Summer 2016

In This Issue

Highlights from PFLA’s 21st Annual Conference 1

6 Things Every Forest Owner Should Know About Carbon Markets 2

Understanding Property Taxes on Managed Forest Land 3

Managing Wildlife Habitat: The Northern Goshawk 4

Top 8 Tips for Avoiding Ticks 6

3 Reasons Drone Technology is Good for Forest Management 7

PFLA Joins the Canadian Association of Forest Owners in Ottawa 7

Why Forest Owners Should Be Aware of the Softwood Lumber Dispute 8

Time Well Spent with the Forest Practices Board 8

Contact Information

PO Box 468 Sooke, BC V9Z 1H4

Tel: 250 642 0617 Fax: 250 381 7409 www.pfla.bc.ca Rod Bealing - Executive Director rod.bealing@pfla.bc.ca Ina Shah - Office Manager info@pfla.bc.ca Lisa Weeks- Communications Manager lisa@pfla.bc.ca

A big thanks to everyone who joined us at Painter’s Lodge in Campbell River, June 1st and 2nd, for our 21st annual conference. We’re vibrating with gratitude for all the good people, presenters, tour hosts and organizers who made this year’s event possible.

An enthusiastic PFLA round of applause goes to Steve Lackey for all his hard work putting together this year’s field tour. A lot of effort goes into planning tour stops and organizing presenters. Without Steve we’d still be sitting on a bus wondering what happens next.

An equally enthusiastic shout-out of appreciation goes to TimbeWest staff — Dave Lindsay, Molly Hudson, Chris Cole, Shawn McLennan and Bill Grutzmacher — for the significant contributions they made to this year’s tour.

Thanks to TimberWest, we had a detailed and engaging tour of Northern Goshawk habitat, learned about late rotation fertilization in second-growth Douglas-fir forests and were well informed about recent changes to the Water Sustainability Act.

We included some highlights from the field tour in this newsletter, but you can find more photos and stories to come on the PFLA blog (pfla.bc.ca/pfla-blog/).

We also owe a debt of gratitude to Phred

the bus driver who shuttled us around safely for another year in a row. Last but not least, jazz hands of thanks go to Ina Shah for her thoughtful attention to detail, and organizing prowess, in bringing this event together.

Conference Highlights The topic of carbon was an important theme this year—both on the tour and at the conference. We’re still working on a story that pulls together the different presentations and summarizes the key points, but the ground we covered included:

• The relationship between climate change and carbon and the science behind factors that may or may not contribute

• The science of how forest management and growing timber crops relate to carbon

• The policy landscape around carbon, carbon credits and carbon markets

Another conference favourite was the always-engaging political update from Mike Brooks and Dave Cyr. Along with detailed descriptions of key players in the provincial government and the opposition, Dave and Mike provided insight into how we, as an association, can best conduct ourselves in the run up to the 2017 election. The presenters stressed

Highlights from PFLA’s 21st Annual Conference

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Private Forest Matters

Talking carbon with Natural Resources Canada scientists at the 2016 field tour in Campbell River.

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the importance of reaching out to all candidates to educate them about private forest matters.

The conference also included updates from representatives of both the Managed Forest Council and BC Assessment. You can find the complete PowerPoint presentations on the PFLA website (pfla.bc.ca).

In anticipation of his presentation at PFLA’s 2016 conference in June, we asked carbon market expert Matt Walsh to help us highlight some of the key points for Canadian forest owners to know about carbon markets.

1. Finally, every country on the planet agrees. After many years of arguing about whether climate change is a problem and, if so, what to do about it, in December 2015, all 196 countries in the world agreed to a climate change treaty. The treaty imposes obligations on every country to reduce carbon emissions. Yes, even China, India and Saudi Arabia.

2. Canada is now a global leader. Canada was instrumental in creating an ambitious target for the climate change treaty. In the process, Canada has jumped from equal last on climate leadership to one of the top five countries globally. Domestically, we’ve seen the new Prime Minister challenge the provincial leadership to come up with viable climate change plans. This process is happening right now all over the world.

