OLD GROWTH RETENTION

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OLD GROWTH RETENTION
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Planning for Old Growth Retention

• Goals
• Spatially locate and map OGMAs based on
• maximizing biological effectiveness within the
  constraints
• Legally establish objectives for OGMAs

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Acronyms

• CFLB Crown forested land base
• THLB timber harvesting land base
• NC non-contributing land base
• OGMA old growth management area
• BEC variant biogeoclimatic variant
• TSR timber supply review
• SDM statutory decision maker
• WTR wildlife tree retention

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Planning for Old Growth Retention
Data Preparation
Develop OGMA Targets
Develop WTR Targets
Delineate OGMAs
Write LU Objectives
Legally establish LU Objectives
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Data Preparation

• Classify the landscape unit data set to
• prepare old growth retention report (table 2.8)
• produce colour themed maps

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Definitions
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Forest polygons
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Data Preparation - old growth retention report
(table 2.8)

• provides an overview of all LUs in a planning
  area by BEC variant
• old growth in NC to meet old growth target
• old in THLB available to meet targets, if
  required
• almost old in NC and THLB to meet targets, if
  required
• old an almost old in the constrained THLB
• of THLB that meets minimum harvest age
• allows for monitoring

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Old Growth Retention Report (Table 2.8)
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Planning for Old Growth Retention
Data Preparation
Develop OGMA Targets
Develop WTR Targets
Delineate and Assess OGMAs
Write LU Objectives
Legally Establish LU Objectives
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Planning for Old Growth Retention

• STEPS
• Step 1 Prepare OGMA targets report (accounting)
• Step 2 delineate draft OGMAs (design)
• Step 3 assess draft OGMAs

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Planning for Old Growth Retention -Step 1 OGMA
targets Report

• Biodiversity emphasisOld growth targetExisting
  OG in NC Based on Table
  2.8Existing OG in THLB--------------------------
  --------- NC OGMA TargetTHLB OGMA Target
  Recruitment OGMAs

determined based on rules
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Table 3.1.OGMA Targets (ha) Report
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Step 1 OGMA targets

• Biodiversity emphasis affects OGMA targets
• Intermediate and high biodiversity emphasis
• establish objectives to meet entire OGMA target
  immediately
• develop and establish recruitment OGMAs

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Step 1 OGMA targets

• Low biodiversity emphasis
• draw down to 1/3 of the OGMA target, unless
  target met completely in NC or timber supply
  analysis indicates no impact or an established
  HLP directs otherwise
• develop recruitment strategy that meets entire
  OGMA target by the end of three rotations

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Table 3.1.OGMA Targets (ha) Report
Biodiversity Emphasis
I
L
Old Growth TargetExisting OG in NCExisting OG
in THLB
2000 1000 500
20001000 500
--------------------------------------------------
----------------
OGMA Target NC OGMA Target THLB Recruitment OGMAs
1000 500 500
1000 0 1000
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Planning for Old Growth RetentionSTEP 2
Delineate OGMAs

• Information required
• OGMA Targets Report (Table 3.1)
• colour themed maps (from Data Preparation
  process)
• relevant higher level plan direction (e.g. RMZ
  objectives)
• strategic land use plans (LRMPs, KBLUP, CCLUP)
• RLUPS priorities
• approved operational plans
• air photos, ortho-photos, satellite images

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Step 2 Delineate OGMAs

• What to include in OGMAs?
• Age is important
• forest cover labels identify potential old but
  younger stands may contain better attributes or
  be better situated in the landscape
• Structural attributes and stand density impact
  functional value
• Goal to represent old growth types present in
  the BEC variants in the LU

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Biological considerations - 1

• Review old or the oldest available stands first
• No single correct way of addressing biological
  considerations to be included in OGMAs
• Primary biological considerations (core values)
• size (interior/no interior habitat)
• connectivity
• species composition
• representation/rare ecosystems

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Biological considerations - 2

• Dont do the same thing everywhere
• Consider 3 spatial scales
• stand
• single LU
• larger landscape
• Consider likely longevity of the patch in context
  of the landscape over time

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Biological considerations - 3

• Larger patches have interior habitat
• Smaller habitats dominated by edge effects
• Interior habitat edge effects also influenced
  by shape of the OGMA
• Consider what is needed -- several small OGMAs OR
  fewer large OGMAs (up to target)

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Biological Consideration - 4

