WTA Strategy Session Notes

WTA Strategy Session Notes – April 18, 2007 Listel Hotel, Vancouver BC

1. Introduction and Progress Report – Brian Gunn, President The WTA President, Brian Gunn discussed progress on some of the issues the WTA continues to work on:

 Wild Salmon Issue and Open Net Cage Farming: This issue is still with us. More farms are being proposed and the industry and government are still in denial despite the overwhelming science. It is clear to anyone who cares to visit the Broughton Archipelago during the out migration of salmon fry, that the farms are the incubation chamber for billions of sea lice eggs. These eggs attach to fry as they swim past the farms and then the fry die a horrible death. As the fry become decimated there is less food for their natural predators like the Coho, Sockeye, Chum and Chinook salmon which feed whales, sea lions, seals and others who will now find it more difficult to find food. The return of pinks has been dramatically reduced in all of the rivers of the Broughton Archipelago (BA), and even at Glendale the enhanced spawning channel has seen significant drop off of return from 662k to 182k in the 2006 return. Although we have not yet seen a large drop in our tourism businesses like wildlife viewing and sports fishing, it is clear to all operators in the BA that unless fundamental changes in farming practices occur, like fallowing the farms during the out migration, then the stocks of pinks will disappear. We are also seeing the effect of sea lice creeping along the coast to other areas like Bute Inlet. WTA supports a moratorium on the expansion of all farms along the coast. The fallowing of existing farms should occur along migration corridors during the out migration of the juveniles. The WTA also supports closed containment, for which there is some good news. Agrimarine has purchased the Middle Bay site to raise farmed salmon in closed containment tanks 100ft in diameter. It has received funds from the Moore Foundation to build one tank and is in the process of seeking funds from private investors and federal and provincial governments for rearing the first fish and progressing to 4 tanks in order to prove out the commercial aspects. WTA supports this closed containment venture as it will collect all the wastes and prevent the contact of marine mammals with farm fish. It also promises to be competitive with the open net cages. The environmental question the trial needs most to answer is: Will the 80% of the water flowing through the tank have to be treated to stop the transmission of sea lice and other diseases? If this is the case, treatment can easily take place but will add to the cost of rearing fish. Only a full trial will give us these figures. WTA is continuing its pressure on the government and the farms to take the required action to save the wild salmon.  The Conflict between Commercial and Public Recreation Some of the province is covered by land use plans, which set aside different recreation areas for different activities and separate those that are in conflict with each other like motorized and non-motorized recreation. However, there is significant violation of the zones particularly by motorized recreationists. Ranchers and others are having problems with motorized recreationists tearing up valuable grasslands. There is little enforcement of the zoning of recreational activities and what enforcement there is has been made exceedingly difficult by a complete lack of licensing of Off Road Vehicles (ORVs). The WTA supports the Coalition for Licensing and Registration of Off-Road Vehicles in British Columbia, which is asking the government to come up with a licensing and registration program ASAP. The Government is currently stalled on this legislation, as there is a major difference of opinion between the coalition and the BC wildlife federation. The federation will only support one time license and registration but no annual license and no money collected for trail improvement. Action is needed to form a common consensus to get government to take action and Brian asked members to take this up in their communities and with their MLAs  The Limits of acceptable change (LAC) project.

The objectives of the project are to:

o Test the utility of the LAC system in land use planning for tourism and recreation in BC in two pilot areas; the Brougthon and the Golden areas of BC

o Address and resolve some long-standing environmental and/or experiential issues around the nature of use a recreation area can sustain without loss of quality, or “carrying capacity” in recreation management, in the pilot areas; and

o Establish a template for use of the system in other recreation sites of British Columbia, including an assessment of how it will be implemented.

The preparatory work: establishment of a project charter; term of reference; and hiring of a consultant are complete. The pilot area working groups meetings are scheduled for April and the workshops are scheduled for May and Oct. The final report is due at the end of December

 Taking and Compensation As most tenured operators know, there is taking and no compensation clauses in all tenures with government for licenses of occupation and Park use permits. The Industry Joint Steering Committee approached the government in late 2005 with a detailed report asking the government to remove these clauses and to support taking with compensation related to market value. We showed a case where a Mining company took the government to court and won compensation fora taking. It makes sense to reflect the results of the court case in the tenure language, which would give considerably more security to tenure holders. We have a strong indication that the government will take action in the near future.

