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NSC 2017 Winter Conference:Common Ground: Silvicultural Tools and Tactics for Diverse Ecosystems and Management GoalsFebruary 20-21, 2017

Navigating and Accessing provincial funding programs for enhanced

silviculture and stand management

Matt LeRoy RPF, February 20th, 2017Northern Silviculture Committee

• Key Contacts at the Operational Level:

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Forests For Tomorrow (FFT) Neil Hughes, Matt LeRoy

Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC)

Dave Conly

Forest Carbon Initiative (FCI) Marie-Lou Lafrancois (North Area)Mike Madill (South Area)Brendan Brabender (Victoria)

Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative (SWPI)

Kelly Osbourne

Rural Dividend Program Claudia Trudeau

The Context behind the government rehabilitation commitments :

Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic, and

WildfiresDirectly linked to

Climate Change

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The factors that led to the government introducing two new programs

• Increasing wildfire and wildfire hazard around communities

• Fibre reductions due to MTTS impacts• BCs Climate Leadership Plan and commitments

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Mature (>60 year old) MPB-impacted StandsTotal Area Impacted ( Trace to Very Severe )

18,700,000 hectares

Total Area Impacted (Trace to Very Severe)

10,000,000

Total Area Impacted – THLB with >50% pine (Trace to very Severe)

4,800,000

Total Area Impacted – THLB with >50% pine (Severe to very Severe)

3,200,000

Actual Harvest of dead pine since 1999

570,000

Net Area Impacted – THLB with >50% pine (severe to very severe)

2,600,000

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BC’s climate Leadership plan commitments• Released August, 2016

• Includes emission reductions in transportation, industry, communities, the built environment and government operations.

• Includes Forest Carbon Initiative

• BC is working with the federal government on the Pan-Canadian Framework to gain coordination and alignment

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Investment Programs• Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC): formed in February 2016, with

an $85M + $150 M investment over 3-5 years.

• Forests For Tomorrow (FFT): program was established in 2005. Annual budget is approximately $49 M.

• Forest Carbon Initiative (FCI): program currently being developed. Funding is to be determined.

• Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative (SWPI): administered by UBCM. Since 2004 has invested $78 million since 2004.

• Rural Dividend Fund: Since 2016, budget of 25 million annually for three years. Tenures Competitiveness and Innovation, Rural Secretariat

What has FFT Accomplished so far?

• 1.7 million hectares of MPB and Wildfire Surveys• Planted over 193 million seedlings on

approximately138,000 hectares (MPB and Wildfire)• 142,000 hectares have been fertilized to help with MTTS• Provided over 120,000 person days of employment

annually• From an investment of over $445 M so far

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Forests for TomorrowMission: FFT optimally utilizes available funding to reforest and manage productive forest land through the use of best science, and in consideration of all forest values and changing factors.

FFT, nested within LBIS, has three delivery programs: • Current Reforestation (CR), • Timber Supply Mitigation (TSM). • S.108

FFT ministerial commitments include: • Plant >20 million seedlings, and steady state target of 28 million by 2019/20 • Plant 25 million seedlings in 2017/18 and 18/19• Fertilize 20,000 ha annually

Forests For Tomorrow • Funding under FFT guided by the Silviculture Funding

Criteria (LBIS website)• Catastrophic Disturbance: MPB and Wildfire, and

Constrained Timber Supply• Key Criteria

– Non–obligation ground, THLB– Site Index (area based) > 15– Return on Investment (2%)

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General FFT Activities• Surveys: regeneration, stand maintenance, fertilization• Planting• Brushing• Site Preparation• Overstory Removal through FLTC’s• BCTS ITSLs• Fertilization• Access management• Spacing/repression density treatments• Conifer Release 13

Forest Restoration - What exactly do we mean?

Definition: Converting a stand that is not growing at full potential to a healthy, fully stocked stand.

Reasons for not growing at full potential could be a result of:• Damage by fire• Insects or disease• Not being satisfactorily restocked • Species not best suited to the site

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Forests For Tomorrow Key Delivery Partners:• FLNRO Districts and Regional Staff• BCTS• Licensees (largely on the fertilizer program)• Community Forests and Woodlots • Price Waterhouse Coopers

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Non Obligation FFT Rehabilitated Forest Comprised Roughly:

40% wildfires 40% BCTS Timber Sales20% District led site clearing and planting

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• Not viable for licensee harvest under current market conditions.

• Dead pine with no mid term timber supply potential and NSR

Mountain Pine Beetle Impacted stands

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Forest Enhancement BC (FESBC)$85 million + $150 million

• To advance and advocate for the environmental and resource stewardship of British Columbia’s forests by: – preventing and mitigating the impact of wildfires;– improving damaged or low value forests;– improving habitat for wildlife;– supporting the use of fibre from damaged and low value forests;

and– treating forests to improve the management of greenhouse

gases.

