Proposed Community Forest Expansion

Why Are We Doing This Community Forest Expansion?

1. Why is there such an interest in wildfire hazards?
   1. We live in the forest – it is all around us – and so there will be a chance of a wildfire;
   2. In many forest stands where we have been successful in putting out wildfires, decades of forest growth means more fuels for wildfire which results in higher wildfire hazards.
   3. There is also dead pine and older forests in this area which will mean that if there is a wildfire, it will be more intense, hotter, spread faster and harder to control and suppress;
   4. There is a significant wildfire history in this area and it is only a matter of time before we see a wildfire hit. It's not a question of "if", it's a question of "when";
   5. The climate is changing, and we are experiencing episodes of hotter and drier weather extremes which significantly elevate the risk and likelihood of wildfire.
      
      
2. Why doesn't the Provincial government do something about the wildfire hazard – its Crown land after all?
   1. The Provincial government focuses its resources and efforts on containing and suppressing wildfires when they occur. They do not have the resources to do pre-emptive work to reduce the wildfire hazards everywhere.
   2. The Provincial government is supportive of local governments and First Nations communities undertaking work to reduce wildfire hazards through special funding programs, but this is limited.
      
      
3. What can be done to reduce the wildfire hazards?
   1. By removing dead trees, the brush and some of the small trees (the understory), and removing selected trees to thin out the forest, this will provide less of the "fuel" that a fire uses to burn hotter and faster and further up into the crown of the trees. Creating larger open areas of cleared forest can create fire breaks and can create access points for fire-fighting crews. There are a number of different options, but collectively they are often called "fuel treatments";
   2. We can't stop a fire, but we can do these fuel treatments to reduce the severity of the wildfire and how quickly it spreads, which gives fire fighters a better chance to contain the fire and suppress it.
   3. The goal is to keep wildfires burning closer to the ground. If there are a lot of forest fuels that allow a ground fire to travel up to the canopy, near the tops of the trees, this situation often means a fire has gone out of control and very difficult to contain. This situation can also mean that large hot cinders can be blown from the burning canopy kilometres ahead of the fire front and results in additional fires being started. Cinders can land in people's back yards or on their roofs which can start fires right in neighbourhoods.
      
      
4. So where would these fuel treatments be done?
   1. In our work with the Provincial agencies, we have identified about 38,000 hectares of land in the regional district in the vicinity of Prince George that are not included in the working forest – in other words they are not part of the forest that is allocated to forest companies. These parcels of land, scattered around Prince George, were set aside by the provincial government back in the 1980's to support primarily the agricultural sector. They are called Agricultural Development Areas or ADAs. There are some other lands included for settlement purposes called Settlement Reserve Lands, but most of the lands we are interested in are ADAs.
   2. ADAs were set aside so if a farmer wanted to expand their operation, they could purchase the land with the trees, and use the revenue from the tree harvesting to put their new parcel into production – such as stumping, piling and burning.
   3. The ADA lands we are interested in doing fuel treatments on, have not been logged or put into agricultural production. In fact, now with the aging forests and dead pine on some of these lands, it is becoming a barrier to convert the lands into agriculture by a single farmer. As well, the wildfire hazard is growing and these lands are contributing to a landscape level wildfire hazard issue.
      
      
5. But how would this help the farming community?
   1. By including these lands in a community forest, we can do things that an individual farmer would find more challenging;
   2. For example, by doing more fuel treatments over a larger area over several years, we can take advantage of efficiencies – more efficient contracts, better log sale contracts, easier fuel treatment sites can offset the higher costs of more challenging sites, and so on. In essence, having more timber volume to work with makes the operations more viable from cost-recovery stand point.
   3. The community forest has lower stumpage fees and will have reduced silviculture (replanting etc.) costs in this case. These operational savings can be put towards the costs of putting the land into production and this will help the farmer that wants to purchase that parcel.
   4. Essentially, we will be able to achieve the same or better results for the agricultural sector that were expected when the original ADAs were set aside.
      
      
6. But if the land isn't converted to agriculture, won't you have to replant with trees like other forest operations?
   1. No. In this case, because the land is not part of the working forest and is set aside for agriculture, our proposal states that we wouldn't have that obligation as other licensees do.
      
      
7. So will farmers have to apply to the Community Forest to buy or lease a parcel of land?
   1. No. The Community Forest would not own the land. The Provincial government still owns the land and they would still retain the right and ability to sell or lease the land when there is an interest.
      
