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 SFM Plan Progress Report
April 2009– Version 3.3 of the Sustainable Forest Management Plan for each of the the Morice and Lakes Timber Supply Areas has been completed. The plans build on previous efforts including significant analysis work and critical contributions from the public. By implementing monitoring and continual improvement processes the IFPA now has a working tool to link forestry operations to strategic landscape goals. Key resource values – and how they should be measured - have been identified.
These planning efforts will provide tools for effective forest resource management in both the Morice and Lakes, bringing complex multiple-objective management down to ground level.
The major challenge during the term of these plans will be to manage for multiple values – balancing economic, environmental and social interests - in the face of the rapidly escalating mountain pine beetle epidemic. The most recent information and knowledge related to the current status and dynamics of this unprecedented event have been incorporated into analysis work and management strategies. The hope is that this plan enhancement will better prepare managers in all sectors to respond to the epidemic in a manner consistent with SFM values and indicator targets. Not all strategic needs will be met by Version 3.2 of the SFM Plans; they will continually evolve to address the broader list.
Since the start of the M&L IFPA in early 2000, well over 200 people have contributed local knowledge and expertise to the identification of resource values, management strategies, and indicators. Over 100 meetings have been held within the M&L IFPA planning area to solicit technical and community input. Many more scenario planning sessions were held in which options for resource management were discussed and analyzed, leading to a decision scenario. The decision scenario minimizes beetle losses while managing for all of the other social, economic and ecological values in the TSAs. IFPA partners expect to be able to achieve this without causing midterm harvest levels to fall below the projected long term harvest level.
 Background on the SFM Plan
Sustainable forest management (SFM) means managing the forest ecosystem balancing  social, ecological and economic values for present and future generations. SFM planning is the foundation on which the landbase is managed through the Morice & Lakes IFPA.
The fundamental purpose of SFM plans is to provide a management framework for developing, implementing and monitoring socially acceptable resource management plans. SFM plans are developed using high-level objectives provided by local communities, First Nations, agencies, and forest companies. They also include strategies for implementing and monitoring strategic objectives.
By analyzing scenarios and options, SFM plans can reveal how specific forest practices should fit into operational plans in order to meet strategic objectives, and what knowledge or information gaps should be addressed to improve management.
Morice & Lakes IFPA's SFM planning transcends the legislated minimums in forest management in BC: not only does it fulfill the requirement for an IFPA forestry plan (which all IFPAs in the province must produce), but it can also increase its scope to adapt to changing circumstances. M&L IFPA SFM plans include an adaptive management approach that provides resource managers with a system to monitor and evaluate indicator performance and adjust management practices accordingly.
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Forestry Plan and MPB Management
A Forestry Plan has been completed by the Morice & Lakes IFPA. The plan calls for an increase in the Allowable Annual Cut (AAC) in the Morice Timber Supply Area. This uplift request is based on a projected increase in timber yields through innovative forest management techniques, and on a harvesting strategy to salvage timber affected by the mountain pine beetle (MPB) epidemic.
The Forestry Plan aims to get the most out of available timber supply within a sustainable framework, given that - to a significant extent - the mountain pine beetle will drive forest management decisions in the area for several years.
The beetle harvesting strategy is best described as a “best of the worst first” tactic. That is, stands with the largest projected beetle-related volume losses are high priority for harvesting, and, within these stands, the more productive forests are a higher priority still. The intention is to salvage as much of the beetle killed wood as possible before the assumed five-year shelf life of the affected timber has expired, and to get the best growing sites back into production first.
A detailed timber supply analysis was completed which compared three harvest scenarios: 1) a status quo harvest level using the provincial government timber supply review (TSR) information, 2) a harvest level that incorporates recommendations from the Morice Land and Resource Management (LRMP) and updated beetle-related timber mortality predictions, and 3) a composite mitigation harvest level that incorporates LRMP and beetle data but also includes updated assumptions based on innovative practices to mitigate timber supply impacts.
The mitigation scenario strikes a balance of minimizing timber losses to MPB and maintaining environmental values. The scenario is based on comprehensive analyses of timber and other resource values in the TSA, involvement of the IFPA’s community-based public advisory group in testing the sustainability of this harvest level, and discussions with management staff of the Nadina Forest District (which comprises both the Morice and Lakes TSAs) and BC Timber Sales, Babine Business Unit.
The M&L IFPA solicited public comment on the Forestry Plan by holding open houses in both Houston and Granisle and by providing a comment form on its website. Once the public review period was completed on December 2 nd, the plan was re-submitted to the Ministry of Forests and Range.
More beetle information 
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Scenario Planning
Scenario planning is a process in which different forest interests work together to explore what alternative forest landscapes are both desirable and possible in the future.
A Scenario Planning Team (SPT) is a small working group that develops the resource management objectives, strategies, indicators and future forest scenarios necessary for the delivery of the SFM Plan. Each SPT is comprised of individuals who represent the Public Advisory Group (PAG), the IFPA proponents, and resource agencies. Functionally, the bulk of the “hands on” public involvement in the development of the SFM Plan rests with the public SPT representatives. The public members of the SPT report to the PAG on a regular basis, and through the PAG members, the community at large. Click here to see SPT and PAG membership lists.
Scenario planning data, which is collected from within the local communities, is portrayed through computer models that forecast measurable indicators. These indicators, or measurable variables, are used to portray future scenarios, which show the implications of highlighting one resource over another and can be used to model landscape patterns. Models developed using the scenario planning process point to various “management paths” that can be assessed to find the best possible future forest for all participants in the IFPA process.
Scenario Planning Results
Scenario planning teams from each Timber Supply Area have developed a number of learning scenarios that they would like to see modeled. Brief outlines for learning scenarios are listed below.
1. Morice Timber Supply Area
- Base Case : Follows the Ministry of Forests Timber Supply Review harvest flow policies and management assumptions.
- Forest Productivity : Emphasizes timber values over other resource values. Intensive silviculture treatments and more accurate site productivity estimates will be modeled.
- Ecosystem-based Management : Timber harvesting practices are guided by localized ecosystem-based targets for patch size and seral stage.
- Recreation : Emphasis on recreation, tourism and scenic values.
- Agriculture and Range : Emphasis on agriculture and range values (Morice TSA only).
The Morice SPT is currently working with a list of about 94 different resource values with associated objectives and management strategies. Approximately 43 unique indicators have been identified as necessary to properly model these resource values.
2. Lakes Timber Supply Area
With the impact of the mountain pine beetle epidemic driving all forest management decisions in the region, a beetle mitigation strategy is an essential component to the planning process in the Lakes. The redesign of the planning process means a focus on two learning scenarios, pared down from an initial suite of seven. These two learning scenarios are 1) the beetle mitigation scenario and 2) the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) scenario.
The Lakes SPT is currently working with a list of about 67 different resource values with associated objectives and management strategies. Approximately 34 unique indicators have been identified as necessary to properly model these resource values.
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