• Representation is a core concept in conservation
  biology -- keeping all the pieces
• Representation within policy constraints -- but
  note significant gaps
• generally restricted to variant due to timber
  impacts
• Try to capture the range of old forest ecosystems
  within OGMAs

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Biological consideration - 5

• Rare by there very nature means they are not
  common, however contain unique biodiversity
  values.
• Where rare old forest site series are known and
  mapped include them in OGMAs
• If rare is not known, reserve some of old growth
  budget to deal with them
• use forest cover maps, local knowledge and CDC
  information to locate potentially rare ecosystems
  

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Biological considerations - 5

• Connectivity
• Try to accommodate -- but no extra budget.
• Considerations
• Consider regional connectivity
• Maintain linkages for movement, e.g., low passes
  in otherwise mountainous/steep terrain
• Distance between older patches (relates to
  probability of moving between patches)
• Stand structure can increase connectivity

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Delineating OGMAs - Biodiversity Considerations
OGMA targets NC 200 ha THLB 500 ha
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Step 2 Operational Considerations

• Minimize impacts to forest licencees by
• where suitable, use most constrained THLB first
• avoid locating OGMAs over approved category A
  cutblocks (exception - known rare ecosystem)
• avoid locating OGMAs where they will impact main
  access routes or isolate harvestable timber

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Operational Considerations - 2

• Operational activities permitted in OGMAs which
  should proceed in a manners sensitive to old
  growth values
• mineral or gas exploration and development
  activities
• range use
• haul road construction (only if no other
  reasonable and cost effective options exist)

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Operational Considerations -3

• OGMAs are intended to be areas where commercial
  harvesting is normally prohibited
• If operational activities are required, proceed
  sensitive to old growth values
• If operational activities significantly impact
  old growth attributes, OGMA location should be
  reassessed.

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Delineating OGMAsOperational Considerations
OGMA targets NC 200 ha THLB 500 ha
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Delineate OGMAs Summary of Steps

• Determine old growth targets by variant for THLB
  and NC
• Assess all potential patches (considering all
  BECs together)
• Determine primary biological considerations
• Ideally, ground-truth old attributes of
  potential OGMAs
• Record presence of features/attributes (for each
  patch for ranking and future reference)

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Delineate OGMAsSummary of Steps - 2

• Rank potential OGMAs
• Design to balance OGMA biological values with
  operational considerations

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Step 2 Delineate OGMAsRecruitment

• Recruitment occurs where not enough existing old
  forest available to meet targets
• - applies to both NC and THLB
• - use the biologically best NC or THLB when
  recruiting.

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Step 2 Delineate OGMAs Recruitment

• Developing recruitment strategies
• Immediate recruitment
• below old growth target in intermediate or high
  emphasis
• below 1/3 old growth target in low emphasis
• Recruitment over 3 rotations
• applies to low biodiversity emphasis LUs

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Step 2 Delineate OGMAsRecruitment

• Locating recruitment OGMAs
• follow biodiversity and operational
  considerations
• consider suitable (I.e biologically equivalent)
  younger forest in the NC prior to impacting the
  THLB
• high and intermediate emphasis LUs
• choose forested areas that will maximize
  biodiversity conservation values in the shortest
  possible time frame

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Planning for Old Growth RetentionStep 3 Assess
OGMAs

• Prepare tabular summary of OGMAs by Landscape
  Unit (Table 3.2)
• document actual OGMA placed in NC and the THLB
• document recruitment OGMAs
• documents priorities for OGMA establishment
• Develop a data base to track individual OGMA and
  their attributes
• documentation of biodiversity attributes captured
  in each OGMA

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Planning for Old Growth Retention - Tracking
(Table 3.2)
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OGMA exercise

• Group Exercise
• 4- 5 people/group
• Materials
• a set of various colour-themed maps
• LUPG chapter 3
• Workbook/handout

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OGMA exercise

• Time
• 1 hour basic exercise, 30 - 45 minutes to report
  out/discuss
• 30 minutes to assess wildcards, 30 minutes to
  report out

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OGMA exercise

• Purpose
• To carry out the accounting step - calculate
  the old growth targets for the NC and THLB
• To think about the ecological and operational
  considerations (included in the LUPG), when
  locating OGMAs
• To promote group discussion and group solutions
  regarding options for OGMA locations
• To delineate OGMAs up to the target level

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OGMA exercise

• Wild Cards
• will add a few complications to the scenario once
  you have completed the basic exercise as defined
  in the workbook/handout
• IWMS
• rare ecosystems
• category A approved cutblocks