3. How fast countries transition to a low carbon economy will define economic power in the next decade.

The challenge for every country is to complete this process as quickly and painlessly as possible. Countries who fall behind will become globally uncompetitive as the treaty obligations start to bite. The global economic power structure in the next decade hinges on this transition process.

6 Things Every Forest Owner Should Know About Carbon Markets

Based on feedback from the annual general meeting, we’re confident the membership supports a steady-as-she-goes approach to the coming year.

Thanks again to everyone for your keen participation and involvement. We’re inspired to be a part of such a diverse group of forest owners who can find common ground and work together on common goals.

For those of you in the interior, please note, we’re planning to come your way this summer as part of our annual hometown tour. We apologize for the delay.

Please look for us in your inbox, soon, with more details about meeting dates, locations and agenda items. If you’d like to add something to the agenda, please email us at info@pfla.bc.ca.

4. The treaty sent a clear message: pollution is no longer ‘free’.Investors and business heard this message, loud and clear, and they’re getting out in front of it. Here are two examples:

• Since the treaty, investment capital has started to flee heavy emitting industries. The world’s largest investment funds are starting to factor the future cost of carbon into their listed company valuations. This is a major problem for oil companies and any other company that is currently a heavy emitter of carbon. In the near future, the cost of those emissions will appear on every income statement and be included in every company valuation.

• Apple, along with 153 other global corporations, has publicly declared its emissions reduction targets and is in the process of implementing a variety of programs to achieve its goals. Carbon offsets are essential for these companies to achieve their targets.

5. A global carbon market is coming.A global carbon market was specifically provided for in the treaty and work on its design is already underway. The stated goal is to have the market operating by 2020.

Regional carbon markets are also in development. (Matt had more details about what this might look like, and what the expected pricing will be, at the PFLA conference in June.)

6. Trees are still the only viable solution.The role of forestry in addressing climate change is specifically acknowledged throughout the treaty. While a lot of money is currently being poured into technological solutions to climate change, a viable solution, at a planetary scale, is still decades away. Until then, the humble tree holds the key.

Thanks again to Matt Walsh for the information and his presentation at the conference in June.

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Property tax incentives are a key component of the Managed Forest Program. Recent increases in bare land assessed values have forest owners concerned about a corresponding increase in property tax bills for 2016.

Based on these concerns, PFLA initiated a conversation with BC Assessment, as well as the Tax Policy Branch of the provincial government.

Thanks to a communication with Duncan Jillings, Director, Property Taxation, Tax Policy Branch, Ministry of Finance, we’ve received some clarification on how property taxes are calculated for properties within the Managed Forest Land Classification.

The amount of tax payable on a property depends on three factors: the classification of the property, the assessed taxable value of the property and the various tax rates that apply to the property.

BC Assessment assesses Class 7 Managed Forest Land using a two-step process that includes the bare land component, as well as the value of harvested timber.

While the majority of your property might be classified as Class 7 Managed Forest Land other portions might be classified in other classes, for example: Class 1 Residential, Class 4 Major Industry, Class 5 Light Industry or Class 6 Business and other.

If nothing else changes, a higher assessment value on a property, or a higher tax rate, will lead to an increase in tax payable; however, things do change.

Calculating provincial school and rural area taxes Since 2008, the province’s policy is to capture only an inflationary gain from non-residential classes in its provincial school tax and provincial rural area tax, plus any revenue from new properties or new construction on old properties.

Inflationary gain refers to the BC Consumer Price Index, (1.1% inflation last year), not inflation of land values.

That means, by current policy, if managed forest land values double for all types of forest land, then provincial school and rural tax rates for managed forest land are cut in half, and the inflation factor added.

This calculation is applied to the property classification as a whole.

Under this policy, the province expects only modest revenue increase from a property class, unless there are new buildings, new properties entering the class, or land which has been re-evaluated with respect to its topography, accessibility or soil quality.