      
8. But if the Community Forest is doing fuel treatments on the land, won't that get in the way of converting land to agricultural use?
   1. The Community Forest has a number of strategies that it can use to work with the farming community to make the scheduling of operations work.
   2. We can identify the lands where we are interested in doing fuel treatments in the following 5 years and share this with the farming community through institutes, associations and the Provincial government. We would be able to adjust this plan where there is interest from the farming community.
   3. The only time when the Community Forest would ask the Provincial government not to remove land from our license, would be when we have done our operational plan and are ready to do the fuel treatments. This might be roughly a 6 month period for a particular parcel. But people would know well in advance of our schedule anyway, so this shouldn't be a problem. Following the fuel treatment, the land would become available again.
   4. In essence there is a great deal of flexibility built into the system to accommodate various interests.
      
      
9. When would a farmer be able to purchase land? Would they have to wait until treatments are done?
   1. There is still the option of a farmer being able to purchase rights to the land as they have now. They would not have to wait until the Community Forest does its treatment.
      
      
10. How can we be sure that the Community Forest will be managed to support the agricultural sector?
    1. Yes, it's important to put in safe guards to ensure that the goals and objectives of the Community Forest are followed through in its operations.
    2. By ensuring that the Regional District, the Lheidli T'enneh and the City are all part of the partnership in managing the Community Forest, there is accountability back to the elected officials. If the community forest deviates from its commitments, people have the ability to voice their concern to the Councils and Board.
    3. By ensuring that we have involved the Provincial agencies that are mandated to support the agricultural sector, they will be monitoring the work of the Community Forest and ensuring that the goals and objectives for the agricultural sector are fulfilled. The Crown still owns the land, so there is significant influence.
    4. The Community Forest would have the agricultural sector represented in its structure to ensure that the sector has a voice in the management and operations. There are a variety of ways this can be achieved. We also know that there is more than one voice and interest in the agricultural sector.
    5. Methods and approaches will be built into the Community Forest Management Plan which will be subject to a public review and feedback process before its approved.
    6. There may be other approaches, such as commitments to annual meetings or open houses with the agricultural sector.
       
       
11. How can we be sure the Community Forest will manage other values and interests?
    1. By law, the Community Forest will have to manage for a host of identified values and this will be identified in the Forest Stewardship Plan and the Management Plan. These range from ecological values, to recreation and cultural values.
    2. Aside from the various organizational tools that a Community Forest puts into place to ensure that stakeholders are assured of a voice in its management, experience in Community Forests throughout the Province show that there is a high level of transparency in managing their operations. This is to be expected, because the Community Forest is unlike a normal forest license, and there is an expectation for a higher level of public and stakeholder scrutiny in Community Forest management – these licenses typically are awarded to address a number of community interests.
       
       
12. What will happen to the money that the Community Forest makes from its fuel treatments?
    1. The main goal of the Community Forest is to cover the costs of fuel treatment operations and helping to get the land into agricultural use.
    2. If the Community Forest has additional revenues (net revenues or profits) some of those funds will need to be reserved to support future operations that might be more expensive. Any business would want some operating capital to deal with unexpected costs.
    3. If there are additional net revenues, the representatives of the three managing partners (Regional District, Lheidli T'enneh and City) collectively will make decisions on how to use the funds. There are many options and ideas for this from other community forests that will be explored. A fundamental principle is that net revenues should be used to support the good of the communities.
       
       
13. Will the fuel treatments be the same on every parcel?
    1. a. Not necessarily. Many factors affect how a fuel treatment is done. As the Community Forest moves through fuel treatment planning, there will on-going consultations with the agriculture sector, other key stakeholders, wildfire specialists, and careful considerations will be given to the host of values and operating challenges associated with each parcel of land.
    2. b. In some cases, clear cuts with reserves will be used, in particular where there is an immediate interest in moving to creating fields for agriculture. In these cases, blocks can be designed with the agricultural interest in mind to create shelterbelts, calving areas, buffer strips, or riparian leave strips. In some cases, where other values or challenges are identified, such as recreation trails, viewscapes, steep slopes, or important wildlife habitat, fuel treatments will be adjusted accordingly.
       
       
14. The ADA lands are all outside of the City. Why is the City involved?
    1. It is a far easier process to add lands to an existing Community Forest, such the Prince George Community Forest, than create a new one. The Prince George Community Forest has developed the necessary capacity and expertise, and has built up a proven track record of responsible forest management and public consultation with the Provincial government, and so they are looking for the City's involvement in this proposal.
    2. The Regional District and the Lheidli T'enneh agree that having the City involved in a tri-party management of the expanded Community Forest has benefits and makes sense from a resourcing and capacity standpoint.
    3. Just as rural residents are concerned about wildfire, residents in Prince George are concerned about wildfires from rural areas spreading into the city. This was the case in the 2003 Kelowna fires.
    4. The expanded Community Forest would also include some Crown lands situated within the City's municipal boundaries that formed part of the original Community Forest Agreement.