 Guidebook Upgrade – Brian encouraged operators to view the new and improved guidebook posted on the website. The guidebook is very user friendly and contains advice on key steps to secure and preserve operator rights and uses hot links to relevant government documents. The book emphasizes the need for operators to become familiar with other users of the land and become aware of what rights operators have and do not have. The work was accomplished through funding from Adventure Tourism branch of MTSA. Go to http://www.wilderness-tourism.bc.ca/guide.html.

 Effectiveness of LRMPS LRMPs and need to make them work for us. As most of you know, the province has substantial coverage by Land Resource Management plans (LRMPS) but the results of the LRMP to translate them to the activity on the ground has been minimal. In many cases, the only tangible benefit of the LRMP has been the formation of more parks and protected areas, but not the ability to protect viewscapes, old growth forests, wildlife habitat and trails in non protected areas. The next level of planning, the Sustainable Resource Management Plan (SRMP) in most cases throughout the province has produced no legal objectives that can be used in the forest stewardship plans (FSP’s)and mining claim work which guide forest licensees, miners, oil and gas and exploration crews to take care of our interest in the land as they carry out their work. In the case of the Costal LRMPs (Great Bear Rainforest-GBR), only the parks and protected areas have been set aside, but no action on the viewscape plan agreed by the table has taken place. I have asked two of our operators to monitor what has happened to these viewscapes on their trips up the coast this summer as they were very much involved in negotiating the viewscape plan. WTA in cooperation with COTA is requesting government to put legal objectives developed from approved land use plans into the FSP’s

 Fixed Roof Accommodation In Parks In December the WTA developed and issued a press release on its view about the government’s Fixed Roof Accommodation Policy in Parks. The WTA is opposed to new lodges in Parks, but supports the development of new lodges outside of parks on their boundaries; is in favour of existing lodges remaining in parks and upgrading their facilities in an environmentally acceptable way; and in locating basic shelter within parks with footprints no larger than 400 square feet.

 Adventure Tourism policy (ATP) Brian introduced Sean Herbert, Manager of Adventure Tourism and co-chair with Brian on the Joint Steering Committee - which is composed of industry reps from 10 commercial sectors and government interests associated with adventure tourism. The JSC has been responsible for many improvements to tenure language pricing and making it easier to operate. For the first time the government agreed to set up a sub-working group (SWG) of industry and government to significantly revise the ATP. The SWG has met extensively over the past year with several reports back to the JSC. There have been significant revisions to the policy focusing on: overlapping tenures, multi area tenures, educational use and fees, and incidental use. The Draft policy is now before a committee of ATP area managers for review. It will then come back to government. Linda Beltrano, Policy Manager for MTSA, will vet any changes and a revised draft will be sent out to industry for final review (June) before it goes to government for review and passage, hopefully in September.

 Harmonization with Parks Your Industry JSC is working with Parks to try and get harmonization of key policies that we have or are negotiating with Parks. These policies are: tenure length; mid term replacement; multi area tenures; education; overlapping tenures and incidental use. Parks indicated to us that before agreeing to policy they wished to consult with key ENGO stakeholders. As we felt the issues were of considerable importance to us, we asked to meet jointly with Government and ENGOs. Parks would not agree and therefore the committee decided to meet directly with the ENGOs themselves with the support of Parks but not their attendance. These discussions are going on now with a deadline of early May to come up with a report back to members in the Ministry of Environment.

2. Foresight Project and Property Assessment & Taxation Peter Larose – Senior COTA Policy Planner, gave the following updates:

Foresight: o Comprehensive triple-bottom line sustainability strategy developed for the entire tourism industry (economic, social/cultural, environmental) o Financed and supported by MTSA o Entering final phase of project – developing actions for COTA, sector and regional associations, and individual operators o First phase aimed at identifying key influencers of tourism’s sustainability in BC, key assumptions about the future, a vision of the desired future, and ten high-level goals: 1. BC is positioned in the minds of travelers from target markets as a destination which uniquely meets their needs 2. BC’s tourism product portfolio is market ready 3. Market performance in key target markets is high 4. Tourism industry has high utilization of technologies that meets user needs 5. Workforce capacity meets traveler needs 6. Increased government awareness and predispositions to enhance industry competitiveness 7. Leading environmental practices are incorporated into all tourism operations 8. World class health and safety standards are incorporated into all tourism business operations 9. Leading social / cultural practices are incorporated into all tourism business practices 10. There is high public awareness of the value of tourism to BC – culturally/socially, environmentally, economically o Phase I also developed a pan-industry sustainability policy and Code of Ethics

