“Post-Natural Disturbance Forest Retention Guidance: 2017 Wildfires”

VICTORIA – In the wake of the unprecedented 2017 wildfire season, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development is providing additional guidance to professional foresters and licensees to support salvage-harvest planning. …Forests (even burned ones) provide important values that need to be protected. The 26-page “Post-Natural Disturbance Forest Retention Guidance: 2017 Wildfires” document focuses on protecting important natural-resource values, such as wildlife habitat, water quality and soils. …The guidance document supplements existing regulatory requirements. The principles and advice outlined in the document are applicable to other large-scale disturbances (e.g., landslides, floods, avalanches, mountain pine beetle infestations). The destructive impacts of events like these warrant a focused approach to the recovery of affected areas.