TERMS OF REFERENCE RIVERSIDE FOREST PRODUCTS LIMITED SUSTAINABLE TOTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROJECT

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1 TERMS OF REFERENCE RIVERSIDE FOREST PRODUCTS LIMITED SUSTAINABLE TOTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROJECT 1. PURPOSE The purpose of the Riverside Forest Products Limited (Riverside) Project (the Project) is to develop a sustainable total resource management model that will improve forest land stewardship and make the Forest Practices Code of B.C. Act (FPC) more efficient without increasing environmental risks. Riverside will seek to have the Project approved as a pilot project pursuant to Part 10.1 of the FPC. The approval of the Project as a pilot project will provide the flexibility needed to develop and field test an efficient and effective sustainable total resource management model, the amount of flexibility that currently exists under the FPC, and the range of innovations needed to improve the regulation of forest practices. 2. OBJECTIVES The Project will be designed for broad application, in both the short and long term. It will not exclusively benefit Riverside. The objectives of the Project is to: a) Develop, implement and field test a dynamic ecosystem based sustainable total resource management model that will make it possible to operationally manage all forest and non forest resources in the most efficient and cost effective manner while maintaining or enhancing the productivity of the land base. The total resource model will: provide at least equivalent protection for forest resources and resource features as that presently prescribed by the FPC and be consistent with the preamble to the FPC; provide adequate and identify better solutions for the management and conservation of forest and non forest resources; maintain biodiversity taking into consideration identifiable natural disturbance patterns; maintain and if possible enhance: the productivity of the forest land base; the quality and quantity of water in community watersheds; the current flow of the other forest and non forest resources values; the management of timber and non timber values on the forest landbase. use harvesting systems and prescriptions that recognize both forest and non forest resource values; and prepare Industry for tenure reform and certification/eco labeling.

2 2 b) Operationally field test the administrative and regulatory flexibility inherent in the Forest Practice Code of B.C. Act (FPC), and different methods of applying the FPC; and c) Field test amendments to the FPC including an administrative and regulatory framework that will: ensure that all forest and non forest resource values are being managed, and where possible enhanced, in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible; i.e. reduce overall operational costs; reduce the complexity of the FPC; i.e. reduce paper and administrative processes; provide greater operational flexibility and more freedom to manage in the most efficient way possible to achieve required end-results. i.e. pursue a more results-based FPC; and place greater reliance on incentives and professional accountability to ensure that the standards and practices required by total resource management are being achieved. 3. PROJECT TERM, LOCATION, AND FUNDING The term of the Project will initially be five (5) years recognizing that the impacts of some strategies will not be fully determined for several years. The study area for the Project is Riverside s TFL 49, which is located on the West side of Okanagan Lake, near the communities of Kelowna, Vernon, Falkland, and Westwold, in the Southern Interior region of British Columbia. There are no outstanding major issues confronting Riverside on TFL 49 other than a pine bark beetle infestation which is currently being addressed. The TFL is well managed. TFL 49 has a gross area of some hectares. It has or contains: a) a current allowable annual cut (AAC) of cubic metres effective December 22, 1998; b) approximately seven percent of the Okanagan LRMP; c) drainage s that are very important as a source of water for domestic and irrigation purposes, and exposures that support a wide variety of resource activities; d) significant non timber resource values including an abundance of vertebrate species found in the B.C. Interior; e) the drier IDF zone which supports many of the province s rare forest dwelling wildlife as well as critical ungulate winter range; f) a range of physical attributes ranging from lower elevation native grasslands to sub alpine; g) diverse tree species and age classes; and h) an area that is affected by forest fires and is currently under attack by bark beetles. 4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT

3 3 The Project will be managed by a Project Management Team which will be comprised of the following persons: Mr. John Marritt, Vice-President Woodlands, Riverside Forest Products Ltd. Mr. Fred Baxter, Kamloops Forest Regional Manager, Ministry of Forests; Mr. John Thompson,, Southern Interior Regional Director, BC Environment; and Don Couch, Woodlands Operations Director-Okanagan - Project Coordinator. The Project Management Team will be assisted by a local Advisory Panel who will act in an advisory not a decision making capacity and work with the Project Management Team. The Project Management Team will be responsible and accountable for: a) collating existing forest and non forest resource information relevant to TFL 49, including applicable information and results transportable from the Invermere and other pilot projects; b) preparing a Project Management Plan in conjunction with the local Advisory Panel at the outset of the Project and from time to time as required that will identify: the alternate ecosystem based sustainable total resource management models and administrative processes, practices and procedures that will be operationally field tested to achieve the objectives of total resource management and reduce the complexity of the FPC; the analyses that will be carried out to determine the socio-economic, environmental and timber supply impacts of total resource management models, community watershed management strategies; and administrative and regulatory processes as may be appropriate to the issue being assessed in the Project area; the experiments designed to improve the regulatory framework for forest practices that require a regulation pursuant to Part 10.1 of the FPC; and project timelines, resources available, deliverables, and funding sources; c) providing public access to the following except where the government considers that such public access would jeopardize cultural heritage resources; planning documents and assessments used in the Project; records that the regulations require to be prepared for the Project; d) providing for public review and comment respecting the forest practices to be carried out under the Project; e) providing for monitoring, and for evaluation criteria for the Project;

