Quesnel Forest Landscape Planning Pilot Project

The Quesnel Forest Landscape Planning Pilot Project is one of four provincial pilots shaping a new framework for sustainable forest management in British Columbia.

On this page

• What is the Quesnel forest landscape planning pilot project?
• The Quesnel FLP  planning area
• Pilot project goals and scope
• Who is involved in the FLP?
• Public engagement process

What is the Quesnel Forest Landscape Planning Pilot Project?

The Quesnel Timber Supply Area is one of four provincial pilots developing a forest landscape plan (FLP). FLPs will serve as tactical plans to guide forest development and are intended to replace the current forest stewardship plans (FSPs), which establish the legal requirements, under the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA), for licence holders.

The Quesnel Forest Landscape Plan will align forest management direction from the Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan to the conditions and emerging issues specific to the plan area. 

As the pilot project progresses, the material developed will be available on this webpage at key milestones moments allowing the public to review and provide comments.

The Quesnel forest landscape planning area

The Quesnel Timber Supply Area contains nearly 1.4 million hectares of Crown forest management land base and is the most northern district within the Southern Interior Region.  It extends from the community of MacAlister in the south to the Cottonwood River in the north and is bisected by Highway 97.  The TSA stretches westward to the Itcha Ulgachuz Mountains and eastward beyond Bowron Lake Provincial Park to the Fraser River Divide.

The Forest Landscape Planning Pilot area includes the traditional territory of 12 First Nations.

Logging and associated industries have been a mainstay of Quesnel’s economy for over a century. Today, the percentage of people directly employed by forestry and logging within the Quesnel area remains significant making the area one of the most forest dependent Regions in B.C.

Recreation and tourism are highly valued within the planning area, with camping, hiking and mountain biking opportunities co-existing with numerous heritage attractions. Anglers have a wide range of river and lake fishing destinations to choose from and there are multiple alpine and Nordic skiing facilities and backcountry recreation locations.

Pilot project goals and scope

The goal of the Quesnel Forest Landscape planning Pilot is to create a sustainable forest management plan that will produce the following benefits:

• Reconciliation – working between governments (G2G) to design the process, timelines, output, monitoring and adaptive management regime
• Accountability – government sets direction, and licensees commit to it in their operational plans
• Collaboration – new streamlined opportunities for collaboration between government, First Nations and licensees with one clear process within a management area, rather than many processes for multiple licensees
• Efficiency – reduced operational costs as forest planning and management becomes less fragmented. A consolidated approach is expected to create efficiencies in management, administration, reporting and monitoring
• Adaptation – provides a framework for continuous re-examination and management adjustments to address current and future risks, while embracing uncertainty over time
• Clear direction to licensees – creates ability to prioritize values
• Conservation and protection of the environment

The scope of the Quesnel Forest Landscape Planning Pilot is to:

• Align First Nations and Provincial values early in the forest management and development planning process so they are reflected in management practices and forestry-related decisions
• Partner through consultation and co-operation with First Nations consistent with the Province's commitment to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and incorporate First Nations’ values in forest management planning
• Establish long-term management of natural resources to integrate biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, First Nations and local community values
• Create efficiency and predictability in the regulatory process supporting community stability and continued investments in timberlands and manufacturing
• Integrate recreational and tourism opportunities on the land base
• Mitigate the cumulative effects of forest operations on ecological and social values, such as protecting old growth forests, habitat for species-at-risk, like mountain caribou, and water quality and quantity
• Reduce forest losses associated with climate change and natural disturbance events such as wildfire, insect infestations, droughts, and floods
• Inform and be consistent with the work to amend the Forest and Range Practices Act, the associated regulatory changes and the Chief Forester’s guiding principles for developing Forest Landscape plans

Who is involved in the FLP pilot project?

The Quesnel Forest Landscape Plan Project team is working with First Nations, industry representatives, local communities, and across Provincial ministries and the initiatives active in the Quesnel Timber Supply Area.

A group of representatives including First Nations, interest groups, licensees, land users and the Province will meet to review the data and develop a forest landscape plan. There will be opportunities for the public to review and provide input at key milestones.

The FLP public engagement process

Public engagement will be ongoing throughout the duration of the Quesnel Forest Landscape pilot project. The first opportunity for public review and comment for the pilot, based on the Summary of Current Forest Management, closed on August 8^th, 2023. Further opportunities for review and comment of project materials will be provided on the public engagement website and through this webpage.

• Learn about what we heard through the public engagement (PDF, 415KB)
• Summary of current forest management (PDF, 4.9MB)