Vol~2No.5 The Ministry of Forests Employee Newspaper May, 1982

Tom WaterlandMinister.

Thanks!Timber apportionment plansfor 25 interior and north COO8t TSA, were announced April

27 by Forests Minister Tom Water1and. Plansjor the five Vancouver Reg!Ofl TSA, wereannounced earlier. Only three TSA, have yet to be dealt with.

And now, the minister has a meaagefor everyone who worked on this massive project:

More from theComputer Age?See GeodimeterStory, Page 2.

proved itself by continuing to operateafter the dunking.

Once the equipment has beenassessed and any technical changesmade, the next step would be a pilotproject with about 25 instruments inuse. After that would come total im­plementation.

Scaler Lloyd Anderson watches as Wilf Hutchings of Valuation Branch demonstratesthe new hand-held electronic scaling device. The day of push-button scaling hasfmally ardved. John Thomson photo

the other in Prince George Regionwhere the harsher climate is con­sidered a good challenge for the in­strument.

Wilf Hutchings of Valuation Branchhas been involved with the projectsince the feasibility study in the sum­mer of 1980. He is optimistic about thepotential of the recorders.

"Not only will they make life easierfor the scalers, but they will also allowus to transmit information morequickly. Since there is less handling ofdata, that means there is also a greaterdegree of accuracy in the data recordedand transmitted," says Wilf.

, 'Acceptance by scalers in theregions has been very good. They are.giving the recorders a thoroughworkout in the field tests," he reports.

There is even proof that the device iswatertight, Wilf adds, since one inad­vertently went into the drink alongwith the scaler using it. The recorder

Yet through all this they are expec-,ted to record, accurately and legibly,all the data required for scaling recordsand the production of invoices relatedto stumpage.

Little wonder their records are attimes tattered and unreadable. Yet noone has stepped forward to help.them...that is, not until recently.

The Ministry of Forests is nowtesting two electronic scaling devicesdesigned to take the wailing out ofscaling.

Building on an invention producedby Crown Zellerbach' s computerdepartment in 1975, the ministryrecently called for the production of amore sophisticated electronic recordercapable of storing/ computing andtransmitting a day's scaling data. Inaddition to its electronic capabilities,the device had to be watertight andreliable.

With these specifications in mind,and with the assistance of B.C.Systems Corp. / prototypes were con­tracted from two separate companies- Epic Data in Richmond, B.C. andRetail Data Corp. of New York City.

The two prototypes were deliveredabout three months ago. One is plasticand one metal. One is being putthrough its paces in Vancouver Region,

The recent announcement of the allocation plans for the Interior is theculmination of four years of intensive work by Ministry staff.

The job began four years ago with the passage of the Forest Act, it continuedwith the resource analysis, the establishment of TSAs and the determinationof allowable cuts. Then began the endless hours of discussion of the variousoptions available to us and the development of policies that would guide ourdecisions. . .

This was not an easy task and required the guidance and counsel of all bran­ches of the Ministry at all levels of the branches.

Please accept my sincerest thanks for the tremendous effort and dedicationput forward by everyone.

We have established a pattern of timber allocation that will be in place formany years and one which I feel confident will serve well the industry andpeople of British Columbia.

Thanks for a job well done.

Pity the poor scalers. Little has beendone to change their lot for decades.They work mostly outdoors, subject tothe vagaries of climate. They are oftendrenched by rain, their hands numbedand their fingers stiff with cold.

Don't Be LateThe Ministry of Forests has

registered strong objections, for anumber of reasons, to a new PublicService Commission policy on late ap­plications/ says Personnel SerVicesBranch Director Les Underwood.

However at the present time thepolicy remains in force.

The policy states that, effective AprilI, any applications for competitionsthat are received after 4:30 p.m. on theclosing date will not be accepted.

"We are still hopeful that someflexibility with regard to the ap­plication of this policy will be in­troduced,", Underwood says in aministry memo.· '(However until suchtime as changes oCcur/ employees andmanagers should be made aware of thesituation."

Coming Soon:

Painless Scaling

2

Slicing The Budget Pie Good StartFo~ HistoryAssociation

Plan PromotesJobs, Forestry

Forestry projects approved under thenew federal-provincial job-creationprogram must be outside the normalwork plans of industry and theministry, says Forests Minister TomWaterland.

The program is expected to put up to10,000 unemployed forest workers in­to temporary jobs to see them throughthe current economic downturn.

