Wetland Best Management Practices for Forest Management Planning and Operations Practitioner Guide
Publication Type: Guidebook
Date: June 2019
What is it?
The FMWSI’s Wetland Best Management Practices for Forest Management Planning and Operations Practitioner Guide is a user-friendly compilation of wetland best management practices (BMPs) that can be applied to incorporate wetland stewardship into forestry planning and operations. The Guide presents practices that range from identifying wetlands as part of desktop planning, to practices for harvesting in wetland transition zones. The Guide was developed to help forest practitioners meet the wetland stewardship guiding principles and objectives described in the Guiding Principles Technical Report and Practitioner Guide
Who is it for?
The Wetland Best Management Practices for Forest Management Planning and Operations was written for forest practitioners involved in operational planning and on-the-ground activities. The focus of the Guide is on Canada’s Boreal Plains ecozone, but guidance may also apply outside this region.
About the guide
More than two-thirds of Canada’s boreal forest is covered by aquatic ecosystems including wetlands, lakes, rivers and streams. Boreal wetlands provide a wealth of ecological, social, and economic benefits that are important to society as well as the forest industry.
The Guide provides guidance on how to approach forest management planning and operations when working in and around boreal wetlands. It also describes BMPs for avoiding and minimizing adverse effects to boreal wetlands that can be used to support or complement environmental systems, certification standards, or other requirements that forestry companies follow. Incorporating information from this resource into current processes can help strengthen these processes with respect to wetlands.
The Practitioner Guide covers a range of planning and operational practices on activities from access, to timber harvest, to forest renewal, and training:
- Wetland training, soil conservation, invasive species management, recreational access, and spills;
- Wetland and riparian area identification and avoidance;
- Access planning, design, and construction;
- Forest harvest planning and operations, including harvesting wetland transition zones, treed wetlands, areas adjacent to wetlands, and other water features;
- Forest renewal planning and operations;
- And more…
The Wetland Best Management Practices for Forest Management Planning and Operations Practitioner Guide is a product of the FMWSI, a collaboration between Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Canfor, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., Tolko Industries Ltd., West Fraser, and Weyerhaeuser Company.