Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
Regulations - Forest Practices Code of BC Act

OPERATIONAL AND SITE PLANNING REGULATION

PART 1 - INTERPRETATION

B.C. Reg. 107/98 Deposited April 2, 1998
O.C. 0426/98 effective June 15, 1998 (Consolidated to December 12, 2003)

 

PART 1 - INTERPRETATION

Definitions

1. (1) In this regulation:

"Act" means the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act;

"active flood plain" means the level area with alluvial soils adjacent to streams that is flooded by stream water on a periodic basis and is at the same elevation as areas showing evidence of

(a) flood channels free of terrestrial vegetation,

(b) recently rafted debris or fluvial sediments newly deposited on the surface of the forest floor or suspended on trees or vegetation, or

(c) recent scarring of trees by material moved by flood waters;

"adjacent" means an area contiguous to, or in close proximity to,

(a) a road or proposed road, or

(b) a cutblock

that due to its location could directly impact on, or be impacted by, a forest practice carried out within the area of the road or cutblock;

"age class" means trees within 20 year age increments up to age 140, then a single class for trees between 141 and 250 years of age and then a single class for trees greater than 250 years of age;

"applicable performance standard" has the same meaning as in the Timber Harvesting and Silviculture Practices Regulation;

"biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification" means a hierarchical classification system of ecosystems that

(a) integrates regional, local and chronological factors, and

(b) combines climatic, vegetation and site factors;

"biological diversity" means the diversity of plants, animals and other living organisms in all their forms and levels of organization and includes the diversity of genes, species, ecosystems and the evolutionary and functional processes that link them;

"clearcut" means a silvicultural system that

(a) removes the entire stand of trees in a single harvesting operation from an area that is

(i) 1 ha or greater, and

(ii) at least 2 tree heights in width, and

(b) is designed to manage the area as an even-aged stand;

"clearcut with reserves" means a variation of clearcutting in which trees are retained, either uniformly or in small groups, for purposes other than regeneration;

"Coast" means that geographic area contained in

(a) the Coast forest region, and

(b) the Kalum forest district in the Northern Interior forest region;


"Coast Forest Region" has the same meaning as in the Forest Regions and Districts Regulation;

"consistent" means not in material conflict;

"earliest free growing assessment date" means the earliest date that a person who is required to establish a free growing stand on an area may declare the requirement met, as measured from the "commencement date" as defined in section 69.1 (1) of the Act;

"even-aged stand" means a stand of trees consisting of one or two age classes;

"expedited major salvage operation" means any harvesting of timber that

(a) is

(i) dead, infested with pests or otherwise damaged, or that is required to be harvested to facilitate the removal of the dead, infested or damaged timber, or

(ii) required as part of a sanitation treatment,

(b) is of a total volume exceeding 2 000 m3, excluding the volume harvested from any road clearing width if the road is required to facilitate the removal of timber referred to in paragraph (a), and

(c) must be expedited to prevent

(i) the spread of insects, or

(ii) a significant reduction in the economic value of the timber due to a deterioration in the quality of the timber;

"fish stream" means a stream that

(a) is frequented by any of the following species:

(i) anadromous salmonids,

(ii) rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, brown trout, bull trout, Dolly Varden char, lake trout, brook trout, kokanee, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, mountain whitefish, lake whitefish, arctic grayling, burbot, white sturgeon, black crappie, yellow perch, walleye or northern pike,

(iii) identified threatened or endangered fish classified under section 71

(iv) regionally important fish classified under section 71, or

(b) has a slope gradient, determined in accordance with the Ministry of Forests' publication "Fish-stream Identification Guidebook", as amended from time to time, of less than 20%,

(i) unless the stream has been identified in a fish inventory carried out in accordance with the Ministry of Forests' publication "Fish-stream Identification Guidebook", as amended from time to time, as not containing any of the species of fish specified in paragraph (a), or

(ii) unless

(A) the stream is located upstream of a known barrier to fish passage, identified on a fish and fish habitat inventory map,

(B) all reaches upstream of the barrier are simultaneously dry at any time during the year, and

(C) no perennial fish habitats exist upstream of the barrier;

NEW"forest ecosystem network" means an area

(a) established under a higher level plan as a forest ecosystem network for the purpose of maintaining or restoring the natural connectivity within the area, or

(b) established as a forest ecosystem network under section 71.1;NEW

"forest health factors" means biotic and abiotic influences on the forest that are usually a naturally occurring component of forest ecosystems;

"general wildlife measure" means a general wildlife measure established under section 70;

"greened-up" means greened-up under section 68;

"group selection" means a silvicultural system that

(a) removes trees to create openings in a stand less than twice the height of mature trees in the stand, and

(b) is designed to manage the area as an uneven-aged stand;

"gully" means an area containing a stream where

(a) the overall stream gradient is at least 25%, and

(b) a reach of that stream, greater than 100 m long, has

(i) a side wall greater than 3 m,

(ii) a side slope greater than 50%, and

(iii) a stream channel gradient greater than 20%;

"identified wildlife" means a species classified as identified wildlife under section 70;

"indicators of potential slope instability" means the indicators of potential slope instability as determined in accordance with procedures set out in the Ministry of Forests' publication, "Mapping and Assessing Terrain Stability Guidebook", as amended from time to time;

"Interior" means that geographic area within British Columbia that is not the Coast;

"known" means, when used to describe a feature, objective or other thing referred to in this regulation as "known", a feature, objective or other thing that is

(a) contained in a higher level plan, or

(b) otherwise made available by the district manager at least 4 months before the operational plan is submitted for approval;

