Wildlife tree committee program aims to
maintain species and protect worker safety

Forestry practices have been chang-
ing during the past decade as the in-
dustry is hopefully becoming more
responsible in the way it harvests tim-
ber. Environmental protection and the
maintenance of wildlife species are
now deemed essential elements in the
basics of forestry planning.

Today's experts are examining the
importance of wildlife trees in the re-
tention of wildlife habit. "Wildlife
trees" are defined as trees which pro-
vide present or future critical habitat
for the maintenance or enhancement
of wildlife.

Throughout the province of British
Columbia over 90 species of wildlife
or 16% of vertebrates depend on
wildlife trees in some way. Whether
they be a black bear that dens in a
hollow cedar, or caribou which
browse on the lichen of a wildlife tree,
researchers are now finding out more
about the issues at hand. The preven-
tion of loss of habit is crucial in our
forests. Today there are 13 species on

the provincial "red" (endangered list)
and 18 species on the "blue" (vulnera-
ble list) due to the loss of wildlife
habit. Overall there are approximately
560 species of wildlife in B.C.

The safety of bush-
workers must be first
and foremost in the
discussion about
wildlife trees

Since 1985 a group of government
agencies and a conglomeration of in-
terest groups have been participating
in a body called the Wildlife Tree
Committee of British Columbia (WTC).
The committee has been examining
the importance of wildlife trees in the
maintenance of wildlife habitat while
maintaining a safe working environ-
ment.

Its members include representa-
tives from the Ministry of Forests,
Ministry of Environment, the Work-
ers! Compensation Board, the Canadi-
an Wildlife Services, IWA-CANADA, the
B.C. Truck Loggers’ Association,
MacMillan Bloedel and various public
groups such as the B.C. Federation of
Naturalists.

According to Todd Manning, R.P.
Bio., who acts as the co-ordinator for
the WTC, the IWA's participation has
been very helpful in searching for
some proper guidelines to the wildlife
tree issue.

"It's a sign of the times where we
are getting good intergroup co-opera-
tion with people such as the IWA who
understand the industry, especially
from a safety point of view, and can
talk about safety and environment is-
sues in a common way," says Mr. Man-
ning.

IWA-CANADA Local 1-71 Safety Di-
rector Bob Patterson, who has been
involved with the committee since
March of this year says that the ongo-
ing committee process has been a
learning experience for all.

"They (the WTC) have allowed us to
educate them as to our concerns,"
says Brother Patterson. "We have
been able to put our thoughts over
safety issues on the table."

Timber fallers and other loggers
only know too well that dangers exist
when working near dead or dying
trees. In logging lingo they are known
as "snags" which can be among the
most dangerous places to work
around.

Under Occupational Health and
Safety Guidelines pursuant to the
Workers' Compensation Act, there are
current provisions which spell out
snag falling procedures. The regula-
tions say that "fallers assigned to snag
removal operations shall be experi-
enced and competent workers."

In short, falling snags is a deadly
task only for seasoned fallers. Acci-
dents involving the falling of snags are
a leading cause of death and injury in
the woods.

Particular care must be taken in
falling and in working around snags,
say the regulations, and where practi-
cable snags shall be felled.

In addition "no falling, bucking or
limbing activities shall be undertaken
in an area made hazardous by a lean-
ing snag, or a snag which has been
brushed by a tree, until the hazard
snag has been felled." Further, accord-
ing to the regulations; "All snags
which could endanger workers shall
be felled before yarding or skidding
operations commence."

Since the WCB regulations are so
strict, getting changes to them in or-
der to maintain wildlife trees will be
no easy task, nor should it be.

Worker safety must always take
precedence over any other considera-
tions. Otherwise changes to WCB reg-
ulations, which are now being
considered under a regulation review
process, will adversely affect workers.

Wildlife trees, according to Mr.
Manning, can be either dangerous or
non-dangerous to workers. A "Danger
Tree" is defined as "a live or dead
standing tree whose trunk, root sys-
tem, or branches have deteriorated or
have been damaged to an extent that
it is a potential danger to workers in
the vicinity."

Mr. Manning says that the WCB reg-
ulation review committee has re-
ceived a number of submissions from
the WTC which point out that the
words "Danger Trees" and "Wildlife

Trees" can replace the word "Snag" in
the regulations.
The WTC has recommended that the

PHOTO COURTESY OF TODD MANNING

¢ A feller buncher creates potential wildlife habitat by leaving tree stubs. Usual
density is 8-12 stubs per hectare.

word "snag" be removed from Section
60 of the WCB Industrial Health and
Safety Regulations and be replaced by
the terms "wildlife tree" or "danger
tree."

He believes that, under the right as-
sessment procedures, some snags can
be left on the site intact to preserve
species habitat as wildlife trees, and
not create a safety threat. Also as a
side benefit, logging operation costs
can be reduced.

Mr. Manning points to three major
issues at hand that should be ad-
dressed by any regulation changes.

First and foremost, the mainte-
nance of high standards of worker
safety must take precedence over all
issues. Secondly, forest practices can
be modified to maintain crucial
wildlife habitat for species that de-
pend on wildlife trees. And thirdly,
changes can be implemented to main-
tain or enhance efficient forest opera-
tions. :

All of the above issues are being
hammered out by the committee in an
atmosphere of co-operative planning,

TODD MANNING

M25 dialogue, and discussion.

be 3-5 metres in height.

The WTC is developing a course that.

‘ 3 ers on the issue of wildlife trees. The

S course will instruct on 3 major areas;

The course, which began in October
focuses both on assessment of indi-
vidual trees as well as how to plan for
wildlife tree retention in silvicultural
operations and along roads and treat-
ment unit boundaries where safe to
do so. In this context the course will
teach participants to diagnose what
type of trees will make good wildlife
habitat. That will include analysis of
such factors as tree species, their
state of decay, and height and size fac-
tors.

Workers will be able to learn what
makes a tree unsound and at what
point a wildlife tree or danger tree can
become a hazard depending on the ac-
tivity around it.

The committee will put on 6 cours-
es by the end of March, 1993. The first
pilot course took place at Cowichan
Lake. The course was taught to fall-
ers, WCB officers, habitat biologists
and foresters.

According to Mike Fenger, Forestry
Specialist with B.C. Environment
there's a lot of work to do to get con-
sistency in course instruction and
common criteria on root systems,
branches, and stages of decay.

He says that the committee also
wants to avoid a situation where a
WCB inspection officer thinks some
procedure is O.K. in one area and not

in another.

Continued on next page

20/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1992