Appendices

Appendix 3: Forests and Range Glossary

A more complete Forests and Range Glossary is accessible at: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/index.htm

Allowable Annual Cut (AAC) — The rate of timber harvest permitted each year from a specified area of land, usually expressed as cubic metres of wood per year.

Animal Unit Months (AUMs) — The unit by which forage or grazing capability of Crown rangeland is measured. It is 450 km of forage, which is the amount of forage required for one month by an average cow, aged 6 months or older.

Basic silviculture — Harvesting methods and silviculture operations including seed collecting, site preparation, artificial and natural regeneration, brushing, spacing and stand tending, and other operations that are for the purpose of establishing a free growing crop of trees of a commercially valuable species and are required in a regulation, pre-harvest silviculture prescription or silviculture prescription.

Certification — The process of identifying forest products as those produced by organizations whose forest practices or management systems meet a set of defined voluntary certification standards, based upon independent assessments. Certification is intended to assure companies and consumers around the world that the forest products they purchase come from well-managed forests.

Continuous Improvement — A business or operational approach based upon the philosophy that performance improvement is the responsibility of all staff in an organization and adherence to this approach is ongoing.

Community Forest Agreement (CFA) — A CFA is a type of area-based tenure, which allows a local government, community group or First Nation community to manage harvesting operations as well as other values such as trails and recreation sites, wildlife, water supply and viewscapes, for the benefit of the community.

Forest and Range Assets — All the forest and range resources on Crown land, including the water, soil, biodiversity, timber, forage, wildlife habitat, recreation, and scenic resources.

Forestry Revitalization Plan — Initiated by the Government in 2003 and supported by the Forestry Revitalization Act, was designed to open up opportunities in both forest management and wood processing sectors and create a more diversified and innovative forest sector.

Forest Encroachment — Refers to the intrusion or establishment of a significant number of tress on grassland(s).

Forest Ingrowth — Refers to the process whereby previously open forest becomes more dense, and treed grasslands become more densely covered with young trees.

Forest Stand Management Fund — This account was originally established as a fund by the Forest Stand Management Fund Act, 1986, and was changed to a Special Account under the Special Accounts Appropriation and Control Act in 1988. Revenue is provided by contributions from municipalities, the forest industry, forest sector unions, and others through money collected in accordance with legislation; penalties levied in accordance with legislation; and from stumpage levies. Expenses provide for enhanced management of British Columbia's forest and rangelands, for silviculture work and costs related to environmental remediation, for the costs of investigating contravention of legislation, for fire suppression costs related to contraventions of legislation where a penalty has been levied in respect of the contravention, and for reforestation and road deactivation in areas subject to stumpage levies. No financing transactions are provided for under this account.

Provincial Forest Land-base — Crown land designated by the Forest Act (Section 5) as under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forests. This is generally equivalent to the Crown land area in TFL's, Woodlot Licences, and TSA's (excluding vacant Crown land).

Provincial Forest Resources — Means the resource elements of water, soil, air, and biodiversity (genetic, species and ecosystem) and the resource values associated with provincial forests including, without limitation, timber, forage, wildlife, fish, botanical forest products, cultural heritage resources, visual quality, resource features, and recreation resources.

Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) — SFM, as defined by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers is: "To maintain and enhance the long-term health of our forest ecosystems, for the benefit of all living things both nationally and globally, while providing for environmental, economic, social and cultural opportunities for the benefit of present and future generations."

Timber Supply Area (TSA) — An integrated resource management unit established in accordance with Section 6 of the Forest Act and managed for sustainable timber harvest, as determined by an allowable annual cut. TSAs were originally defined by an established pattern of wood flow from management units to the primary timber-using industries. There are currently 37 TSAs in British Columbia.

Tree Farm Licences (TFL) — TFLs are privately managed Sustained Yield Units. TFLs are designed to enable owners of Crown-granted forest lands and old temporary tenures or the timber licences which replace them, to combine these with enough unencumbered Crown land to form self-contained sustained yield management units. These licences commit the licensee to manage the entire area under the general supervision of the Forest Service. Cutting from all lands requires Forest Service approval through the issuance of cutting permits. TFLs should not be confused with Certified Tree Farms under the Taxation Act, though some Certified Tree Farm land (Crown-granted) may comprise a part of the TFL. A TFL has a term of 25 years.

Woodlot Licences — An agreement entered into under Part 3, Division 5 of the Forest Act. It is similar to a Tree Farm Licence but on a smaller scale, and allows for small-scale forestry to be practised in a described area (Crown and private) on a sustained or perpetual yield basis.