WESTERN REPORT: 
WSCA 2007 Conference Summary
by John Betts

Strategic Session Cites Forest Advocacy Role for WSCA
Following on the momentum of last month’s WSCA annual conference, at a recent strategic summit silviculture contractors agreed that the silviculture industry must take a more prominent and professional approach to getting its message out on forest health and reforestation in BC. A public affairs consulting firm has been asked to draft a communications strategy for the WSCA, and once approved, it will be implemented as soon as practicable. The strategy intends to raise the profile of the silviculture industry by drawing attention to its accomplishments and its credibility as a resource to assist government in finding remedies and strategies to deal with the ongoing forest health crisis. 

At the WSCA conference contractors agreed there has been a recent change that has put environmental issues foremost in the public’s mind. If the WSCA doesn’t position itself promptly on the environment and forestry issues, its voice may be lost in the political clamour already developing. Integral to any communications strategy is the message. Contractors identified the disconnect between government dollars promised to forestry and the amounts invested in actual programs. The province’s slow approach to restoration and the absence of an overarching, integrated strategy to deal with the forest health problem were also identified as concerns needed to be addressed by the WSCA. The communications strategy will identify plans for working with local media, identifying strategic allies, and working with all levels of government. To see the draft framework for a communications strategy discussed at the WSCA conference, go to www.wsca.ca.

Planned Large Scale Eco-system Restoration Will Need Skilled Crews and Contractors
In order to restore large tracts of lands damaged by pest and fire, the province will need a skilled workforce capable of treating millions of hectares of forests in threatened communities, watersheds, and habitat. According to Greg Anderson, MoF Restoration Manager, the potentially massive strategy will involve mechanical treatments, prescribed burns, reforestation, and hand tool work. However, its chances of succeeding will, in part, depend on the silvicultural contracting industry delivering workers with the necessary skills and competencies. 

Chief Forester Defends Go-Slow Approach to Restoration
Siliviculture contractors challenged Chief Forester Jim Snetsinger over the pace of restoring forests lost to the mountain pine beetle, citing the plummeting reforestation ratio and the extraordinary extent of the forest health disaster. Snetsinger stated he didn’t want to compromise future industries that might emerge to harvest damaged stands by leveling forests that may have future worth. Contractors replied that even under the most optimistic circumstances it is illusory to think these potential industries could materialize in time to put a dent in all the grey wood in the province. They fear these stands could eventually pose a threat to the forests that are replanted.

Expect Massive Wildfires in the Wake of Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic
Beetle-killed stands across the province will eventually be fuel for fiercely intense wildfires according to fire ecologist Bruce Blackwell. Citing the 2003 Chilko fire west of Williams Lake, Blackwell noted this fire took hold in stands attacked by beetles 20 years ago producing a conflagration that exceeded most scales for measuring fire behaviour. But only a third of that forest had been killed prior to the burn. Today the pest devastation is occurring at a greater intensity suggesting even larger fires capable of spotting farther and spreading faster. Beetle-killed stands become more volatile as the dead trees fall out, usually after the first decade, building up fuel on the forest floor under the emerging canopy of new trees. Strategies such as landscape fuel breaks and wildland-urban interface treatments need to be implemented on millions of hectares across the province to mitigate this threat. So far this is not happening on a large enough scale.

Forestry’s Elder Statesman Calls for Action and Permanent Review of Forestry Management
Every so many years forest policy needs to re-evaluate its assumptions and conventions to keep in step with the changing landscape and society’s management expectations. Usually this process takes the shape of a royal commission. Forestry veteran Mike Apsey says we are at that stage now, but we don’t need a royal commission. We need something more. Apsey’s 50 years in forestry on both the government and industry sides have shown him that royal commissions and their results can hardly be put into effect before they are outdated by the pace of history. That problem is more acute now than before so we need a permanent board of enquiry with the powers of a royal commission, the processes of a round table, and the resources of a think tank. Apsey reminded silviculture contractors of their sector’s considerable accomplishments and urged them to become active and effective in influencing forest policy across Canada.

Forestry Workforce Safety and Productivity Trends - Some Good, Some Not
Forestry Ombudsman Roger Harris aptly titled his recently released report on the forest sector workforce “Not out of the Woods”. The fatalism of that title points to a situation where Harris says he can see logs not harvested or milled because of a disappearing forestry workforce. He attributed that discouraging trend to an aging workforce, the loss of typical worker recruitment paths, reluctance of employers to train employees, and the expectations of the new workforce. Silviculture reflects some of those trends, but it is seeing a younger and less experienced workforce filling the shoes of exiting experience. Researcher Jordan Tesluk’s 2006 Report on Health and Safety in the BC tree planting industry described some encouraging trends in safety. (See the Focus on Safety report in this issue.) Younger workers are generally more accident prone, but attitudes among young tree-planters surveyed show a growing intolerance for risk taking - a leading indicator of safe behaviour.

John Betts can be reached at 250-229-4380 or hotpulp@netidea.com.