If one forest owner’s property value went up while another’s went down, year over year, with no changes to the physical property, one owner would see a school and rural tax increase and the other a tax decrease, while both owners would see an inflationary increase.

School tax rates for the Managed Forest Land Classification have been about the same (in the range of $2.3/$1000 to $2.1/$1000) since 1999, the first year of the new tax regime. In comparison, school tax rates for Business Classification were about $9.9/$1000 in 1999, and declined to $5.8/$1000 by 2015.

Calculating police taxesFor police taxes, the province is looking to recover a certain percentage of police costs. If managed forest land values go up faster than values in other property classes, the MFL class will pick up a larger share of the tax burden.

Understanding Property Taxes on Managed Forest LandIf managed forest land values rise slower than other property classes, then the police tax burden on the MFL classification will fall relative to other classes.

With property values going up faster than inflation in most property classes, average tax rates are falling, and individual members will need to look at both their assessed values and their police tax rate if they want to see how their police tax burden is changing.

Regional district taxes Regional districts also tax to pay for their annual budgets. The tax rates will vary depending on services, costs, and assessed values.

The province imposes tax rate ratios on regional districts. When regional districts set tax rates to recover costs, the Managed Forest Land Classification rate must be set at three times the residential rate.

On it’s own, the 3:1 ratio on regional districts looks bad to managed forest landowners, but it was part of a package that actually helped forest owners overall.

When managed forest land tax changes were implemented, regional districts had recently lost considerable base because machinery and equipment were removed from the property tax base in the 1980s. The government wanted to avoid further shifts of tax burden to other property classes, perhaps residential class in particular.

When the MFL changes were made, tax shifts were reduced by requiring regional districts to keep a higher ratio on managed forest land than would otherwise have been the case. The province lowered its rural tax rate for managed forest land to provide the tax benefit directly to the Managed Forest Land Classification.

MFL ratios are more favourable under provincial school and rural area taxes, but less favourable under regional district taxes, regional hospital district taxes and the newer provincial police tax.

You can find more information about how managed forest land is assessed and how to classify as managed forest land from the BC Assessment website (bcassessment.ca) or contact the Managed Forest Council (mfcouncil.ca).

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Managing Wildlife Habitat: The Northern Goshawk Responsible habitat management is a defining characteristic of private forest stewardship in British Columbia. To help small-forest owners be the best forest stewards they can be, we’ve put together a series titled “Managing Wildlife Habitat: Everything You Need to Know About Northern Goshawks”.

Why do Northern Goshawks matter? Presently, coastal Northern Goshawks (laingi subspecies) are red-listed by the BC Conservation Data Centre.

Coastal Northern Goshawks are also listed as a threatened species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) — a federal committee that assesses and designates which wildlife species are in danger of disappearing from Canada.

The federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) lists the coastal Northern Goshawk as a Schedule 1 threatened species. Goshawks on the east side of the Coast Range (interior BC) are not considered at risk.

Without appropriate management actions Northern Goshawks and forestry operations can conflict. It’s important to understand the breeding chronology and habitat requirements for this bird in order to establish an appropriate management plan.

What is a Northern Goshawk? Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) are one of three species of Accipiter hawks recognized in North America. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes the

Northern Goshawk as “the bigger, fiercer, wilder relative of the Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks.”

The Northern Goshawk is a medium-sized, robust forest-dwelling raptor about the size of a raven (length: 56–61 cm; wingspan: 98-115 cm) with short, broad wings and a long rudder-like tail well adapted for maneuvering and flying through forests in pursuit of prey.

You can distinguish an adult Northern Goshawk from both Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned hawks by their larger size and their greyish colouration compared to the rusty-brown colouration of the other two birds.

Where do Northern Goshawks live? Within Canada, 100% of the range of the Northern Goshawk laingi subspecies occurs within British Columbia. Range boundaries occur in the coastal rainforests of Haida Gwaii, Vancouver Island, other British Columbia coastal islands and the coastal mainland west of the Coast Mountains.