Property Assessment & Taxation: o COTA has been working since March 2006 on several issues relating to property assessment and taxation. o At COTA’s request in April 2006, the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue set up a working group to develop solutions to problems faced by tourism property owners relating to the rapid escalation of property values and property taxes across the province between 2001 and the present. o Among the numerous proposed changes being worked through, one expected victory will be the shifting of all unimproved parcels of seasonal lodges from Class 6 to Class 8 – this will mean a significant reduction in property taxes for lodge owners with significant unimproved parcels of land. o These expected changes should be in place by the 2008 assessment roll. o Other changes include ways to assist local governments in providing targeted tax relief for specific tourism businesses, and an improvement in the consistency of how BC Assessment values and classifies other accommodation properties.

3. Environmental Stewardship WTA Stewardship Stories Presented by WTA members at the 2007 AGM

 Myrna Boulding - Strathcona Park Lodge (SPL) Since start up, SPL has always considered the highest and best use of the land and resources and how to achieve the lowest impacts to our environment and resources. We have invested considerable time looking at and addressing an array of environmental and sustainable issues. We have our own independent 70kw micro-hydro system, which we have been using for several years. With this power we were able to weather through the storms and power outages this year. Our approach has been to instill core values by leading through example. The Lodge runs the Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training (COLT) course (100days of hard core activities) with groups of 10 two to 4 times per year. In the spring and the fall we cater to groups of 200 students 10-18 years of age for a five day program. At peak times we have 40 instructors and 40 support staff. We have also been composting our waste for several years and continue to incorporate the 3Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle; into every aspect of our business and educate the students about the same. Our school programs as well as our COLT and WYLD training programs focus on no trace camping and minimum impact wilderness travel. We also teach our students how to camp and travel using minimum equipment and rather how to rely on what nature produces. Our activities are all non- motorized, self propelled pursuits. For example we attempt to take canoes instead of vehicles to the trail heads. Many of our students are from Canada’s cities with little exposure to our wilderness or proper nutrition (for example). We introduce these kids to healthy, sustainable living with our healthy/organic menus and physical, self reliant activities.

 Howard Pattinson –Tide Rip Tours We are building sustainability into our vessels. We have recently bought a vessel with a new efficient Volvo engine, which is saving 9 gallons (33 vs. 42) of fuel per trip. This new engine is also smokeless and much quieter than previous engines. We rely on our younger guides to help direct our company with respect to sustainability issues/concerns. They have many ideas and new information to bring to our program, which we try to incorporate. For example we are now using oil pads that soak up oil but not water, and also using filtered water and permanent bottles instead of bottled water.

 John Caton - Clayquot Wilderness Resort (CWR) CWR has applied for a permit for a run of the river hydro project. It has been a while forthcoming so while they are waiting for a permit CWR, who is concerned about the 200,000 litres of fuel they use yearly, is looking at how they can reduce the fuel and emissions with existing diesel generators. They also looked into getting an alternative fuel source e.g. bio- diesel but here has been supply chain issues. John inquired at the local supplier, but the supplier couldn’t get bio-diesel from his distributor and wouldn’t change to a distributor that could supply bio diesel. John then approached a local aquaculture company, which also had sufficient diesel fuel needs (using two and a half million litres of fuel per year) and was looking at bio-diesel with the similar supply issue. Using economies of scale they both approached the local supplier and told him that if he didn’t source bio-diesel they would find themselves another supplier. A week later the supplier changed distributors and got it in to Tofino. The point here is that as consumers, operators need to force change in the market and supply chains to source more sustainable and environmentally benign products. Comments: Craig Murray (Nimmo Bay Resort) indicated that Port McNeil now has a supply of bio-diesel through efforts of the tourism operators there.

