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The town of
Creston, with a population of 4,800, is located in the Kootenay
region of southeastern British Columbia, near the United States
border. The forests around the town contain the "Kootenay
mix" that includes a wide variety of coniferous tree species
such as western red cedar, western hemlock, western larch, Douglas-fir,
lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, white pine, Engelmann spruce,
grand fir, and subalpine fir.
Location of
the Creston Community Forest (green) within British Columbia.
The Creston
community forest is proving that community control can lead to
peace and cooperation in the woods. Community control of the forests
surrounding Creston signaled the culmination of 25 years of citizen
opposition to logging in the community and domestic watersheds
surrounding Creston. In the 1990s, some of the people who led
the opposition to logging became the leaders who promoted a community
forest in order to achieve their vision for the watersheds.
The Creston
community forest was created in 1997 as a volume-based license
with an allowable annual cut of 15,000 cubic meters per year over
a 15 year period. The license is non-replaceable at the end of
the 15 years. The community forest Board is exploring the possibility
of converting their volume-based license into an area-based Community
Forest Agreement that would give them longer term control and
add more forested land.
The community
forest comprises 12,800 hectares and includes the 8,500 hectare
Arrow Creek watershed that provides water for the town of Creston,
the many orchards in the area, and for the Columbia Brewing Company,
producers of Kokanee beer. Sales of beer amount to $440 million
dollars annually and the brewery employs many local people. The
watershed is also an important recreation area and provides significant
ungulate winter range.
The Creston
community forest is governed by a corporation made up of equal
shareholders representing the town of Creston, the Regional District
of Central Kootenay, the Creston Area Economic Development Corporation,
the Lower Kootenay Indian Band, and the East Kootenay Environmental
Society. Each shareholder selects its representative to the Board,
then the five shareholder directors choose an additional five
directors annually from the community.
The goals
of the Creston Community Forest include implementing an ecosystem-based
philosophy; protection of water quality, quantity, and timing
of flow; and encouraging public participation.
In 2002-2003,
the Silva Forest Foundation worked with Jim Smith, forest manager
of the Creston Community Forest, to prepare a set of ecosystem-based
planning maps. Logging began three years prior, but the community
corporation had not yet prepared an overall ecosystem-based plan
for the entire license area. The Protected Landscape Network will
guide future logging activities so that wildlife habitat, water
quality, and biodiversity are maintained in the community forest.
The community
forest has completed four years of ecosystem-based logging and
has cut 85,000 cubic meters in 19 cutblocks, paying $1 million
in stumpage to the provincial government. The community forest
provides up to 25 part time jobs in the community and puts $1.5
million annually into the local economy.
Restoration
forestry is a strong component of the management of the community
forest. Many parts of the forest are unnaturally overstocked due
to fire suppression. Prescriptions are tailored to the site and
consider a wide variety of variables. Single tree selection prescriptions
log the worst and leave the best trees for the future. In group
selections, openings are no more than 1½ to 2 tree lengths
across, and shading from the edges ensures that snow does not
all melt at the same time. The heaviest form of cutting is a shelterwood
cut where 70% of the trees are taken, but the largest and healthiest
trees are left and will never be cut.
Creston is
implementing leading-edge ecosystem-based planning and forestry
and is showing that a diverse group of stakeholders can successfully
take responsibility for what happens in the forests around them.
Summary of
maps contained in the Creston ecosystem-based plan:
(Note
that the detail of the original, full format (45" x 36")
maps is not visible on the web versions.)
Map
1: Tree Species and Age shows the
current leading tree species and stand age class distribution
in the Creston community forest, providing a good overview of
the condition of the landscape.
Map
2: Landbase Unsuitable for Timber Management
identifies areas that are ecologically sensitive such as riparian
reserves, areas that have very shallow soils and are very dry,
areas that are very wet, steep terrain. Other categories of land
removed include alpine forests, areas of alpine or rock, and non-productive
areas.
Map
3: Protected Landscape Network emphasizing biodiversity
nodes and reserves synthesizes the areas that need to be protected
in order to maintain ecological integrity. The Protected Landscape
Network (PLN) includes all areas that are ecologically sensitive,
inoperable and non-productive (Map 2), and also includes biodiversity
nodes and reserves.
Reserves are
relatively large (>500 ha) protected areas that encompass a
wide spectrum of ecosystem types. Reserves are designed to meet
larger landscape objectives, like landscape-level connectivity
and the maintenance of hydrological functions in the Arrow Creek
watershed.
Biodiversity
nodes are smaller (10 to 250 ha) protected areas that are designed
to include specific representative, ecologically sensitive, and
unique forest areas. Nodes are often designed to include existing
old forest (see Map 5). Nodes are designed to be well distributed
across the landscape, and are often placed in key areas for connectivity.
Seventeen biodiversity nodes were identified for the Creston community
forest area.
Map
4: Protected Landscape Network and Potential Timber Management
Landbase combines the information from Maps 2 and 3 and
shows those portions of biodiversity nodes and reserves that do
not have ecological constraints to timber management.
Map
5: Protected Status of Old Forest shows where and how
much currently existing old forest is protected in the PLN. Current
old forest area in the Creston community forest is likely at the
lower end of the range of natural variability. For this reason
it is important to protect most of the existing old forest until
existing early and mid-seral stands are older. Many early and
mid-seral stands are protected in the PLN and thus, over time,
the total percentage of old forest in the Creston community forest
will increase significantly.
Map
6: Past and Planned Logging and Potential Timber Management Landbase
shows the logging history of the community forest and areas planned
for logging by the community forest. This map also shows recent
and planned logging in areas adjacent to the community forest
in order to provide a picture of the condition of the larger forest
landscape.
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