"lake class" means a designation, made by the district manager, for lakes with a riparian class of L1 that indicates the width of a lakeshore management zone and the practices that are appropriate within that zone;

"lakeshore management area" means an area

(a) established adjacent to a lake with a riparian class of L1, and

(b) consisting of

(i) a riparian reserve zone determined in accordance with Part 8, and

(ii) a lakeshore management zone;

"lakeshore management zone" means that portion of the lakeshore management area established by the district manager around a lake

(a) that is outside of any riparian reserve zone, if the lake has a class of L1 under Part 8, or

(b) that is located adjacent to the lake, if the lake has no riparian reserve zone;

"likelihood of landslides" means a likelihood of landslides as determined in accordance with procedures set out in the Ministry of Forests' publication, "Mapping and Assessing Terrain Stability Guidebook", as amended from time to time;

"marine-sensitive zones" means herring spawning areas, shellfish beds, marsh areas, aquaculture sites, juvenile salmonid rearing areas and adult salmon holding areas;

"minor salvage operation" means any harvesting of

(a) timber that

(i) is dead, infested with pests or otherwise damaged or that is required to be harvested to facilitate the removal of the dead, infested or damaged timber, or

(ii) is required as part of a sanitation treatment, and

is of a total volume not exceeding 2 000 m3, excluding the volume harvested from any road clearing width, if the road is required to facilitate the removal of timber referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii), or

(b) special forest products;


"newspaper" means a newspaper circulating in the area of a plan or prescription, or if no newspaper circulates in that area, then a newspaper that circulates nearest to that area and includes a newspaper that is free and one that does not have subscribers;

"Northern Interior Forest Region" has the same meaning as in the Forest Regions and Districts Regulation;

"old growth management area" means an area established under a higher level plan which contains or is managed to replace structural old growth attributes;

"partial cutting" means a silvicultural system in which only selected trees are harvested and includes

(a) seed tree,

(b) shelterwood,

(c) single tree selection,

(d) group slection,

(e) retention system, and

(f) clearcutting with reserves;

"patch cutting" means a silvicultural system that creates openings less than one ha in size and is designed to manage each opening as a distinct even-aged opening;

"permanent access structure" means

(a) a road, landing, pit or quarry that is

(i) reasonably required to be used, or to provide access for, timber harvesting or other forest management activities, and whose continuous or periodic use will continue for a long enough time to prevent the production of a commercial crop of trees, on the area of the road, landing, pit or quarry, that will be harvestable concurrently with the crop in adjacent areas,

(ii) either constructed through soil or rock that is not suitable, or that contains component materials such as ballast that are not suitable, for use in carrying out the soil rehabilitation treatments necessary to grow a commercial crop of trees, unless the structure has been identified in an operational plan as a temporary access structure, and

(b) an excavated or bladed trail, or other logging trail, whose continuous or periodic use will continue for a long enough time to prevent the production of a commercial crop of trees, on the area of the trail, that will be harvestable concurrently with the crop in adjacent areas;

"person", unless the context indicates otherwise, means the following for the purposes of:

(a) Part 3, a person who is required to prepare a forest development plan under section 18 or 19 of the Act;

(b) Part 4, a person who is required to prepare a logging plan under section 21 of the Act;

(b.1) Part 4.1, a person who is required to prepare a site plan under section 21.1 of the Act;

(c) Part 5, a person who is required to prepare a silviculture prescription under section 22 of the Act;

(d) Repealed [B.C. Reg. 201/2002]

(e) Part 7, a person who is required to prepare a range use plan under section 27 of the Act;

"preferred and acceptable" means for an area under

(a) a forest development plan, if the holder has incorporated information under section 18.1 or 18.2, or

(b) a silviculture prescription,
a species of tree that the district manager has determined will adequately manage and conserve the forest resources on the area;


"qualified registered professional" means, with respect to an activity for which this regulation requires a qualified registered professional, a person who

(a) has appropriate education and experience to carry out the activity, and

(b) is a member of, or licensed by, a regulatory body in British Columbia that has the legislated authority to regulate its members performing the activity;

"reach" has the meaning defined in the Ministry of Forests' publication, "Fish- stream Identification Guidebook", as amended from time to time;

"reconnaissance terrain stability map" means a map produced from aerial photographs, with few or no ground checks, that identifies unstable and potentially unstable terrain;

"resource agencies" means any government agency, ministry or department having jurisdiction over a resource that may be affected by any activity or operation proposed under a higher level plan or operational plan;

"retention system" means a silvicultural system that is designed to

(a) retain individual trees or groups of trees to maintain structural diversity over the area of the cutblock for at least one rotation, and

(b) leave more than half the total area of the cutblock within one tree height from the base of a tree or group of trees, whether or not the tree or group of trees is inside the cutblock;

"riparian class" means the riparian class determined under Part 8;

"riparian management area" means an area of a width determined in accordance with Part 8 that

(a) is adjacent to a stream or wetland or a lake with a riparian class of L2, L3 or L4, and

(b) consists of a riparian management zone and, depending on the riparian class of the stream, wetland or lake, a riparian reserve zone;

"riparian management zone" means that portion of the riparian management area that is outside of any riparian reserve zone or if there is no riparian reserve zone, that area located adjacent to a stream, wetland or lake of a width determined in accordance with Part 8;

"riparian reserve zone" means that portion, if any, of the riparian management area or lakeshore management area located adjacent to a stream, wetland or lake of a width determined in accordance with Part 8;

From definition "risk of sediment delivery to stream" to sub-section (4)


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