitive Areas

Are areas that could cause concern if forest practices or other resource development activities alter their visual appearance.

Watershed

An area of land drained by a stream or river, above a given point on a waterway that contributes runoff water to the flow at that point.

Wet Meadow

A class of wetland having mineral soils which are periodically saturated. Dominant vegetation consists of water-tolerant grasses, sedges, rushes and forbs.

Wilderness Road

Industrial or forest service road no longer being used for the purpose of an industrial activity.

Wildlife Habitat

Areas of land and water that support specific wildlife or groups of wildlife.

Windrow

An accumulation of slash, branchwood and debris on a harvested cutblock created to clear the ground for regeneration. Also refers to an accumulation of fill or surfacing material left on the road shoulder as a result of grading operations.

Woodlot

The wooded portion of a private property upon which small-scale forestry operations are carried out.