 Kevin Bracewell - Chilcotin Holidays (CH) About 15 years ago CH hired a student biologist who developed wildlife tracking forms for guides to fill out. CH has since created a database developed from sighting forms prepared by the guides. These sightings have been valuable in establishing population of wildlife in the area. We have seen significant growth over 15 years (8-80 sightings) in the goat herd in an area where there is heliskiing. This data conflicted with government goat surveys and CH was able to show government biologists where to fly to verify the sightings. This illustrates the importance of government-private partnerships in keeping track of wildlife. Craig Murray commented: This idea is embodied in the MOE –WTA stewardship agreement.

 Geoff Straight –TLH & Last Frontier (LF) Heliskiing TLH & LF has been monitoring goat activity and sharing it with the government. They have given up certain runs with respect to the goat population. They are doing an extensive study and want goats to feel safe. The population is improving – guides knew this and they can prove it now. TLH & LF is looking at ways to improve on environmental impacts such as the lodge energy use etc.

 Mark Langston - National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) NOLS has been sourcing green power. It is quite expensive so they have been selling cookies for $2 to students and clients to offset the cost. They are using organics in their menus. They do need to drive a lot for their programming but are looking to reduce this impact with carbon offsets. Buildings are becoming more energy efficient through the use of straw bail construction. They practice “Leave No Trace” camping – heck, they wrote the book on it. They are also recently promoting a book called Last Child in the Woods, by Eric Louv about Nature Deficit Disorder. City kids are having all types of physical and mental health issues etc due to lack of connection to nature. Comments: Ric Careless BC Spaces for nature (BCSFN) pointed out that educators should be offering a wilderness education program as kids have become so disconnected with nature. We have to make sure we teach this younger generation about the importance of the environment so they will make efforts in their life to protect wild spaces. The industry should be helping people to reconnect. A whole generation has lost the ability to connect. Sean asked if from the industry perspective – will people spend more money because you say you are green… aren’t most people concerned about cost? John Caton- CWR is now a family resort where families are coming from all over the globe and getting connected to wilderness. Families are willing to pay for the experience (and it is not cheap).

 Tim McGrady -Knight Inlet Lodge (KIL) KIL looked at ways they could support WTA and conservation/stewardship initiatives. In 2006 they decided to increase their 2007 tariff rates by 1%, and labeled it a Wilderness Habitat Conservation Fee. Buyers and the travel trade in general didn’t even question the 1% added fee. KIL presented a $20,000 cheque to WTA representing the 1% of the 2007 tariff. Tim encouraged other operators to do the same. Other projects include: work around salmon conservation through an established partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Projects are: accurate counting of pinks returning to spawn and outbound fry and funding a wild salmon hatchery at KIL. DOF is supplying the technical expertise and KIL is supplying the infrastructure. KIL has also undertaken a bear collaring project with Dr. Owen Nevil. It is an invasive technique but they feel it will be offset by the results. They have accumulated concrete data/information on bear movement, denning, and general habitat in relation to proposed logging activity in the Lodge/Glendale cove area. The fourth initiative KIL is working on is to stop the trophy hunting of grizzly bears. They are raising money to buy and retire hunting tags ($20,000) by selling wrist bands for $20. The wrist bands say “Stop the Hunt” on them. John Caton responded that he will be following KIL’s initiative with a 1% wilderness habitat conservation fee included in their tariff for 2007. Brian thanked KIL for its WTA habitat conservation funding of $20,000 and said this would allow WTA to hire and pay a part time executive director and thus work more effectively on habitat conservation.

 John Caton -BC Sustainable Tourism Collective 6 members: CWR, Nimmo Bay, CMH, Fairmont Hotels Western Division, Whistler/Blackcomb Resorts, Rocky Mountain Rail Tours all got together after 2006 Tourism Industry Conference (TIC). Sub group of COTA Foresight Project. The 6 companies are learning about sustainability together and sharing best practices. They represent different scales and sizes of operations. At the 2007 TIC they gave an update/presentation, which looked at certification, best practices, etc. by starting with “small fruit” i.e. using energy efficient light bulbs. They will be looking at a triple bottom line approach (Social, Economic, & Environmental). All will be meeting at CWR this summer to learn and monitor what is happening there. They will in turn do the same at each property and reveal the results at 2008 TIC. They have hired an MBA student from Royal Roads University to help facilitate the project. They hope to develop a model that the whole BC tourism industry can use. Competition on the international stage is getting stronger and this can be a good marketing tool. Diedre Campbell (Tarten Publications and working with Dockside Green in Victoria) helped to pull the group together.

