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Archival description
Only top-level descriptions British Columbia. Port Alberni Forest District Vancouver Island (B.C.)
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Silviculture opening records

  • GR-3718
  • Series
  • 1943-2008

Series consists of silviculture opening records created by the South Vancouver Island district and its predecessor the Port Alberni Forest district from 1943-2008. The ministry defines silviculture as “the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests and woodlands to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis.” These files document the historical silviculture treatment work that has been undertaken on specific areas of land that are referred to as openings.

The files may contain a wide variety of record formats including textual records, photographs and maps. The textual records include computer printouts, photocopies, cards, reports and correspondence. Pre-1980 documents are usually photocopies but there are also many original documents from those years.

Most files are quite small. They usually consist of a map of the area and a computer printout titled the History of Crop Establishment and Tending. These computer printouts are dated from 1986 or 1990. They provide a history of crop establishment and tending and provide information regarding prescriptions, site preparations, reforestation and stand tending.

There are also larger files that contain a variety of other documents. These include prescription documents (which provide the management plan for the area), stand tending cards and reports (that show what forest treatments were taken), traverse sheets (that provide location information), pruning examination cards and printouts, planting reports, final harvesting reports, site preparation reports. Pre-1970 documents usually consist of copies of logging inspection reports.

The files are arranged numerically by a classification number. The first part of that number corresponds with the National Topographic System location codes and the second part of the number consists of a sequential number applied to each file.

Ministries responsible for the creation of this series, and the dates of the responsibility, are:

Dept. of Lands 1943-1945
Dept. of Lands and Forests 1945-1962
Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources 1962-1975
Dept. of Forests 1975-1976
Ministry of Forests 1976-1986
Ministry of Forests and Lands 1986-1988
Ministry of Forests 1988-2005
Ministry of Forests and Range 2005-2010

Classified as 18750-20 in the Forests Operational Records Classification System (ORCS).

British Columbia. Port Alberni Forest District

Tree farm cutting permits from the Port Alberni Forest District

  • GR-3640
  • Series
  • 1955-1992

The series consists of tree farm cutting permit files from the Port Alberni Forest District. These files document the permit application process and the general administration of existing cutting permits in forests that are part of tree farm licences (TFL) 20, 21, 22, 44, 46 and 54. The records were created between 1955 and 1992.

The series is arranged by accession, then the tree farm number followed by the cutting permit number. The files contain forms, reports, correspondence and maps. The files consist of cutting permit applications, ministry approvals, revisions to the permit, forest appraisals, a description and maps of the area that will be logged, future plans for the area as well as ministry audits of the work that has been undertaken.

The files are for TFL 44, TFL 20 and TFL 21. In 1984, TFL’s 20 and 21 were consolidated to create TFL 44.

The ministries that were responsible for these records are:
1955-1962 Dept. of Lands and Forests
1962-1975 Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources
1975-1976 Dept. of Forests
1976-1986 Ministry of Forests
1986-1988 Ministry of Forests and Lands
1988-2005 Ministry of Forests

The records have been classified as 19700-45, 19700-46 and 19700-47 in the Forest Operational Classification System (ORCS). These numbers are covered under the old forestry file code number 880-3.

British Columbia. Port Alberni Forest District

Timber sale harvesting licences from the Port Alberni Forest District

  • GR-3642
  • Series
  • 1970-1982

The series consists of timber sale harvesting licences (TSHL) from the Port Alberni Forest District. Timber sale harvesting licences were first introduced in 1967 and provided individuals and businesses with a permit to cut a volume of timber. This series documents the Government’s administration of timber licences during the period of 1970-1982.

The series contains records for TSHL’s A00633 and A02810. There are multiple files for each TSHL and each file corresponds to specific cutting permit. Each file contains correspondence, reports and may also contain maps of the cutting area. The files also contain the TSHL application, cutting permit, timber value appraisals and reappraisals, stumpage rate notices, cutting plan maps, and inspection reports.

