Appendix 3: Glossary

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 range land is measured. It is 450 kg of forage, which the amount of forage required for one month by an average cow, aged 6 months or older.

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.

Community Use Forest Service Roads: These roads are used primarily by non-industrial users and provide access to communities. These roads are provided with a Community Access Level of Road Maintenance.

Community Access Level of Road Maintenance: The ministry provides access-related surface maintenance activities as appropriate for an effective running surface to meet the vehicle access objective; structural maintenance to protect the integrity of the road prism and clearing width and consistent with the vehicle access objective; and structural maintenance on bridges, major culverts and other engineered structures.

Criteria and Indicators: A criterion is a category of conditions or processes by which sustainable forest management may be assessed. An indicator is a measure of an aspect of the criterion. Those used in Canada are generally based on the Montreal Process initiated in 1994. This was an international meeting where criteria and indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests were developed and agreed to internationally.

Defined Forest Area Management: Changing the volume-based forest management regime prevalent throughout much of the province, to defined forest areas, managed with key attributes of area-based tenures (e.g., Tree Farm Licences).

Discretionary Silviculture Activities: Silviculture activities that are not required by legislation. These may include backlog reforestation, reforestation activities on some areas burned by wildfire, and brushing, spacing, fertilizing and pruning.

Forest and Range Assets: All the forest and range resources on Crown land, including the water, soil, bio-diversity, timber, forage, wildlife habitat, recreation, and scenic resources.

Forest Encroachment: Refers to the intrusion or establishment of a significant number of trees 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 applicable legislation; penalties levied in accordance with applicable 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 performed in accordance with applicable legislation, for the costs of investigating contravention of applicable legislation, for fire suppression costs related to contraventions of applicable 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.

Key Outcome Indicators: Key outcome indicators, represent key results related to an organization's goals, but that are often not directly attributable to their business activities. Logic models are used to link outcomes to business activities. Because they measure societal, land base or stakeholder results or changes in conditions or behaviours, the accountability for these key outcomes and indicators cannot be solely attributed to the Ministry of Forests.

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 TFLs, Woodlot Licences, and TSAs (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."

Tenures Offered to First Nations: measures the number of invitations made under the Forest Act, which was amended in 2002 to allow the Minister of Forests to invite, without competition, applications from First Nations for a forest tenure.

Timber Supply Area (TSA): Land designated under the Forest Act that is managed for sustainable timber harvest, as determined by an allowable annual cut. There are currently 37 TSAs in British Columbia.

Wilderness Forest Road Maintenance: focus is on protection of the environment. Access is not guaranteed and may be lost over time. The ministry provides nominal surface maintenance for water management/soil erosion and sediment control; carries out nominal repairs of road surface and structures for motor vehicle or equipment access; and carries out structural maintenance to stabilize the road prism consistent with vehicle access objectives.