 General Comments on Stewardship discussion: o Craig Murray – mentioned what is called the “Passive House” - it doesn’t require energy. o Ric Careless (Ethos, BC Spaces) ENGO community is very interested in these stewardship issues initiatives. They are involved in park discussions of how to reward operators who are good stewards. WTA is in a good position to be a leader in stewardship/sustainability. ENGOs are looking at how to work with tourism industry – i.e. with certification. For certification to work it will need a 3rd party verification (e.g. by the conservation comm.) Opportunity for a partnership. o Sean Herbert (MTSA) asked if from industry experience, will clients pay for green? o Brian – In Anna Pollock’s presentation she made a strong point that clients are willing to pay for sustainable or green tourism. o Ric: Yes, the market wants green. This can be shown in the many certification programs in high profile tourism destinations throughout the world. BC is being left behind.

4. Stewardship Practices for Outdoor Recreation (SPOR) - Eileen Fletcher & Dick McMaster

The initiative Stewardship Practices for Outdoor Recreation is becoming a substantial province-wide initiative in which both TASK and the WTA are lead partners through Dick and Eileen, along with the Stewardship Centre for BC. There have been very positive discussion with the BC Wildlife Federation and we anticipate that they will sign on as a lead partner once their board has ratified it. The Grasslands Conservation Council has also indicated that they would like to be a lead partner. Other signatory partners include the Outdoor Recreation Council and ABC Snowmobile Clubs. In addition, there are several federal and provincial agencies that advise the initiative, and numerous stakeholders and other organizations involved in specific projects within the initiative. Goals: to develop consistent and comprehensive information to foster stewardship of the environment by outdoor recreation and create a province-wide network for partners and advisors to deliver useful information to target audiences.

 In phases over several years this initiative will: 1. Maintain a Steering Committee and Advisory Council to support and direct the initiative 2. On an annual basis select Activity-Habitat Pairs to be addressed in the upcoming fiscal year, develop work plans, budgets and appoint project Technical Teams 3. Deliver three or more workshops per Activity-Habitat Pair involving authorities, agencies, associations, clubs, businesses, non-government organizations and individuals 4. Release and annually expand a ‘Compendium of Information’ that consolidates and organizes credible information for each Activity-Habitat Pair including research, science based knowledge, sector best practices, case studies, and local knowledge 5. Communicate best recreation behaviours to three or more audiences per Activity-Habitat Pair using print materials, digital media, on-line searchable archives and web portals 6. For each Activity-Habitat Pair, negotiate six or more information sharing and maintenance agreements with information suppliers, distributors and on-line portals 7. Develop an Implementation Manual including processes and templates that are repeatable throughout successive phases of the initiative This year, our first project starts with looking at recreational snowmobiling, public and commercial and motorized boating in wetlands.

5. Code of Conduct – Eileen Fletcher

WTA Code of Conduct was established in 2002, and was revised by Eileen Fletcher with input from Anna Rozwadowska of the MOE environmental stewardship division and members of WTA environmental committee. A copy was sent out to all members on the list serve. Eileen reviewed the revised code clause by clause, and the following changes were made. Clause 5 was revised to include relationships with local land owners and local communities. The revised code will be sent to members and posted on the website replacing the 2002 Code. It was recommended that an annual review should take place.