Northern Goshawks are sub-canopy dwellers in closed-canopy coniferous or mixed forests with mature (45+ years) forest structure.

For the most part, Northern Goshawks are non-migratory. Males primarily remain on or near their nest territories year-round, while females tend to make short-distance movements to mostly lower elevations in winter.

What does a Northern Goshawk laingi subspecies look like?Descriptions of the Northern Goshawk laingi subspecies will differ depending on the age and sex of the birds. Northern Goshawks less than 3 years old are called immatures or juveniles, while birds older than 3 years are considered adults.

You can identify an adult Northern Goshawk by the bold white stripe above its red eyes. The white eyebrow stripe separates the black crown on top of the bird’s head from its blue-grey back.

Adult Northern Goshawks have white chests with dense grey barring that can appear light grey from a distance. Long, somewhat rounded, tails have bands of alternating grey and black. Northern Goshawks also have yellow legs and feet with black talons.

Male and females are similar in colour, shape and characteristics, but male Northern Goshawks are smaller than females

A juvenile Northern Goshawk laingi subspecies is recognizable by its faint white eyebrow stripe, dusky brown colour and buff-coloured chest with dark brown vertical streaks.

Adult goshawks have white chests with dense grey barring. You can also identify an adult goshawk by the bold white stripes above their red eyes.

Learning about goshawk characteristics and habitat requirements with TimberWest biologists Dave Lindsay and Molly Hudson at the PFLA field tour, June 1st, 2016.

Where do Northern Goshawks make their nests? In general, the Northern Goshawk laingi subspecies select nesting habitat based

on stand structure rather than stand age and species composition. Common characteristics of nest stands include:

• Mature forests (45+ years)

• Closed canopies

• Good flyways and understory spacing

• Relatively large diameter trees

Goshawks select nest trees with structural attributes strong enough to support their relatively large stick nests. Douglas-fir (Fd), western hemlock (Hw) and red alder (Dr) are the most common tree species used for Northern Goshawk nests, but you can also find nests in balsam (Ba) and bigleaf maples (Mb).

Goshawks build large stick nests in the lower levels of the live canopy (at about 2/3rd stand height). Often, a fork or crook in the tree is used as a base, but a sturdy branch whorl can also be used to support a large nest.

What is Northern Goshawk breeding chronology? (If it helps to imagine Morgan Freeman’s voice narrating this section, we understand.)

Courting and breeding happens late February to April. During this time males perform aerial displays to attract females, pairs mate and nests are built.

Incubation occurs in May. The female incubates the eggs in the nest while the male of the pair provides her with food.

The nestling phase starts in late May and goes until late June. Chicks hatch and remain in the nest where they’re fed by the adult birds. The male forages far from the nest, while the female remains close by.

The fledgling phase is late June through July. This is when the chicks learn to fly

and hunt, but they stay close to the nest and are still mostly fed by their parents.

Dispersal occurs in August to early September. The fledglings’ feathers have hardened by now, and the juvenile and adult birds disperse from the nest area.

What do Northern Goshawks eat?  Goshawks are opportunistic and eat a variety of prey. Squirrels, rabbits, hares, crows, grouse, jays, thrushes, woodpeckers and other medium-sized birds and mammals are among the main items in the Northern Goshawk’s diet.

A robust prey population is important for the species. Snags, course woody debris and diverse ecosystems are known to support an abundance of prey species.

Generally, hunting is carried out under the forest canopy—where the Northern Goshawk can move unnoticed through dense cover and overcome its prey in mid-air with a burst of speed—but Northern Goshawks can also hunt in open areas.

Once captured, the Northern Goshawk plucks its prey on a convenient flat surface (plucking post) near the nest, often an old stump or large snag.

How to recognize a Northern Goshawk nest? You can see plenty of evidence below an active nest, but you might also find signs of nesting throughout an occupied territory.