4 4 f) reviewing all recommendations from the local Advisory Panel for implementation; and g) managing, monitoring and making provision for auditing the Project throughout it s term. The local Advisory Panel will be responsible for: a) appointing and assigning sub-working groups and engaging specialists who will: develop and recommend to the Project Management Team alternate ecosystem based sustainable total resource management models and administrative processes, practices and procedures that should be operationally field tested to achieve the objectives of total resource management and reducing the complexity of the FPC; identify the experiments designed to improve the regulatory framework for forest practices that require a regulation pursuant to Part 10.1 of the FPC; identify the analyses needed to determine the socio-economic, environmental and timber supply impacts of: total resource management models at the stand or landscape levels; community watershed management strategies; and administrative and regulatory processes as may be appropriate to the issue being assessed in the Project area; b) establishing the criteria, monitoring, auditing and evaluation system, including feedback loops, to regularly evaluate projections and results achieved against the desired ecosystem based sustainable total resource management model and regulatory framework and to ensure that adaptive management is being applied; c) communicating the results of analyses and providing ongoing advice, recommendations and guidance to the Project Management Team on the operation of the Project; d) communicating with the public and other interested parties on the activities being carried out under the Project. The local Advisory Panel will be comprised of local representatives of forest users and forest user groups (local environmental group, outdoor recreation, naturalists, the ranching community, Irrigation Districts etc.), labour, City of Kelowna, the Westbank, Okanagan and Upper Nicola First Nations; UBC, Canadian Forestry Service, ecological and hydrological consultants, operational staff from Riverside, BC Environment and the Ministry of Forests and stakeholders. Prior to the implementation of the Project, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed between Riverside, the Ministry of Forests and BC Environment that will describe the principles and working relationship between the parties for the term of the project. The MOU will include a provision that will enable any of the participants in the

5 5 Project to terminate their involvement with the Project if they conclude that it is not in their best interests to continue with the Project. 5. REPORTING STRUCTURE The local Advisory Panel will be empowered by the Project Management Team. The Project Coordinator will sit on both the Project Management Team and the local Advisory Panel to provide regular updates on Project progress and bring forward issues or decisions required that are beyond the mandate of the Advisory Panel. The chairs of the sub-working groups will provide regular updates at Advisory Panel meetings. 6. COMMUNICATIONS To ensure adequate communications, the local Advisory Panel will prepare Project Progress Reports which will be made available to the Ministers of Forests, Environment, Lands and Parks, and Energy and Mines, and upon request will be made available to the public annually. On request, the local Advisory Panel will sponsor stakeholder reviews to provide the opportunity for the public and others to comment on the Project Progress Reports and provide input into the total resource management model and revised regulatory FPC framework. The local Advisory Panel will also: a) prepare a local Public Involvement/Communication Plan ; b) hold regular meetings to review progress, address ongoing issues and concerns, ensure discussion occurs on overlapping spheres of interest between sub working groups, present deliverables, jointly analyze results and provide input into the total resource management model and revised administrative and regulatory framework; and c) thoroughly and accurately document all aspects of the Project for future reference. 7. PROJECT DELIVERABLES The Project deliverables will include: a) Project Progress Reports submitted annually throughout the term of the Project, on the anniversary date of the Project, that identify: any proposed and interim changes to the total resource management model including the community watershed management strategies and the administrative and regulatory framework of the FPC being field tested; successes/failures, and updated analyses based on completed assessments and the ongoing exploring and testing of the total resource management models and community watershed management strategies;

6 6 the preliminary results of operationally field testing the administrative and regulatory flexibility inherent in the existing FPC to achieve the objectives of the Project; and proposed and interim changes to the administrative and regulatory framework of the FPC. b) A detailed Total Resource Management Report that outlines: the total resource management model, community watershed management strategies, and the administrative and regulatory framework adopted for implementation in the Project study area; the results of operationally field testing the administrative and regulatory flexibility inherent in the existing FPC to achieve the objectives of the Project; the results of operationally field testing changes to the FPC and other legislation and policies needed to: provide the incentive for practicing ecosystem based sustainable total resource management, reduce operational costs; progress from a process oriented to a less complex, incentive based and results oriented FPC. a picture of the forest estate in the project study area in 10 year increments over one rotation; socio-economic, environmental, and wood supply analyses of the total resource management model and identification of the administrative and regulatory framework that will: improve the management and administration of area based tenures; progress from a process oriented to a less complex, incentive based and results oriented FPC; and facilitate regional and provincial implementation of the adopted total resource management model and revised administrative and regulatory framework. a listing of implementation costs where applicable for the total resource management model, community watershed strategies and the anticipated and needed future changes to the administrative and regulatory framework of area based tenures and the FPC; and the anticipated operational and other costs savings and other benefits that will accrue to Riverside and the people of the Province of British Columbia as a result of achieving the objectives of the Project. 8. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION Implementation of the sustainable total resource management model and the administrative and regulatory framework will:

7 7 occur within the Project area; commence in the spring of 2000; and be incorporated into the Forest Development Plans for TFL 49 and the SBFEP within TFL 49, as soon as it is practical to do so. 9. PROJECT MONITORING Ongoing monitoring of the Project will occur using a bench marking approach that will outline the Project objectives and track achievement of the objectives through the use of performance measures. The Project Management Team will have an independent consultant audit and report performance annually in the Project Implementation Progress Reports.