June 11, 2012 Resources Value Assessment: Visual Quality State of Knowledge:

• Scenic Areas and Visual Quality Objectives (VQOs) are established on the landscape in response to public input and land use plans.

• Priorities for conducting visual landscape inventories and establishing VQOs have evolved over time from local knowledge to more extensive land and resource management planning processes, including Regional Higher Level Plans like the Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan.

• These planning processes all require extensive consultation with the public, forest licensees, tourism operators, and First Nations to identify visual resource management priorities.

Current Condition:

• Approximately 15% of the total area of the Prince George TSA, 17% of the Lakes TSA, 21% of the Morice TSA, 8% of the Quesnel TSA, 12% of the 100 Mile House TSA, 14% of the Williams Lake TSA, 21% of the Kamloops TSA, and 15% of the Merritt TSA have established VQOs in place.

• Harvesting is allowed in all scenic areas but the VQO classes provide direction with respect to the size and scale of forest alterations that may be present on a landform at any given time.

• The design of alterations is a key component in meeting a VQO.

• Impacts of all existing VQOs have already been incorporated in timber supply reviews and AAC determinations so any relaxation gains would be the small differential between VQO classes.

Risks:

• Removal or relaxation of VQOs will affect public acceptance of forest harvesting, and could make future harvesting even more challenging. Many VQOs have been put in place through commitments made in higher level plans.

• Twenty years of public perception research in B.C. confirms the public almost always likes natural scenes and almost always dislikes modified scenes, even in landscapes impacted by the mountain pine beetle.

• Studies show that the threshold of public acceptance for forest alteration is Partial Retention, and acceptance decreases significantly with dominant alterations in the Modification to Maximum Modification range. Partial Retention is also the threshold that will maintain the wilderness tourism sector.

Likelihood of Impact to Users of the Resource:

• The dramatic increase in visual impact caused by the removal or relaxation of VQOs could significantly impact local communities that are trying to diversify their economy with increased tourism and outdoor recreation uses. It could affect the viability of BC’s wilderness tourism industry by discouraging investments in tourism and ultimately lead to the loss of tourism jobs.

Support Documents for Visual Quality Value: British Columbia Ministry of Forests. 1994. Visual landscape design training manual. Recreation Branch,

Victoria, B.C. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/HFD/pubs/docs/mr/rec023.htm

British Columbia Ministry of Forests. 1996. Clearcutting and visual quality: a public perception study. Range, Recreation and Forest Practices Branch, Recreation Section. Victoria, B.C. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Frr/Frr270.htm

British Columbia Ministry of Forests. 1997. Visual impacts of partial cutting: summary report. Forest Practices Branch, Victoria, B.C.

British Columbia Ministry of Forests. 1998. Procedures for factoring visual resources into timber supply analysis. Forest Practices Branch and Timber Supply Branch, Victoria, B.C.

British Columbia Ministry of Forests. 2002. Predicting the visual impact of retention cutting. Forest Practices Branch, Victoria, B.C. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Mr/Rec035.htm

British Columbia Ministry of Forests. 2003. Economic benefits of managing forestry and tourism at Nimmo Bay: a public perception study and economic analysis. Forest Practices Branch and Economics and Trade Branch. Victoria, B.C. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Mr/Rec036.htm

British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range. 2006. The public response to harvest practices in British Columbia at the landscape and stand level. Forest Practices Branch, Victoria, B.C.

British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range. 2010. Visual impact of mountain pine beetle attack and resulting salvage operations in British Columbia: a public perception study. Forest Practices Branch. Victoria, B.C.

British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands. 2010. The state of British Columbia’s forests. 3rd ed. Chapter 16: Recreation, Tourism and Visual Quality, pp. 163-176. Forest Practices and Investment Branch, Victoria, B.C. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/sof/2010/SOF_2010_Web.pdf

Council of Tourism Associations of British Columbia. 2007. A tourism industry strategy for forests. Vancouver, B.C. 29 p. http://www.wilderness-tourism.bc.ca/docs/COTA-ForestStrat_2007.pdf

Attachment 1