-A newsletter to assist First Nations Forest Managers

Over $1,642,000has beenapproved so far

this year to implementprojects proposed byFirst Nations bands tomanage their forestedlands in B.C.

This money represents 83%of the budget available thisfiscal year under the FirstNations Woodlands Programfunded by Forestry Canada,explains John Drew, DirectorGeneral of Forestry Canada inVictoria.

"Sixty-one bands or groupsare now participating in thisprogram and the number issteadily growing," he said.

Harold Derickson, co-chairof the Management Committee,said the significance of thisprogram lies in the philosophyof band members managingtheir own lands. "All of theprojects use band members on

•a • •e cethe reserves," he said. "Gainingexperience on their own landmeans they can better competefor employment opportunitiesthat are growing in silvicultureprograms on provincial lands."

Some of the projects entailclearing non-commercial brushand planting cottonwood onalluvial areas in the Fraser andLilloet river valleys.

"They are planting rapid­growing local and hybridcottonwoods on alluvial sites well­suited to the species and growingthem to maturity as a commercialcrop in 25 years or so," Dericksonexplained.

Other projects approved forfunding include updating forestmanagement plans, sitepreparation and planting onunstocked lands, weed controlwithin plantations, spacing ofoverstocked coniferous stands,and silvicultural surveys todetermine future treatments.

Dr. John Drew

Harold Derickson

Lester Alec

((1 enjoy meeting native people. The cultures areas distinctive as the species of trees"

Forestry profile

Aecaccep 5

programchale ge" I enjoy meeting native

people. The culturesare as distinctive as the

species of trees," says LesterAlec, a Carrier Native from theCarrier Sekani Nation, who hasaccepted a position asSilviculture Technician with theFRDA II First NationsWoodlands Program.

Born and raised in Fort St.J ames, Lester earned a businessdiploma in computer technologyfrom the College of NewCaledonia, Prince George in 1988and a forest resource technologydiploma in 1990. He was asummer forestry student withIndian and Northern Mfairs in1988 and a forest resourcetechnician for Tanizul Timber,owned by Tl'Az'ten Nation,during the summer months of1989 and 1990. Before joiningForestry Canada he held theposition of Resource Assistantwith the Forest Service inPrince George.

As a silviculture technicianwith Forestry Canada, Lester isresponsible for site inspectionsfor proposals under the Small­Scale and First NationsWoodlands Programs.

"The key features of theprogram are the employmentopportunities for band members,

specialized training achievedwhen completing projects, andforest management practicesbeing conducted on reservelands," he says.

He also participates asrecording secretary for the FirstNations Woodlands SteeringCommittee but admits he likes

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meeting natives involved insilviculture in his travelsthroughout B.C. for theprogram. He sees hisresponsibilities with theprogram as "an opportunity towork with native bands and tobe proud of what. is achieved forfuture generations."

Committee profile

ee e5 eer· 9Commi tee

T he members of theSteering Committee ofthe First Nations

Woodlands Program meetregularly to provide a technicalreview of band proposals and tomake recommendations to theManagement Committee.

Steering Committeemembers represent the Nativecommunity from the diverseregions of the province. CollierAzak of the Nisga'a TribalCouncil represents the NorthCoast while Richard Watts ofthe Nuu-chah-nulth TribalCouncil represents the SouthCoast. Greg Gabriel of thePenticton Band is therepresentative from theIntertribal Forestry Associationof B.C. on the Committee.

Wayne Terbasket of theLower Similkameen Bandrepresents the SouthernInterior while the NorthernInterior position is vacant. DaveHaley represents ForestryCanada and alternates thechairing of the committee withNative members.

Nominations are beingsought to fill the vacantposition in the NorthernInterior and to replace currentmembers when their termsexpire. Nominations should besubmitted to Forestry Canada.

Richard Watts

Dave Haley

Wayne Terbasket

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Greg Gabriel

Collier Azak

Managing for wildlife

Putting YourselfInto the BigPicture

The B.C. Forest Servicehas classified the diversegeography, climate and

vegetation of British Columbiainto 14 biogeoclimatic zones, 12of which are forested. Amongother things, each zone isclassified by wildlife speciesthat occur there. They also listthe wildlife species that are atrisk in each zone.

In the book "BritishColumbia's Environment,Planning for the Future", theprovince is classified into tenecological regions calledecoprovinces. One part lists allwildlife species found in BritishColumbia, including theecoprovinces where they occur.The listings indicate whichspecies are threatened orendangered, and which wildlifehabitats are in decline.

You could consult bothclassification systems to find outhow your woodland fits into theprovincial ecological picture.This would also tell you whichwildlife species occur in yourregion, and which species arerare or endangered. Withfurther investigation and theaid of a professional forester orbiologist, you may be able todiscover if your propertycontains rare or endangeredwildlife habitats.

How Do You GetStarted?

1Prepare a HabitatInventory

Mike Fenger is a wildlifeforester with the Ministry of theEnvironment. "It may sound abit obvious," says Mike, "butunlike trees, wildlife movesaround. Just because you don'talways see a particular bird ormammal on your woodland, itcould still be there. Maybe ituses the area just at night. Orat certain times of the year."

In other words,managing the wildlifereally means takingcare of the wildlifehabitat. So the firstthing to do is to identifythe range of wildlifehabitats you may have onyour property. Look forthe main ingredientsanimals need to survive,which are food, water andprotective cover.

Do you have snags in yourwoodland? Chances are thereare birds nesting there. Do youhave logs decaying on the .ground? If they are big enough,a black bear or coyote might usethem for a den. Smaller downedlogs are good habitat forsquirrels, shrews, andamphibians. Streams, pondsand estuaries are rich inwildlife, and rocky cliffs providehabitats for foxes, pikas, and avariety of reptiles.