The ministries that were responsible for this function are:

1970-1975 Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources
1975-1976 Dept. of Forests
1976-1980 Ministry of Forests

The records have been classified as 19590-45 in the Forest Operational Classification System (ORCS).

British Columbia. Port Alberni Forest District

South Island Forest District resource inventories and land use plans

  • GR-4018
  • Series
  • 1975-2007

This series consists of a variety of resource inventories and land use plans. The records were created by the South Island Forest District and its predecessor the Port Alberni Forest District from 1975-2007.

Many of the records are recreation resource inventories. These relate to the identification of opportunities from the Provincial Forest recreation resource, to ensure that recreation values are considered in resource management decisions.

Other records include land use planning studies, protected area studies, landscape inventories integrated resource management and recreation plans, as well as questionnaires and consultation with user groups. Records regard land across the South Island Forest District, including TFL 25, TFL 44, TFL 46 and other areas near Clayoquot Sound and Barkley Sound.

These records have been classified as 16350-20 in the Forestry Operational Classification System (ORCS). However, some records may have been misclassified.

British Columbia. Port Alberni Forest District

Tree farm forest management plans from the Port Alberni Forest District

  • GR-3659
  • Series
  • 1971-2005, predominant 1981-2005

The series consists of tree farm forest development plans and forest management plans and created for tree farm licences (TFLs). The records were created by the Port Alberni Forest District, and its successor the South Island Forest District, between 1971 and 2005. Many of the records relate to the forestry management in the Barkley Sound, Clayoquot Sound, Walbran and Fairy Creek areas. Including forest that was the focus of protests and acts of civil disobedience in the 1990s, known as the Clayoquot protests or War of the Woods.

TFLs are a type of timber tenure which grants a virtually exclusive right to harvest timber and manage forests in a specified area. They are issued for a term of 25 years, but can be replaced every 5-10 years.

These files document the management of TFL 20, TFL 21, TFL 22, TFL 25, TFL 44, TFL 46, TFL 47, TFL 54 and TFL 57. Over the years, TFL boundaries and rights holders may have changed. For example, in 1984, TFL 20 and 21 were combined to form TFL 44, and TFL 44 was later divided to create TFL 57 in 1999.

TFL holders are required to submit a management plan every five years to the Chief Forester (RSBC 1996, c. 157, s. 35, and BC Reg. 23/2013). The Forest Act requires that the plan must:

  1. Be prepared by a professional forester;
  2. Include inventories of forest, recreation, fisheries, wildlife, range and cultural heritage resources in the area;
  3. Be consistent with the tree farm licence, legislation and regulations;
  4. Propose objectives regarding the management and utilization of timber resources, the protection and conservation of non-timber values, forest fire prevention and suppression, forest health, silviculture, and road construction and deactivation;
  5. Include proposals for meeting proposed management objectives;
  6. List measures to identify and consult with persons using the licence area for purposes other than timber production;
  7. Include a timber supply analysis that analyzes the short term and long term availability of timber for harvesting;
  8. Include an operational supply projection for the licence area, in support of the timber supply analysis that indicates the availability of timber.

These records include draft and final management or development plans; revisions or amendments to existing plans; correspondence between the ministry and licence holders, as well as correspondence with ministry staff; records related to public review of the development plans; consultation and correspondence with First Nations; reasons for why a plan or amendment was or was not approved; advertisements in newspapers and the Gazette; and maps and map overlays. The series also includes some records related to the construction, maintenance and deactivation of forest service roads in the TFLs.

The records have been classified as 19710-20 and 19710-30 in the Forestry Operational Classification System (ORCS).

The ministries responsible for these records, and the years that they were responsible, are:
Ministry of Forests (1976-1986)
Ministry of Forests and Lands (1986-1988)
Ministry of Forests (1988-2005)

British Columbia. Port Alberni Forest District