The minister also points out: "Thiswork will dovetail nicely into our con­tinuing efforts to improve the quality'of forest management in this province.It will allow us to make significant,headway on intensive forestry projectsthat otherwise would have had to waita couple of years for action. ' ,

Industry employers will developproject proposals in concert withministry staff at the district level, andsubmit them for approval.

The minister has written to the chiefexecutive officers of forest companiesin the province, asking them to getbusy on identifying possible intensiveforest management projects that mightqualify under the plan.

By Michael HalleranAbout 45 people turned out for the

inaugural meeting of the BritishColumbia Forest History Association.At least as many more expressed in­terest but were unable to attend theMarch 29 gathering at Robson SquareMedia Centre in Vancouver.

Those present included represen­tatives of the Ministry of Forests, indu­stry, labor, the UBC Faculty ofForestry and interested members ofthe general public.

The ministry was especially wellrepresented, with both DeputyMinister Mike Apsey and ChiefForester Bill Young on hand, as well asa number of Forest Service staff, activeand retired, some from as far away asthe Prince George Region.

Membership fees were set at $5 ayear. Anyone interested in joiningshould send their cheques to actingmembership secretary Melissa Hadleyof the B.C. Forest Foundation, 10Creekhouse, 1551 Johnston Street,Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C. V6H3R9.

The first executive committee of thenew association combines a widerange of interests as well as represen­tation from both the Coast and the In­terior. Elected were: President W.G.(WallYl Hughes, Vice-President BillBackman, and Members-At-LargeGerry Burch, Doug Little, JohnMurray, Clay Perry, Jack Thirgood andBill Young.

John Parminter of Protection Bran­ch, Victoria, was named editor of theassociation newsletter, in recognitionof his past work in creating the BritishColumbia Forest History Newsletter.

An advisory committee on archival. documents and artifacts was

established, to encourage people whonow hold some of the raw material ofhistory to deposit these materials withthe institutions most suited to preservethem.

There are other more modestamounts tucked into the headquartersallocation that will trickle down toregion and district level - funding forthe Small Business Program,· for em­ployee transfers, for financialmanagement programs, for develop­ment of forest access roads.

Consider also the $18 million for firesuppression and the $24.9 million forForest Service nursery and seed·production efforts. Those figures showup in the headquarters budget but, inreality, the money is provincial in'nature. The bulk of fire suppressionfunds is spent directly in the regionsand districts.

Geoff Lee photo

million - is for the regions and distric­ts.

No matter how you slice it, theministry has a total of $331.2 million tooperate a wide range of programs inthe province during the current fiscalyear.

Geodimeter Cuts ChainsBy GeoffLee

Forest Service surveyors stepped into the computer age with the recent purchase ofa new survey tool called a geodimeter.

The Nelson Forest Region survey team of John Thom, Graham Greensword, DougTurner and Sam Relkoff chucked its standard issue of chains, precise levels and rods,the moment the geodimeter was delivered to the regional office. -

The Nelson-based group was assured beforehand by survey design technician WallyPenner that the computerized system would calculate vertical distances, horizontalheights and slope distances in the bat of an eye. He was right. .

It has cut the field assignment time of the team by one third, and freed the sur­veyors to tackle basic gazetting and road location work.

Surveyor John Thom, who has used the new geodimeter more than anyone else,says: "It eliminates the need to manually chain, and accuracy is guaranteed. It slicescomputation time in half since it can automatically measure vertical heights neededfor profiles and grades. ' ,

The "easy chair" route to surveying will be made even smoother once a plug-incalculator, described as an electronicJnotebook, is acquired.

The companion unit will be hooked into the regional computer terminal of the mainframe RC. Systems Corp. computer and used for rapid.calculations and designs.

John Thorn tries out new surv~yingdevice.

Or by slicing the budget pie anotherway, $114.3 million is allocated toheadquarters and $216.9 million to theregions and districts.

And with a little more fancy finger­work on the calculator, other in­teresting facts are revealed.

About 25 per cent of the total staffcomplement of the ministry is connec­ted to headquarters; the other 75 percent is in the regions and districts. Butin the allocation of money, headquar­ters claims about 35 per cent of the pot,with 65 per cent going to the regionsand districts.

Even after all that calculating,however, the real picture is still ob­scured. In fact, a large portion of themoney allocated to headquarters willeventually find its way into the regionsand districts. It is allocated originallyto HQ to make the book-keeping sim­pler.

