Okanagan TSA Steering Committee Agenda

Okanagan Shuswap Forest District Conference Room

9:00 am – 12:00 pm, September 18, 2008

Chair: Luke Gubbels, Forsite

Scribe: Greg Hislop, FCL

Attendees: Greg Hislop, Ray Crampton, Brian Bedard, Colin Pike, Mike Copperthwaite, Mike Watts, Wolfgang Beck, Andree Maxwell, Grant Thompson, Les Skaalid, Heather Rice, Ken Stowe, Kerry Rouck, Bernie Kaplun, Jody McCall, Peter Love, Luke Gubbels

Standing Agenda Topics

Topic / Discussion Lead / Time / Description / Meeting Notes
Action Item Review / Luke / 10 / Review Items from previous meeting / ·  Action – Ongoing - Ray to report out on progress (90 day Efficiency review) and provide timelines for local initiatives. Category 1 Efficiency Items are expected late next week. Also 29 items at local level will likely be reported out on late next week.
·  Action – modified – Ray to come up with an OGMA tracking proposal. Some discussion here related to map viewer and the potential to use for OGMAs. MFR is still working on how these will be tracked.
· 
Professional reliance / All / 5 / Standing topic. / ·  There was no discussion here.
I-Team / Richard Toperczer
Peter Love / Standing topic. Update on issues that I-team is dealing with. / ·  No I-team meeting since last TSA meeting. Topics to be added to agenda can be forwarded to Peter.
FSP’s, issues etc. / All / 5 / Standing Topic. Licensees to pick topics of concern for an open discussion / ·  Section 7 Notice Requirements. Action: Andree to seek clarification on whether FSP Results and Strategies need to be updated once the requirement is met. Further information indicates that once Section 7 notices are fulfilled you still must amend you FSP result and strategies out of your plan.
Association Update / Peter Love / 5 / Standing Topic / ·  Reminder to all to review the 2008 ABCFP Bylaw Ballot and vote
FN NRFL update / Laverne Cormier / 5 / Standing Topic / ·  Adams Lake Band and Okanagan Indian Band have not agreed to a license yet. All other First Nation Bands have.
Safety / Roundtable / 5 / Road users group in the district / ·  Reminder to be bear aware. Some are experiencing more aggressive bear behavior this year.
State of the Industry / All / Standing Topic / ·  FCL: Sawmill down and not expected to open soon. Plywood plant operating on a 3 shift basis; however plywood markets are not profitable. Currently harvesting Cw and Hw stands or stands with a high peeler component. Cw market is dropping off so this could change.
·  Tolko: All operations running two shifts. Plywood operations have difficulty with markets.
·  BCTS: Able to sell what is advertised. Pulp market helping.1/4 to 1/3 of cut has been sold. Lots of MPB beetle wood coming on line.(approx. 1.3 million m3 on sales schedule)
·  Bell Pole Canada: Logging Cw and Hw in Revelstoke. Good market for poles but need source.
·  LP: LVL (laminated veneer lumber) orders have slowed (sales now on a one week basis as opposed to a one month basis). Operations in Malakwa have been put on notice that harvesting of Cw may cease due to declining prices
·  Gormans: Up to three shifts 5 days per week.
·  Weyerhaeuser: capital project has had some complications and therefore their production has dropped off. Still operating at a loss.
·  Woodco: not operating on SNRFL. Waiting for better markets.
·  WFN: Operating by skin of teeth 95% Pl.
·  Splatsin: 95% Pl. Difficulty moving wood.
·  Monte Lake: Operating one shift. Not enough posts. Having troubles sourcing wood. Available young stands (30 years old) costing too much stumpage.