6. Trails - John Hawkings, Acting Provincial Trail Manager with MTSA gave the following update:  British Columbia is blessed with diverse and spectacular landscapes that are home to over 30,000km of recreation trails. These trails provide a wide variety of recreational experiences for both non-motorized and motorized users. BC has an opportunity to offer the best trail network in the world.  An increasing proportion of the population is using trails. Demographics, including baby boomers play a central role in this trend.  Many government agencies and various levels of government have a role to play in managing trails. These agencies must work with communities and stakeholders to undertake a collaborative, multi-jurisdictional approach to trail management. The single jurisdictional approach to trail management is no longer effective.  The Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts (MTSA) and BC Parks are currently developing a Recreation Trails Strategy for BC. The primary goal of the strategy is to ensure the full range of economic, social and environmental benefits of BC’s exceptional trail system are realized thorough a collaborative, sustainable approach to trail management across the Province.  The Recreation Trails Strategy is being developed in several phases. The first phase, completed earlier this spring, includes an overview assessment of the existing status of BC’s trail network and a proposed process for developing the strategy.  The second phase, soon to be undertaken, will focus on the strategy development process through a Trail Advisory Committee consisting of government agency representatives and stakeholder groups. The process may involve community workshops and open houses in various regions throughout the Province. Subsequent phases will involve implementing the strategy, monitoring effectiveness, and modifying the strategy as required.  With all the competing interests and viewpoints on how BC’s trails should be managed, a key premise of the Trails Strategy is that the process be consultative, transparent, representative and balanced. The end result will be a world-renowned trail system with the potential to provide recreational, health, economic, social and environmental benefits to individuals, communities, and the Province as a whole. 7. WTA Marketing and Funding Project—John Caton, Tim McGrady, Dick McMaster (members) & Ryan Stuart author of Twenty WTA Stewardship Stories, proposed editor and co-manager of Be Wild in BC Magazine with Tim McGrady

A mock up of the proposed magazine was handed out and will be sent to members. The magazine will focus on member stewardship stories and WTA stewardship issues. The magazine will be comprised of 24 or 32 pages. It will be approximately 50% content and 50% advertising. The focus of the magazine is to provide marketing for WTA members through a captive client list. The strategy is to get members to give their preferred client list to an independent third party. KIL & CWR, SPL, Tide Rip Tours, Last Frontier/TLH, Chilcotin Holidays, Backcountry Lodges (Brad Harrison), Great Bear Nature Tours, BC River Outfitters Association(Jim Dehart), and Nechako Lodge volunteered their client lists. The names on these lists tally well over 30,000, which is the target distribution for the first 2 issues. The ‘Be Wild In BC’ Website will show content from the magazine, a WTA blog, important dates and events, and links to members. The first 2 issues will be distributed free with the idea that future additions will be on a subscription basis. Also, after the first two additions, it may be possible to get provincial and federal funding. It is planned that the first 2 issues will be primarily funded through members advertising with a focus starting with the second edition to advertisers with products compatible with the WTA members stewardship goals .

8. Nature Based Tourism Economic Study - Krista Morton & Valerie Sheppard (TBC)

Krista Morton and Valerie Sheppard from Tourism BC (TBC) gave an updated report on the 2001 nature based tourism stats to 2005.  Nature based tourism grew from 2001 direct revenues of 909 million to 2005 revenues of 1.2 billion. This represents an annual growth rate of approximately 6%.  2002 client numbers were approximately 966 thousand, which grew in 2005 to 1.2 million. Number of tourism businesses in 2001 was 2200, which grew to 2600 in 2005.  Total tourism industry grew from 2001 revenues of 9.2 billion dollars with 22.4 million visitors to 2005 of 9.8 billion dollars with 22.9 million visitors. This results in the nature based industry going from 10% of the tourism market of 2001 to 12% in 2005  The written report is due the end of May. The River Rafter section report was available on the TBC website as of the end of March. The sea kayakers sector report is due to be published in early May. It is intended that the economic study will be upgraded each year starting in the fall of 2007 for 2006 results. The client card has been developed for the BC River Rafters Association where in clients will note their pre and post expenditures, to get a better handle on the total value of this industry to the provincial economy. It is intended to do this for the whole nature based industry as well.