Obvious signs of an active nest include:

• Molted adult Northern Goshawk feathers

• Whitewash and pellets

• Bones and feathers of prey

Ground searches around a Northern Goshawk nest late in the breeding season (July-August) will often indicate if and when the nest has been active.

A large robust nest with abundant whitewash and a littering of bones, feathers and pellets below has likely supported juvenile goshawks, whereas a nest with only older bones and feathers can indicate a successful nest a year or two earlier with whitewash and pellets washed away by heavy precipitation.

PFLA field tour participants visit a Northern Goshawk nest site on TimberWest property near Oyster River for a discussion of best management practices.

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This is the goshawk nest site visited on the PFLA field tour. Goshawks typically make large stick nests in mature forests (45+ years) with closed canopies and relatively large diameter trees.

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Top 8 Tips for Avoiding TicksMinor amounts of prey remains and whitewash could indicate an unsuccessful nest, while a dilapidated nest that’s falling apart suggests the nest is more than 1 or 2 years old.

Beware: Goshawks are fiercely protective

Goshawks are well known for fiercely defending their nests. Occasionally, goshawks will attack people and other animals that approach their nests too closely. When agitated or disturbed during nesting season an adult Northern Goshawk will dive bomb and alarm call “ke-ke-ke-ke”.

Learning about Northern Goshawks with TimberWest

An arm-pumping PFLA handshake of appreciation to TimberWest biologists, Dave Lindsay and Molly Hudson, for their informative and engaging goshawk tour—a highlight of this year’s PFLA field tour, June 1st, 2016 near Campbell River.

It was an excellent opportunity for PFLA tour participants to learn firsthand from Dave and Molly’s expertise about the specific characteristics and habitat requirements of the species, along with TimberWest’s survey techniques and best management practices.

Another big thanks to Molly Hudson for helping us put the above information together.

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As a forest owner or land manager you spend lots of time in the woods. Because known cases of Lyme disease are on the rise in Canada, and we’re a safety-first kind of association, we’ve put together some information to help identify and avoid ticks.

What are ticks?Ticks are small bugs, about the size of a sesame seed. They’re closely related to spiders, and distinguishable from insects by their eight legs. Ticks can’t fly or jump, but they wait on tall grasses or bushes and attach themselves to humans and animals as they pass by.

Because ticks need blood to survive, they live in areas frequented by potential mammal hosts. Areas with dense deer populations are often hotspots.

Why are ticks a problem? The trouble with ticks is they carry diseases that can be passed on when they bite. The risk of getting a tick bite is greatest in the spring and into the fall when the weather is warm (in mild climates ticks can also be active in the winter).

What is Lyme disease? Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in North America. It takes its name from where it was first identified: Lyme, Connecticut. Lyme disease can cause serious, long-term disability if left untreated. Early antibiotic treatment is essential, so identification of the disease in its early stages is important.

Do all ticks carry Lyme disease? No, not all ticks carry Lyme disease. Two species—Ixodes pacificus found along the western coastal region of Canada, and Ixodes scapularis found in the western, central and eastern regions—are most likely to carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium. These two species are commonly referred to as the black-legged tick or deer tick.

Where to look for ticks on your body? Ticks prefer warm, moist areas of the body. If a tick latches onto your socks or shoes it will make its way up to your groin area. If your sleeve or arm brushes up against some tick-infested grass, they’ll make their way up to your armpit instead.

Always check these areas first then check the rest of your body. Pay particular attention to any areas that have hair, especially on your head and face. It’s easy for ticks to hide in hair. On both humans and pets, ticks love to attack behind and around the ears.

Top 8 tick habitat precautions 1. Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts. Tuck your pants into your socks to

prevent ticks from getting inside your pants.