Take, for example, the $19.5 millionthat appears in the headquartersallocation for accommodation. Only $2million is for HQ; the balance - $17.5

Province ofBritish Coh.,mbia

Ministry ofForests

JSSN-0711-~961

Anyone may use, with creditto source, any item·appearing

in this publication.

Courses,Shelters CouldSave Lives

The days of sending hired hands tofight forest fires without basic traininghave gone up in smoke with thedevelopment of training packagesbeing put. in use this year throughoutthe province.

The program, aimed at both new andseasoned fire fighters, complies withWorkers' Compensation . Boardregulations which require all firefighters to have some training forsafety's sake.

Fire fighters are instructed in the artof fire suppression and given ad­ditional courses in personal safety. Aswell, initial attack crews will benefitfrom an Emergency Fire Sheltertraining-' demonstration that couldsave the life of anyone caught in thepath of a wildfire.

The shelter is a high tech fire­resistant aluminum foil "tent" that hasenough crawl space for one person.The device works. by reflecting thefire's heat away from the personsheltered inside. Initial attack crewmembers will carry the emergencyshelter in a pack worn on their belts.

All initial attack personnel will alsobe outfitted with fire-resistantcoveralls. (See cover picture)

Tetephone: 387-5985"Editor: lake Banky

The government estimates tabled inthe so-called Blue Book - yes, it reallyis blue - show the 1982-83 budget forthe Ministry of Forests totals$331,167,237.

This can be broken down byprogram: $106.5 million forsilviculture, $102.3 million for the har­vesting program,· $58.6 million forfinance and administration...and so on.

G3-81048

,3

Safety FirstTh:] ministry's commitment to safety was made clear in Deputy Minister Mike Ap­

sey's opening statement March 30 at the Safety Officer Training Seminar in Victoria.Assistant Deputy Minister Roy Cullen delivered the speech on his behalf.

The following excerpts were taken from that speech.• Safety starts at the top and I want you to be aware that the commitment at the top isvery strong. Senior management puts a very high priority on the safety program. Ipersonally put a top priority on it. .• Our workinKPolicy states that every employee is responsible for working safely,maintaining a safe workplace and correcting and reporting unsafe conditions. It is ourjob - yours and mine - to make sure our fellow employees are aware of this prin­ciple and how to apply it.• Putting a comprehensive occupational health and safety policy on paper should belooked on as a beginning, not an end in itself. The first step after this umbrella policywas approved was to further the development of safety and accident preventionpolicies and procedures within the branches and regions...particularly the regions.• We may have a policy, but it won't do us much good if the regions don't accept itand take the necessary action to apply it down through the districts. We have a goodstart, but we still have a long way to go on implementation.• One of the most important things we've done is organize the occupational healthand safety committees. If this was an army and the battle for safety was a real war, thecommittee would be the equivalent of the field command post, zeroing in on targetsand providing a strong follow-up capability.• We have to remove any roadblocks to an improved safety performance. And one ofthe biggest roadblocks is poor communication - particularly communication bet-ween the executive suite and the front-line troops. .

We have to establish a dialogue on safety. If you have needs, I want to hear aboutthem. I can't operate without information. Get the word to me on the safety resourcesand programs you need, and I'll do my damndest to get them for you. That's apromise!

The deputy has made his commitment clear. How about you? Forestaff would like tohear from you on this issue.

JOHN MULLANE -' SA-4 Systems Ser­vices, new; BURT FLEMING - FT-4Silviculture from FT-3; LYNN GREF­FARD - OA-2 Financial Services fromOA-1; FRANK BOS - STOCKMAN-3Legal and Admin from LiquorDistribution; VIRGINIA FARNDON ­CL-Steno-3 Legal and Admin fromHighways; DONALD CARSON - FT-SResearch from FT-3.

Management; JOSEPH CASSAN ­General Tradeswork Tech Servicerfrom Machinist; JOSEPH WONG - FT­3 Silviculture from FT-2 Aux; AN­THONY WILLINGDON - FT-4Silviculture from FT-3; JOHN WAT­SON - FT-3 Silviculture from FT-2 Aux

ficers - Recreation. The inventoryprocess will have particular significan­ce in the preparation of the secondForest and Range Resource Analysis,due in 1984.

The inventory will classify land intoone of three categories, depending onits recreation value. This will permitthe ministry to establish importantnianagement priorities.

Some areas may be identified as out­standing and worthy of considerationfor exclusive recreation use. Othersmay be flagged for special con­sideration in the resource managementprocess. Most, however, will be sub­ject to the normal consideration thatrecreation values receive in the overallprocess of integrated use.