9. Tourism Tools For Dealing With Forest Stewardship Plans (FSP) Panel discussion

 Rick Monchak, R.P.F. – TimberWest Rick has a BSF from UBC and has been involved with operational silviculture and harvest planning since 1980. He still remembers the carefree days of no paperwork and government paid programs. Previous work locations include South, West and East Vancouver Island and the Mainland Coast from Jervis Inlet to Rivers Inlet. Currently, Rick is Operations Forester for TimberWest at the Johnstone Straits Operation. Rick is a member of several regional planning and policy committees including the Coastal Regional Implementation Team, a joint government and industry group working to facilitate the transition to FSPs and FRPA. o Rick delivered a brief history of the implementation of FSP’s (Forest Stewardship Plan). The Forest Practices Code and resulting Forest Development Plans were too prescriptive. Government scraped the existing forest practices code legislation and replaced it with the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA). The idea was to come up with results based forest management practices rather than prescriptive management, giving more flexibility to licensees to react to changing conditions like the markets. This resulted in the requirement of forest licensees to prepare forest stewardship plans. A major difference between FSPs and the old FDPs is that the map required for an FSP does not need to show areas of planned future development that are not already under or close to being under permit. Also, FSPs are approved for a 5 year term and can be extended for 5 more while FDPs generally were updated annually. o Once an FSP has been approved, there is no legal requirement for forest licensees to contact tenured tourism operators, therefore it is recommended that all tourism operators make an effort to make a relationship with the forest licensees who can affect the nature (viewscapes, trails) of their operational area.

 Elisabeth Doerig –Tour Operator Nechako Lodge Elisabeth is Co-owner/Operator of Nechako Lodge & Aviation with her husband Joe. They are located southwest of Vanderhoof. It has been a family operation since 1987. Elisabeth is a table member of the Vanderhoof LRMP and Director of the Upper Nechako Wilderness Council. . o Elisabeth has operated 20 years in the Vanderhoof area where the pine beetle has hit the hardest. The pressure is on everyone to salvage as much of the beetle infested wood as possible before it falls to the ground and deteriorates to the point of no commercial value. In this rush to salvage wood often important viewscapes and wildlife habitat are destroyed. The three-fold uplift of the AAC has brought in new Licensees from the outside, who don’t know the operators and vice versa, and at the same time existing relationships have become strained. o Observed that the FSP language is difficult to understand, very technical and legal, yet the draft plan is the only opportunity for public review and comment. The licensee has no legal responsibility to let tourism operators know about or show them their detailed cutting plans (site plans). The commitments from individual licensees to consult vary from an “Information sharing” clause in the plan to flat refusal. o There is a lot of frustration regarding visual impacts. Visual Landscape Inventories were done in the Vanderhoof District to give more protection for tourism viewscapes. But FSP’s do not have to be amended for legally established VQO’s and scenic areas until the expiry of the plan.

o Harry commented that there is hope that there will be more regulations regarding visuals. The legislation language needs to be fixed.

 Paul Tataryn – Adventure Tourism Paul Tataryn is the Manager for the Coast Recreation Region of the Sites and Trails Branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts. The Sites and Trails Branch is responsible for three activities related to public recreation on crown land: The identification and protection of significant recreation features; the management of recreation activities and last, the management of the forest recreation sites and trails program. o Paul is responsible to get BC trails recognized as a natural resource and to get them legal status so that they are protected. At present, there are 1200 established trails in the province.

 Robin Hoffos—ILMB Robin Hoffos is currently Section Head for Planning in ILMB, Williams Lake. He has been involved in land use planning and development of the Caribou-Chilcotin Land Use Plan in Williams Lake since 1993 with the Ministry of Environment (1993-2001) and MSRM/ILMB (2001/2007). Robin previously worked for the Ministry of Forests, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and other agencies and consultants in the 1980s. He has served on several regional technical committees including caribou, mule deer, grasslands and biodiversity. o Robin is working with the Caribou Chilcotin Land Use Plan to create legal objectives that can become part of the FSPs. These objectives come from the SRMPs that were the result of defining the on the ground interpretation of the land use plan. The land act allows the minister to legalize the objectives in the FSPs. The objectives set by government must be addressed in the FSPs. Forest companies must write a result or strategy to meet each legal objective. SRMP values of primary interest to the tourism industry: scenic areas (visually sensitive), trails, backcountry, and lakes classification. Other values of interest: riparian protection, old growth management areas, ungulate winter ranges. o Robin advised that ILMB is planning to reduce the strategic planning as LRMPs are completed. If the public wishes to see more SRMPs done around the province, they must make the case.