FESBC Funding Conditions

• Must not pose a Trade Risk• Projects must be deemed uneconomic • Projects cannot be used to relieve existing licensee

obligations

FESBC Eligible ApplicantsCurrently :

• Provincial government resource management agencies –primarily the Ministry of FLNRO

• Local governments – municipalities and regional districts in collaboration with SWPI

• First Nation governments in collaboration with SWPI (where applicable)

• Area-based tenures – TFLs, Community Forests and Woodlots• Business entities performing forestry services on behalf of the

Provincial Gov’t and/or Industry• Licensees operating in a TSA• Conservation organizations

FESBC Projects so far

• Two project intakes with a third scheduled for March• Projects must meet Society purposes• 46 projects, $6.7 Million covering multiple purposes

– Fibre recovery and fire mitigation - $3.4M (17)– Low value / damaged stands and fire - $1.2M (11)– Fire mitigation only - $2.0M (16)– Wildlife habitat and fire - $331K (2)

FESBC.CAFESBC.CA

FCI announced as part of the Climate Leadership Plan:

Goals• Growing and storing more

carbon (reforestation, site rehabilitation)

• Avoiding emissions (from forestry activities such as slash burning).

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Forest Carbon Initiative

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• FCI Scheduled to begin activities in 2017

• Diverse portfolio of activities to reduce 11 million tonnes (Mt) of GHG emissions from forests by 2050

• Help ensure B.C.’s forest return to a net carbon sink.

• Activities will enhance forest ecosystem resilienceand climate adaptation.

Portfolio of potential activities – Silviculture subset• Enhanced silviculture• Stand rehabilitation• Residual fibre utilization• FertilizationBalance of activities TBDFCI rehabilitation not limited to THLB

Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative (SWPI)

• The Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative is administered by the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

• Focus is on reducing wildfire risk in the two-kilometre wildland-urban interface zones (WUI) that surround communities. Including a $10 million contribution from the B.C. government in February 2016, about $78 million has been provided to this program since 2004.

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SWPI

• Fuel management is the process of changing forest (or range) fuels to reduce aggressive wildfire behaviour in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).

• The WUI is described as any area where combustible wildland fuels (vegetation) are found adjacent to homes, farm structures or other outbuildings. For the purpose of the SWPI, the WUI includes areas within 2 kilometres of a community with densities greater than 6 structures per square kilometre.

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SWPI (con’t)• Treatments include: thinning, spacing and pruning trees,

removal of needles and woody debris from the forest floor, mulching, and broadcast or pile burning

• The intent is to reduce vegetation fuel loading in urban-wildland areas and thereby reduce the potential for devastating wildfires.

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SWIPI• The Fuel Management Program is a multi-tiered

initiative, with the overall objective of reducing hazardous wildland fuels to mitigate losses from wildfires within the WUI.

• One key component includes the successful provincial partnership of UBCM, First Nations Emergency Services Society (FNESS) and CWPS to deliver the SWPI. The

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• SWPI has four program streams to address mitigation efforts in the WUI:

• Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) Define risk areas within the community for interface fires;

• Prescriptions for fuel treatments • Demonstration projects • Operational fuel treatments

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Program Overview:• $25 million a year, for

three years

• Provide benefits to rural communities with populations under 25,000

Eligible Applicants:• Local Governments

o Municipalitieso Regional Districtso Unincorporated Areas

• First Nations• Not-for-Profit Organizations

Project Categories:• Community Capacity Building• Workforce Development• Community and Economic

Development• Business Sector Development

Funding Streams:• Project Development - Up to $10,000

o Feasibility studies, business caseso Up to 100% of costs

• Single Applicant - Up to $100,000o Up to 80% of costs

• Partnerships - Up to $500,000o Up to 60% of costs

Infrastructure Projects -NEW• Up to 25% of project costs

• Must directly link to economic development/diversification

• Not for traditional infrastructure

Destination Trail Projects -NEW• Directly linked to economic development

Financial Statements - NEW• Tiered depending upon funding request.

o Up to $10,000 – internally prepared and

signed by two board members

o $10,000-100,000 – review engagement

o $100,000-500,000 – audited financials

Selection Criteria:• Listed in the Program Guide, including:

o Strength of the projecto Rural communities most in needo Capacity to deliver projecto Anticipated benefit of project on

community

First Intake: April 4 – May 31, 2016• Received 180 applications• Program funded 120 applications

Second Intake: October 3 – 31, 2016• Received 289 applications• Applications are currently under review

To Learn Morewww.gov.bc.ca/ruraldividend

• FAQs

• Program Guide

• Online Application

Program Office

• 250-356-7950

• ruraldividend@gov.bc.ca