City Commended for Forest Fuel Treatments
By 250 News
Thursday, February 04, 2010 03:57 AM
Prince George, B.C.- The City of prince George's efforts to reduce the risk of uban interface fires have received positive notes from the Forest Practices Board. The report examines the growing risk of urban interface fires, and commends those communities, like Prince George, which have carried out fuel reduction projects.
Prince George as treated 154.8 hectares of forested lands, including the ongoing work on 80.5 hectares at Forests for the World.
The Regional District of Fraser Fort George has treated 226.3 hectares of forest, more than half of that amount was in the Bear Lake area.
In all, there are about 685,000 hectares in BC which are considered at high risk of an interface fire. To date, about 35,000 hectares have been treated. Funding is still available under the joint provincial government‐UBCM program,
but more will be needed to address this problem on a provincial scale. Complicating matters is the fact that fuel management treatments need to be repeated over time as vegetation grows back.
The investigation which reviewed 50 fuel treatment projects throughout the province, found there were some common concerns:
• Jurisdictional responsibility for treating Crown land surrounding affected communities.
• Many communities lack funding and capacity to carry out the work.
• The issue of liability if a community identifies fire risk but doesn’t treat it, or if they treat it and a fire happens anyway.
• Reluctance to act because public interest wanes shortly after a bad fire season ends, and because fuel treatment can raise many public issues and concerns.
• Lack of expertise for planning and carrying out this type of work.
The communities which have been successful in their fuel treatment programs offered some positive feedback from their experiences:
• A community wildfire protection plan (CWPP) is an important tool to ensure work is directed at priority sites first.
• A prescription is essential to ensure other values are identified and addressed.
• Communication and coordination between various land owners and managers is important so one doesn’t “undo” the work of another.
• Debris management needs to be carefully considered.
• Stocking standards (a requirement to replant trees after harvesting) conflict with the
intent of fuel reduction, and current exemptions are not always applied.
• Merchantable timber (getting fair value for the removed trees) is an issue the provincialgovernment needs to address.
"While there is an enormous amount of work that needs to be done to reduce fuel levels in high-hazard areas, many communities are rising to the challenge by both developing the necessary plans and prescriptions,
and making use of the supporting funds provided by the Province through the Union of BC Municipalities, and other sources," said board chair Bruce Fraser.
The report makes four recommendations, two for local governments, and two for the province:
The report makes four recommendations, two for local governments, and two for the province:
Local Governments
1. Local governments should consider fuel hazard and wildfire risk and should require mitigation measures before approving new development in interface areas.
2. Local governments should take advantage of the fuel management program, build on the experience of others described in this report and manage the hazardous fuels in and around their community.
Provincial Government
3. The provincial government should make fuel management easier for communities. Possible actions include:
• Setting provincial stocking standards for interface areas so that local governments do not have to negotiate them individually with MFR district managers.
• Establishing interface areas where public safety is the first priority.
• Addressing administrative issues regarding stumpage, appraisal, and international trade to remove them as barriers to local governments taking action.
• Addressing the need for funding to sustain the program over the long‐term.
• Fostering, encouraging and supporting innovation; local communities may have suggestions for addressing fuel management issues such as liability, jurisdiction and sustainable funding.
4. The provincial government should lead the development of best management practices for the management of debris from fuel treatments.
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