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SFM Plans Forwarded to Government
 January 3, 2003
Houston/Burns Lake — The Morice & Lakes Innovative Forest Practices Agreement has produced Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Plans for each of the Morice and Lakes Timber Supply Areas. The plans, along with a forestry supplement document, were forwarded to the Ministry of Forests on December 31, 2002.
The plans are a collaborative effort between the public, forest licensees and managing government agencies to implement sustainable forest management throughout the landbase, which encompasses 2.6 million hectares.
"This is a major milestone," said M&L IFPA manager Jim Burbee. "What we have strived for throughout this process, which began in early 2000, is to implement operational, on-the-ground measures to achieve long-term sustainable forest management taking into account economic, ecological and social perspectives." To achieve this, the program has been exploring innovations in the core program areas of public involvement, forest productivity and ecosystem-based management.
In developing the plan, over 100 meetings were held with local participants representing a wide range of stakeholder interests. This public input process was established early in the planning process and will continue into the future. So far, well over 200 people have contributed local knowledge and expertise to the identification of resources and management strategies for the planning area. Public input was received through scenario planning teams and members of public advisory groups. The scenario planning process is a key innovation of the M&L IFPA.
This version of SFM and Forestry Plans satisfies government requirements for IFPA agreements and Forest Investments. Subsequent versions will include requirements for forest certification and the province's Forest Stewardship Plan. "The SFM Plans will adapt as new information becomes available and the situation changes," said Burbee. "Sustainable resource management is a work in progress, and this is how we see these plans."
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