Identified Wildlife Management Strategy - Background

The Forest Practices Code of British Columbia has as one of its goals the conservation of British Columbia's biological diversity. Implementation of the Code's biodiversity and riparian provisions covers habitat protection and management for the majority of wildlife species. But it has always been recognized that some species would require additional special habitat management to ensure the survival of their populations across their natural ranges. Volume 1 of the Identified Wildlife Management Strategy details the procedures and management practices that are mandatory for Identified Wildlife under the Code.

Volume 1 of the Identified Wildlife Strategy is comprised of two companion documents: Species and Plant Community Accounts for Identified Wildlife and Managing Identified Wildlife: Procedures and Measures. It contains 36 species and four plant communities (see Appendix A). The Province will start compiling a list of Identified Wildlife for Volume 2 in April 1999.

For the most part, the species and plant communities listed in Identified Wildlife are considered to be at risk (endangered, threatened or vulnerable) and require special management of critical habitats in order to maintain or restore populations or distributions. Critical habitats include breeding, denning or feeding sites. For example, breeding sites for ancient murrelets are considered critical, or limiting, as this species returns to the same area each year, breeds in undisturbed old forest and requires freedom from most predators.

The mechanisms to manage Identified Wildlife under the code are, wildlife habitat areas, general wildlife measures and higher level plan recommendations.

Wildlife habitat areas contain critical habitat elements for one or more species of Identified Wildlife. These areas are mapped and approved by the chief forester (Ministry of Forests) and deputy minister (Ministry of Environment).

General wildlife measures direct what forest and range management practices can occur within a wildlife habitat area. They may restrict forest or range activities during sensitive periods (e.g., the breeding season) to minimize disturbance or may restrict activities entirely within an area in order to maintain the integrity of the habitat. This strategy will be implemented as wildlife habitat areas are identified and mapped, their locations are made known to licencees and this information is incorporated into forest development plans. As with wildlife habitat areas the general wildlife measures are approved by the chief forester (MOF) and deputy minister (MELP).

Higher level plans that relate to Identified Wildlife are Resource Management Zones (RMZ) that are approved by the code ministers (Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks; Minister of Forests; and the Minister of Energy and Mines). These zones are defined in the code and typically are a product of Regional Land Use Plans and Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMP). At this time the government has recommended that three species from Volume 1 (grizzly bear, fisher and bull trout) be considered in higher level plans because of the scope of their habitat needs.

The Identified Wildlife Management Strategy is designed to have a timber supply impact of one per cent.

Appendix A

36 species/subspecies and four plant communities have been designated as Identified Wildlife (Vol. I).

Animal species/subspecies:

1. American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus
2. American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
3. Ancient Murrelet Synthliboramphus antiquus
4. "California" Bighorn Sheep - californiana subspeciesOvis canadensis californiana
5. "Rocky Mountain" Bighorn Sheep - canadensis subspeciesOvis canadensis canadensis
6. Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus
7. "Sagebrush" Brewer's Sparrow - breweri subspeciesSpizella breweri breweri
8. Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus
9. Cassin's Auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus
10. Ferruginous Hawk Buteo regalis
11. Fisher Martes pennanti
12. "Great Basin" Gopher Snake - deserticola subspeciesPituophis catenifer deserticola
13. Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum
14. Grizzly Bear Ursus arctos
15. Keen's Long-eared Myotis Myotis keenii
16. Lewis's Woodpecker Melanerpes lewis
17. Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus
18. Marbled Murrelet Brachyramphus marmoratus
19. Mountain Beaver - rainieri subspeciesAplodontia rufa rainieri
20. Mountain Beaver - rufa subspeciesAplodontia rufa rufa
21. Mountain Goat Oreamnos americanus
22. Night Snake Hypsiglena torquata
23. Northern Goshawk - atricapillus subspeciesAccipiter gentilis atricapillus
24. "Queen Charlotte" Northern Goshawk - laingi subspeciesAccipiter gentilis laingi
25. Pacific Water Shrew Sorex bendirii
26. Prairie falcon Falco mexicanus
27. Racer Coluber constrictor
28. Rubber Boa Charina bottae
29. Sage Thrasher Oreoscoptes montanus
30. Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis
31. Tailed Frog Ascaphus truei
32. Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator
33. Vancouver Island Marmot Marmota vancouverensis
34. Western grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis
35. White-headed Woodpecker Picoides albolarvatus
36. Yellow-breasted Chat Icteria virens

Plant Communities:

1. Douglas-fir/Garry oak - oniongrass

Pseudotsuga menziesii/Quercus garryana - Melica subulata

2. Ponderosa pine - black cottonwood - Nootka rose - poison ivy

Pinus ponderosa - Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa - Rhus radicans

3. Ponderosa pine - black cottonwood - snowberry

Pinus ponderosa - Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa - Symphoricarpos albus

4. Water birch - red-osier dogwood

Betula occidentalis - Cornus stolonifera