2. Check your clothes for ticks often. Ticks will climb upwards until they nd an area of exposed skin.

3. Wear light coloured clothing to make it easier to spot ticks.

4. Walk on pathways or trails when possible staying in the middle. Avoid low-lying brush or long grass.

5. Apply insect repellent to your skin and clothing, especially at the openings such as ankle, wrist and neck.

6. Shower or bathe within two hours of being outdoors to wash away loose ticks.

7. Do daily “full body” checks for ticks on yourself, your children and your pets.

8. If you nd a tick on your skin, remove it within 24 to 36 hours.

For more information on identifying ticks and avoiding Lyme disease, visit the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation website (canlyme.com).

Goshawk nestling phase is late May to late June. Chicks hatch and remain in the nest where they’re fed by the adult birds until the fledgling phase which starts late June through July. Photo credit: Grant Eldridge

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One of the highlights from PFLA’s 2016 field tour, June 1st in Campbell River, was a drone technology demonstration by Colin Filliter of Suavair. Colin uses drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), to capture low-elevation imagery.

In case you missed it, and you’re interested to learn more about the application of drone technology in silviculture surveys, here are 3 reasons drone technology is good for forest management.

Better decision making

The equipment Colin uses captures high-definition imagery that covers an entire cutblock, not just a small sample. All imagery is transmitted to a live 720p feed so you can make important management decisions in the field. The imagery is also recorded, in 1080p or 4K, so you can review the images once you’re back at the office, as many times as you need, and determine the best management decision.

Applications include:• Free to grow surveys• Brush assessments• Log boom inventories

You can also compare archived imagery to future imagery to evaluate the impact of treatment prescriptions over time.

Improved safetyWalking over steep ground and across thick slash is a high-risk activity. In fact, slips, trips, and falls are the leading cause of injuries to foresters in British Columbia.

Because UAVs fly over hazards they significantly reduce or eliminate the need to walk through high-risk areas, while at the same time ensure the complete area of a block is covered. Less caulk time means less risk of injury and improved safety overall.

Greater production value leads to lower costsFlying over hazards is not only safer, but more cost effective and time efficient. Drones are able cover distances a lot more quickly than human beings can. Colin estimates the technology they use is about 300% more productive than a traditional ground surveying crew.

Higher production compared to traditional ground methods means drone technology can significantly decrease your cost per hectare.

To see the drone technology in action, you can check out Colin’s video on the Suavair website (suavair.com).

3 Reasons Drone Technology is Good for Forest Management

PFLA headed to Ottawa, May 3-5, 2016, to join members of the Canadian Association of Forest Owners (CAFO) from across Canada.

Along with CAFO’s annual general meeting, the purpose of the trip was to meet with key decision-makers in Ottawa—to explain some of the challenges CAFO members face, as well as identify opportunities for private landowners to help the new government meet its goals and priorities.

Meetings with MPs focused on ridings where CAFO members own land and conduct operations (approximately 27 ridings across Canada). We also met with committee chairs for the environment and natural resources, along with committee members and Conservative and NDP critics of various portfolios such as environment, natural resources, rural affairs, parks and wildlife.

One of the highlights of the three-day trip was a reception hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Geoff Regan. Thanks to the efforts of the speaker’s staff and CAFO members, who

encouraged many MPs to attend, about 20 MPs and senators stopped by to hear about CAFO, our challenges and the ways CAFO can work with the new government to help address many of their priorities.

In his remarks, Geoff Regan said, “CAFO members tell me that the productivity of private forests can be both a blessing and a challenge. Forests that are good at growing trees are also good at producing things like clean water, fresh air, recreation sites, wildlife, carbon and all sorts of other benefits.

The challenge, I am told is when you try to balance all these benefits with maintaining a successful business in a very competitive international marketplace. The further challenge is that most private forest land is located very close to populated areas so you need to be a good neighbour, providing all sorts of benefits to your neighbours, usually at no cost to them!”

Following the introduction, CAFO Chair Domenico Iannidinardo commented on the challenges CAFO members face when dealing with federal legislation like the

Species at Risk Act and the Migratory Birds Convention Act. He also described how CAFO members can work with government to achieve goals related to species at risk, protection of watersheds and sequestering carbon.