 Harry Jennings – MOF Professional Agrologist in the current role of Forest Practices Specialist for the Southern Interior Forest Region with 11 years experience in BC (14 years in Ontario and Alberta) involving strategic planning, public consultation, First Nations engagement, Species at Risk, Ecosystem Restoration (grasslands), timber supply review, and a member of the Provincial FRPA Implementation Team. o Harry is involved in the implementation of the FRPA and recommendation for proposed changes. Harry’s advice is to be in contact with your MOF district manager and forest licensee about your business and its concerns, and if you are unhappy with what is happening, make them aware that you are unhappy.

 Peter Larose – COTA Peter Larose is the Director of Policy and Planning with the Council of Tourism Associations (COTA). He holds a Masters Degree in Comparative Politics, studied geography and environmental studies in his undergraduate, and has worked in the areas of research and policy analysis in numerous areas for over ten years – including forestry, agriculture, information technology policy, international trade, and energy.

Peter Larose gave an update on COTA’s Tourism Industry Strategy for Forests – as part of its Tourism and the Land Project. COTA has developed in consultation with its members a series of recommendations on how forests can be best managed for the interests of the broad tourism industry. o The recommendations are in three main areas: an overall framework for consultation and cooperation between tourism operators and forest licensees, the protection of scenic areas, and a strategy for addressing the potential impacts of the mountain pine beetle on tourism. o As part of the strategy, COTA has been in discussion with the provincial government and the Council of Forest Industries (COFI) – including its own members. Peter reviewed the nature of the problems and their solutions. He is working on promoting better consultations and cooperation, and suggested that within the context of FRPA, tourism operators need to provide better information – up front – to forest licensees, so this information can be included in harvesting plans. At present, forest industry representatives have indicated that the level and quality of information they are receiving from tourism operators is their biggest impediment to managing for tourism values in Forest Stewardship Plans (FSPs). The other major gap is that land use plans do not adequately identify tourism attributes on the ground, except for some Sustainable Resource Management Plans (SRMPs) and some objectives associated with high-level regional land use plans. But most land use plans do not adequately identify tourism attributes. o These need to include information about recreation trails, commercial recreation tenure areas, viewscapes, tourism-specific fish and wildlife habitat and other tourism values. Tourism operators are anxious as it is difficult to get cutting plans and to establish contact. One additional problem is that under FRPA, the existing recreation objective does not require forest licensees to develop results and strategies for the protection of any tourism interests other than government-designated recreation sites and trails, which are primarily the former forest service campsites. o Harry commented that there is a clause in FRPA, which says that consultation does have to take place with other tenure holders, but that different interpretations of this legislative requirement has resulted in minimal and haphazard consultations to date. o In working with COFI, COTA will continue trying to find ways for tourism attributes on the land to be better identified – through enhanced land use planning and through better public consultation through FSPs. Regarding FSPs, the there is a need for a formalized process of having tenured tourism operators directly consulted during and after the drafting of Forest Stewardship Plans. Government should establish a registry of tourism properties and tenure holders, and automatic notification sent to these operators when forest harvesting plans are being developed. o The recreation objective also needs to be updated in order to formally require better development of results and strategies for protecting tourism attributes, along with the appropriate guidance documentation to assist forest licensees in this regard. o Pine beetle – the tourism industry would like to see as many green trees as possible retained in areas that are particularly of high tourism value. In addition, Peter pointed out that considerable research has demonstrated that attacked and dead stands also provide considerable value to tourism, through the retention of fish and wildlife habitat, by shading soils from excessive heating, runoff and erosion and even from a visuals perspective. For this reason, the pine beetle should not completely change the way forests are managed.

Final Comments: o Robin – people have to make a case o Don’t assume the government is going to look after you or that the forestry company knows what concerns you. Be specific about what you want. o Rick – try and take a positive approach. FSPs are difficult documents to write and read. It is a new model with strengths and weaknesses and we will know better in 2 years time how the process is working.

10. Wrap up and Action Plan

o Brian thanked presenters, past directors, attendees and members for their input. o Focus coming out of the meeting was to: finalize tenure issues, continue and strengthen advocacy on land and ocean resource issues vital to the life and success of operators; to get the “Be Wild in BC magazine” up and operating success fully; and to get operators to sign onto the conservation habitat 1% tariff initiative started by Knight Inlet Lodge. o Schedule next years meeting during the first week of April. o Thanks to Brian for his work