A framework for integrative forest planning at the landscape scale in British Columbia

In British Columbia, landscape units were introduced in 1995 as a new scale of planning under the Forest Practices Code of BC Act. The purpose of planning for landscape units is to coordinate planning for multiple objectives for land and resource to allow long term management for both ecological and resource development needs.;Planning for landscape units requires integrating information on a wide range of resources and resource uses in order to provide management strategies that address the distinct combination of ecological, social and economic values within each landscape unit. In addition, there is an increasing awareness among members of the public and the scientific community of the need to manage land and resources to maintain the long term sustainability of ecosystems and ecosystem processes. A challenge for planners is to integrate planning for both resource development and for ecological values so as to maintain ecological integrity in the short and long-term.;I developed a step-by-step framework for planning for landscape units in British Columbia to address the challenges of integrated planning at the landscape scale. The information used to develop the framework was based primarily on interviews with planners in six forest districts who participated in a provincial pilot project in landscape unit planning in 1995. The planning framework provides planners with a process for integrating ecological objectives with objectives for resource development, consistent with current policy and legislation in British Columbia. I incorporated several features into the framework to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of planning and to promote planning for long-term ecological sustainability. Features of the framework include an approach to simplify information gathering, methods for making efficient and effective use of information and technical resources available within forest districts, and a process for planning based on the ecological values in each landscape unit. As a case study, I applied the planning framework to the Barriere Landscape Unit in Kamloops Forest District.