An invitation was also extended to MPs to come visit CAFO members’ operations and see, firsthand, how private forests are managed and on the ground challenges are met.

Thanks to CAFO Executive Director, Chris Lee, for his work putting the event together.

PFLA Joins the Canadian Association of Forest Owners in Ottawa

Domenico Iannidinardo (CAFO Chair) and Geoff Regan (Speaker of the House of Commons)

Colin Filliter of Suavair demonstrates the use of drone technology for silviculture surveys.

suppressed B.C. domestic log market.

In 2015, when Canada’s dairy farmers were concerned about the potentially negative impacts of allowing minor volumes of foreign dairy products access to Canadian markets under the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, the federal government immediately offered them support with talk of generous compensation.

B.C.’s forest owners are curious to see if their investments in growing tree crops might be treated with the same level of respect as herds of cows.

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Why Forest Owners Should Be Aware Of The Softwood Lumber Dispute

Time Well Spent with the Forest Practices Board

The status of the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the U.S. is that the parties have until October 2016 to reach an agreement about rules for managed trade on lumber imports into the U.S.

If an agreement is not reached by October, the U.S. Lumber Coalition could, once again, be in a position to levy anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imported Canadian lumber. The levy is not known at this time, but current expectation, based on history, is that the duty will be as high as 25%.

During past disputes, whenever U.S. duties were imposed on Canadian lumber, the domestic log price (paid by B.C. sawmills) was reduced accordingly. This is bad news for B.C.’s forest owners because it has a direct and immediate effect on log markets and land values.

For a long time, the U.S. has cited Canada’s private land log export restrictions as evidence of a subsidy to Canadian lumber mills. It’s expected that the next SLA agreement, resulting from the current round of negotiations, could include quotas, import levies or a combination of both. This would also be bad news for B.C.’s forest owners.

Matters will be made worse if Canada agrees to quotas and taxes that reduce

domestic log prices, while maintaining private land log export restrictions. This scenario is a “double whammy” for B.C.’s private tree growers. Not only would we be required to offer logs to domestic mills at below international prices, we would also have to accept even further reduced domestic log prices.

If we’re able to freely shift our sales to international markets at international prices, there’s no harm done; however, if current Canadian log export restrictions are maintained tree growers will continue to be held hostage to an artificially

Part of PFLA’s role as advocate for B.C.’s forest owners includes taking advantage of opportunities to spend time with key individuals and organisations that share our passion for quality forest stewardship.

One such occasion arose recently when PFLA members joined staff, directors and the chair of the Forest Practices Board in Port Alberni for an information-sharing dinner and field tour.

The Forest Practices Board was in the Alberni Valley area as part of a review of practices on public lands, and PFLA members graciously accepted the invitation to “show and tell” how we address regulatory and non-regulatory matters on private forest lands.

While the FPB has no jurisdiction over auditing forest practices on private lands (that’s the purview of the Managed Forest

Council), the FPB does, from time to time, receive inquiries about private land forestry.

The meeting in Port Alberni was a great opportunity to raise awareness about the regulatory model under the Private Managed Forest Land Act, along with other key acts and regulations, certification and voluntary practices that guide forest stewardship on private land.

During dinner, local forest owners and representatives from the Managed Forest Council delivered presentations about private forest practices that led to a productive question-and-answer discussion. The next morning, we all shared breakfast, and more productive discussions, before heading out on a short field tour.

One of the topics we spent a great deal of time and energy discussing is the steps

forest owners and land managers take to voluntarily minimise negative visual quality impacts that arise from forest management activities.

PFLA is proud to report that members of the Forest Practices Board were impressed by the site we visited showing recently completed harvesting work done by Island Timberlands opposite Port Alberni and across the inlet.

Other highlights included: a review of a recently upgraded log dump, a look at timber harvesting, and discussions about reforestation and watershed protection practices.

Special thanks to the members and staff of the Forest Practices Board for making the time and showing an interest in how we manage our private lands.