Cariboo-Chilcotin Land-Use Plan Chilcotin Sustainable Resource Management Plan June 2007 Chilcotin Sustainable Resource Management Plan 2 Chilcotin Sustainable Resource Management Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................ 6 2 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 7 3 ECONOMIC SECURITY................................................................................. 9 3.1 FOREST INDUSTRY .............................................................................................. 9 3.2 MINING ............................................................................................................. 10 3.3 TOURISM AND RECREATION ............................................................................... 10 3.3.1 Recreation Corridors and Trails ................................................................... 11 3.3.2 Fishing .......................................................................................................... 11 3.4 AGRICULTURE ................................................................................................... 11 4 BACKGROUND PLANNING INITIATIVES ................................................. 12 4.1 CHILKO LAKE STUDY TEAM AND THE TASEKO MANAGEMENT ZONE ...................... 12 4.2 TATLA RESOURCE ASSOCIATION ........................................................................ 12 4.3 WEST CHILCOTIN DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ..................................................... 12 5 FIRST NATIONS .......................................................................................... 14 6 GOAL 2 PROTECTED AREAS ................................................................... 16 7 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ...................................................................... 18 7.1 TIMBER RESOURCE ........................................................................................... 18 7.1.1 Timber Access .............................................................................................. 18 7.1.2 Short Term Timber Impacts .......................................................................... 18 7.1.3 Woodlot Licences and Community Forests .................................................. 18 7.1.4 Silviculture .................................................................................................... 19 7.2 FOREST HEALTH ............................................................................................... 20 7.3 NO-HARVEST AREAS ......................................................................................... 21 7.4 LANDSCAPE LEVEL BIODIVERSITY ....................................................................... 22 7.4.1 Landscape Unit Boundaries ......................................................................... 22 7.4.2 Seral Stage Distribution ................................................................................ 23 7.4.3 Old Growth Management Areas ................................................................... 33 7.4.4 Distribution of Cut and Leave Areas ............................................................. 34 7.4.5 Landscape Connectivity ............................................................................... 35 7.5 STAND LEVEL BIODIVERSITY .............................................................................. 37 7.5.1 Rare Ecosystems ......................................................................................... 37 7.5.2 Wildlife and Habitat Features ....................................................................... 37 7.5.3 Grasslands ................................................................................................... 38 7.5.4 Wildlife Tree Retention ................................................................................. 39 7.5.5 Species Composition .................................................................................... 45 7.5.6 Riparian Habitats .......................................................................................... 45 7.5.7 Coarse Woody Debris .................................................................................. 47 7.6 WILDLIFE .......................................................................................................... 48 7.6.1 Mule Deer ..................................................................................................... 48 7.6.2 Northern Caribou .......................................................................................... 49 7.6.3 Mountain Goat .............................................................................................. 49 7.6.4 California Bighorn Sheep ............................................................................. 50 7.6.5 Moose ........................................................................................................... 51 7.6.6 Grizzly Bear .................................................................................................. 52 7.6.7 Fur-bearers ................................................................................................... 53 7.7 SPECIES AND HABITATS AT RISK ........................................................................ 53 7.8 AQUATIC RESOURCES ....................................................................................... 54 3 Chilcotin Sustainable Resource Management Plan 7.8.1 Watershed Hydrology ................................................................................... 54 7.8.2 Fish ............................................................................................................... 55 7.8.2.1 Salmon ..................................................................................................................... 56 7.8.2.2 Bull Trout .................................................................................................................. 56 7.8.3 Water Resources .......................................................................................... 56 7.9 LAKES ............................................................................................................... 57 7.10 TOURISM AND RECREATION ............................................................................... 60 7.10.1 Recreation Corridors and Trails ................................................................... 60 7.10.2 Backcountry .................................................................................................. 61 7.10.3 High Elevation Visuals .................................................................................. 63 7.10.4 Scenic Areas ................................................................................................ 63 7.11 MINERAL AND AGGREGATE RESOURCES ............................................................. 64 7.12 ENERGY RESOURCES ........................................................................................ 65 7.13 RANGE .............................................................................................................. 65 7.14 AGRICULTURE ................................................................................................... 66 7.15 LAND ALLOCATION ............................................................................................. 67 7.16 WILDCRAFT (BOTANICAL FOREST PRODUCTS) .................................................... 68 7.17 TRAPPING ......................................................................................................... 68 7.18 ACCESS ............................................................................................................ 68 8 ANALYSIS METHODS AND RESULTS ...................................................... 70 8.1 TIMBER AND NON-TIMBER OBJECTIVES ANALYSIS ............................................... 70 8.2 BIODIVERSITY OBJECTIVES ANALYSIS ................................................................. 71 8.2.1 Old Growth Management Areas ................................................................... 71 8.2.2 Wildlife Tree Retention ................................................................................. 71 8.3 ANALYSIS RESULTS ........................................................................................... 72 8.3.1 Timber/Non-Timber Targets ......................................................................... 72 8.3.2 Biodiversity ................................................................................................... 72 9 IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING .................................................... 73 9.1 IMPLEMENTATION .............................................................................................. 73 9.2 MONITORING ..................................................................................................... 73 9.3 FUTURE INVENTORY .......................................................................................... 73 9.4 FUTURE PLANNING ............................................................................................ 73 9.5 MECHANISMS FOR LAND USE CHANGES ............................................................. 74 10 GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TERMS ......................................................... 75 11 APPENDICES .............................................................................................. 77 APPENDIX A: MAPS ............................................................................................................... 77