New Business

Topic / Discussion Lead / Time / Description / Meeting Comments
Community forest and woodlot update / Andree Maxwell / 10 / ·  6 woodlots ready to go: Currently in consultation phase. Expect to be advertised this winter with awarding in spring 2009. These are competitive bid woodlots where the 50% of the points are weighted toward the bonus bid.
·  Community forests: Keremeos 20,000m3 hopefully complete next spring; Lumby village and Okanagan Indian Band 20,000 m3 – there has been some discussion but not moving forward very quickly. Cherry Ridge 1200-1500 m3. very small
Secondary structure regulation update / Bernie Kaplun / 10 / ·  Early October for possible field trip. – Al Waters from Victoria will come out to help with training Action – Please provide Bernie Kaplun with any possible field areas that could have secondary structure present as a training area.
Judicial Review Update / Laverne Cormier / 5 / ·  6 replaceable forest licences in the Kispiox district have been stalled due to inadequate consultation. Action - Laverne will follow up with more information as it becomes available.
Road Permits and FN referrals / Laverne Cormier / 20 / ·  Is there any benefit to submitting RP's for existing Non Status Roads separate from new construction to reduce FN crunch on processing timelines.
·  Do existing Non Stats Roads get referred again?
·  Transfer of road permits / ·  MFR asks that there not be two applications and that FN referral generally is not the bottle neck. Average turn around for roads is about 20 days.
·  NSR roads do not get referred again. Action - Laverne to provide more information.
·  The DSC asks that (Action) Lyle Knight look into process for transferring road permits between licensees (i.e. to BCTS). Is there a letter/document that officially states transfer is complete? Currently the process seems open ended. It appears the paper trail gets updated but the electronic data is very slow to update.
Forest Health Update / Heather Rice / 15 / ·  Expect digitized forest health maps by end of the month.
·  Significant mountain pine beetle flight but not huge expansion. Beetles are filling in (more than spreading out). There are significant expansion rates in the Bull Creek, Hydraulic Lakes, and Headwaters areas.
·  Sx beetle outbreak within the Ashnola.
·  Monitoring Douglas-fir Beetle. Not much observed apart from localized blowdown areas (endemic)
·  Fall and burn program will be limited
·  Defoliators on increase. Tussock moth outbreak possible next spring. Lot of sign near Highway 3. May lead to lots of public issues and complaints.
·  Heather would like to be ready for a coordinated communication approach
·  Intermediate Salvage opportunity currently posted on BCBid
MPB surplus area identification effectiveness / Ray Crampton / 20 / MPB harvest across the district / ·  Ray wanted to know if the current process is effective; with licensees identifying beetle infested areas that are surplus in a timely fashion.
·  Generally most licensees said they were addressing the beetle problem
·  Should the district have a Pl liquidation strategy (including non attacked Pl) – Are we ready to do this? There was no consensus here. Licencees suggested that they are already doing this.
·  Ray stressed that all licensees identify surplus areas as soon as possible.
C&E update relative to site plans and FRPA reviews / Peter Love / 10 / ·  Patrick Tobin spoke to why Compliance and Enforcement requested Site Plans from licensees. C and E is testing out their inspection model. 36 blocks harvested this year are considered full FRPA blocks. It is C and E’s intent to audit all of these blocks. Action - Patrick to send a copy of C and E checklist. Please see attached.
·  Patrick also mentioned there is an opportunity for licensees to attend field portion of audit and that licensees will receive a copy of the audit results.
·  There is a provincial initiative RMCP Resource Management Coordination Process where government is trying to combine enforcement efforts. Trying to find efficiencies. Pilot is ongoing up north. Intent is to have a framework to government by Jan 2009.
·  Patrick advised that they are seeing some risk management by licencees that may cause future problems – road maintenance and silviculture practices.
ECAS submissions / General / 10 / ·  MFR looking to provide some more guidance on proper ways to submit thereby reducing errors. Submissions have improved since spring – 90 % requests for clarification down to 40 % last quarter..
·  MFR recommends submitting Engineered Cost Estimates and check cruising requests early.
·  CPs take roughly 30 days and RPs take roughly 20 days to process.
·  Waste and Residue – everyone in the District is slow in submissions and MoFR is concerned with reporting not coming in before burning starts.
Future meeting Schedule / ·  Next meeting: November 13, 2008