Each diverse bit of your

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property could be a differentwildlife habitat. And remember,a garter snake is wildlife. A bigbrown bat is wildlife. So arefrogs and chipmunks. They maynot be as flamboyant as elk oreagles, but their contribution tothe health and diversity of yourproperty can be just asimportant.

2 Draw Up A HabitatPlan

Once you have a general idea ofthe kind of wildlife habitats youhave on your property, you canmake an overall habitat plan.

Thefirst step

is to

sustain the habitats you haveidentified, such as by notdraining a natural pond. Makesure not to block off animaltrails across your property, andthink carefully about wildlife

Managing for wildlifeI

SAFETY TIP

But that's the good news.The bad news is that more than100 of these species areendangered or at risk. Themain cause for this is the loss ofsuitable habitat. The Ministryof Environment lists elevendifferent wildlife habitats thatthey are particularly concernedabout. These include old-growthforests, wetlands, estuaries,streamside areas and wildlifewinter ranges.

Of all the operationsperformed with achainsaw, limbing has the mosthidden dangers.

richest concentration of wildlifein North America, and the mainreason is B.C.'s diversegeography. From the fogboundcoast to the arid interior, theprovincial landscape provides aniche for just about everyspecies of wildlife you can thinkof. In fact, about 75 percent ofall mammals found in Canadaoccur in British Columbia; 24 ofthese only occur in thisprovince.

B.C.'s AbundantWildlife (AndDisappearingHabitat)

needs when you build yourroads.

Secondly, you can improvehabitat, such as by fencing offthe land around the pond toprotect it from the wear andtear of livestock. If you areactively working in an area withsnags or downed logs, separatethem for safety and surroundthe snags with buffer zones.

And you can create habitat,such as by constructing brushpiles that provide habitat for avariety of wildlife species fromwolves to songbirds. Ifyou aredoing some logging, considerdoing it in patches and leavinguneven edges. This improveswildlife access to both food andcover.

In the following issues ofthis newsletter, we will look atmore specific ways you canmange your woodlands forwildlife. For more advice onhabitat wildlife inventory andplanning, contact ForestryCanada in Victoria or thenearest Forest Service orMinistry of Environment, Landsand Parks office.

When it comes towildlife in B.C. thenumbers tell the

story: 448 species of birds, 143species of mammals, 19 speciesof reptiles and 20 species ofamphibians. This is about the

To prevent kickbacks,never use the upper tip ofthe guide bar.

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Managing for wildlife

Consult yourWorkers'CompensationBoardrepresentativeBEFORE youbegin snagmanagementactivities.

Trees provide habitat forsome 90 species of birds,mammals and amphibians inBritish Columbia.

Some species of birdsrequire a strong healthy tree tonest or perch on. Other speciessuch as bald eagles buildtheir nests on trees thatare just beginning todecay. As a treedeteriorates, cavityexcavators such aswoodpeckers go to workhollowing out their nests.As the tree continues torot, bats and insect-eatingbirds move in, followed bycavity nesting birds, smallmammals andsalamanders. In all, thetree goes through ninelevels of decomposition.At each level a newcombination of speciestakes advantage of thetree's slow demise. Thewhole process could take100 years to complete.

Wildlife trees come indifferent species, indifferent sizes, and in differentstages of decline. Takentogether, they make a keycontribution of the overallhealth of any forest ecosystem.For example, any forest will bemore productive if it is rich inbirds that feed on tree­damaging insects.

"Throughout BritishColumbia we need to beconcerned about losing the fulldiversity of wildlife habitat,"says wildlife forester Mike

Fenger of the provincialMinistry of Environment. Hepoints out that when awoodland owner considers amanagement plan for his foresthe should remember that,"managing the decay cycle inthe forest is as important asmanaging the growth cycle."

WildlifeManagement Tipsfor Your Woodland

Once you decide to make theeffort to sustain and improvewildlife habitat, there are anynumber of things you can do.

Doing "Nothing"The most important wildlife

management technique often isto do nothing at all. Simply letthe natural ecosystems unfoldat their own pace.

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1. Don't cut down anywildlife trees on your property.Instead, leave a buffer striparound them for human safety.(Dead branches can drop off atanytime).

2. If you are fortunateenough to have a patch of old­growth or mature second growth

on your woodland,consider saving it. Old­growth can be a veryvaluable winter habitat fordeer and elk. In winter,caribou, elk and deersometimes depend on thelichens that grow onmature conifers. Variousspecies of owls, bats andsmall furbearers allrequire mature forests tosurvive.

3. Don't remove largerotting logs lying on theground. They can providehabitat for bigger animalssuch as coyotes orwolverines, for smallermammals such assquirrels, for amphibianssuch as salamanders, andfor any number of insects

that wildlife like to feed on.This decaying wood ultimatelyreturns nutrients to the soil.

4. Avoid building roadsclose to critical wildlife habitat,especially streams and ponds.Work around corridors thatwildlife use to get from a streamto the forest. If you know of aspecific area on your propertythat is well used by nestingbirds or grazing deer, workaround those as well (More tipsin the next issue).

You don't

Sowh

t •

Protect the young trees ­you'll need them tommorow!

Articles fium this issue may be reprinted withoutpermission. Contact Dave Haley, Forestry Canada,363-0707 for fi.uther infonnation.

First Nations Woodlands is published by Forestry Canada (506 W. Burnside Rd.,Victoria, B.C. V8Z 1M5) through the First Nations Woodlands Program of theCanadaIB.C. Partnership Agreement on Forest Resource Development: FRDA II.

Editors: Dave Haley/Lonaine Blashill

Layout: John Wiens

Contributors: Julie OvenellCarter,

Cameron Young

Canada Canada - British Columbia Partnership Agreement on Forest Resource Development: FRDA II