Stumpage and Tenure Issues Affecting Wildland Urban Interface Fuel Treatments in British Columbia

摘要

Rural British Columbia communities are increas-ingly threatened by catastrophic wildfires and annual fire suppression costs within British Columbia have been above average when compared against previous decades. To reduce these threats, many local and regional governments have developed community wildfire protection plans (CWPPs) and operational fuel treatments. CWPPs and fuel treatment are critical steps for effectively reducing hazardous fuel and once implemented can reduce fire suppression and other market and non-market costs. Within British Columbiathere are approximately 1.65 million hectares of high and moderate fuel hazards within the wildland urban interface (WUI) that need fuel treatments, and over the 2004-2011 period, 43,000 hectares of land had been treated (approx. 2.5% of total WUI). WUI is defined as an area where human development meets or is intermingled with forest and grassland fuel types (Forest Prac-tices Board 2010). Fuel hazard reduction projects have been implemented by community groups via logging forsaw-logs, pulp, and more recently, pellet and bioenergy production, in an attempt to meet fuel treatment objec-tives. Other fuel treatment methods have also been used such as mastication, hand slashing, piling, and burning. Treatment costs across British Columbia vary widely and depend upon factors such as the quality of the fibre, stems per hectare, mean diameters, and other factors. Regardless of cost, most fuel treatment work to date has required subsidies to reach the intended objectives.