Chief Forester Bill Young addressedthe issue of integrated resourcemariagement in a recent speech to theAssociation of Professional Biologistsof B.C. He urged his audience to getready to move into an era of "resourcestatesmanship." This will demandresource managers who can buildcompromises and acceptable solutionsin the multiple use debate, he said.

That challenge is particularlyrelevant to the staff of the RecreationManagement Branch.

Victoria HeadquartersCORO DYANNE - TA-2 TimberManagement from Lands, Parks andHousing; WILLIAM CHALK - TA-4 In­ventory from TA-2 Timber

GERALD BOYD - TA-2 Sechelt fromWilliams Lake; JANE YOUNG - TA-2Squamish from Energy, Mines andPetroleum Resources; SEAN HER­BERT TA-2 Port Alberni from TA-1Aux; DEBORAH BEKKEMA - TA-2Powell River from TA-1 Aux; LYNNGERMAIN - FT-2 Port McNeill fromAux; KERRY BREWER - FT-2 PortMcNeill from Aux; DAN HICKS - FT-2Port McNeill from Nakusp; BRIANO'NEILL - FT-4 Port McNeill from FT­3.

Regional Safety Officers and branch representatives met in Victoria for a three-daytraining seminar. From left to right, Jack Davies, Prince Rupert, Keith Brubacher,Prince George, Michelle Glover, Kamloops, and Larry Jefferson; Nelson, perusetraining materials. Other regional representatives attending were Gloria Hamada,Vancouver, and Ken Wier, Cariboo. Peter Robin photo

Forest Land JudgedFor Recre'ation Value

Recreation management in theForest Service means litter barrels andouthouses and campsites - right?

Wrong.It's true that Recreation

Management Branch is responsible foridentifying and developing recreationsites throughout the province and, infact, there are more than 1,000designated sites. But this is, in a sense,incidental to the real work of the bran­ch.

It is the responsibility of the branchto ensure that the recreation values ofall the lands administered by theMinistry of Forests are not overlookedin the process cif integrated resourcemanagement.

As Kamill Apt, manager of planningand liaison for the branch, points out,if true multiple use is to be practisedsuccessfully in the province, it is im­portant that forest managementdecisions include the recreationalcomponent.·

A major priority of the RecreationManagement Branch is to identifyrecreation values on an area-specificbasis throughout the province.

To accomplish this, the branch is inthe process of implementing a com­prehensive Tecreation inventory,carried out by District Resource Of-

Prince Rupert RegionSUE WESSEL - CL-4 Sniithers fromCL-3 Houston; DUNCAN WATSON ­RO Range Burns Lake from AssistantRange Williams Lake; WREN GILGAN- TA-2 Burns Lake from Aux; GAlLLESOWSKI - CL-3 Dease Lake fromOA-2 Aux; CATHERINE SLINGER­WINNING - CL-Steno-3 Bella Coolafrom OA-2 Aux; CLYDE HOUSTON ­Tech-1 Smithers, new; WILLIAMHOPE - Yardman Houston from Aux;PATII DOUGAN - CL-3 Terrace from~mithei:S; ROBERT RICHKUM - RORecreation Houston from FT-3 Van­couver; BRENDA READ - CL-4 BurnsLake from OA-2 Aux; LORRAINEVALENTIN - CL-4 Queen CharlotteCity from CL-3; DORIS EMMONDS ­CL-4 Houston from Finance; ELIAGANDERSKI - RO Inventory Terracefrom FT-2 Aux; INA NELSON - CL-4Terrace from OA-2 Aux; LYNN GALE ­CL-6 SSS Bella Coola, new; AL'GORLEY - TFO-4 Smithers from FT-SBulkIey; PEDOR HUSOY - CaptainMV-1 Prince Rupert, new.

Vancouver RegionMIKE MORRISON - FT-4 Squamishfrom FT-3; GERRY KROTZ - FT-4Pemberton from FT-3; JOHNnSDALE - RO Recreation CampbellRiver from FT-2 Invermere; BILLLUSCOMBE - FT-3 Duncan from FT-2Maple Ridge; RON WEBB - FT-3 MapleRidge from FT-2 Port Alberni; PAULHARPER - FT-4 Sechelt from FT-3;BILL WISHLOW - FT-3 Sechelt fromAux; PHIL TAVDIN-CHABOT - FT-3Powell River from Aux; DON' ED­MONDS - FT-3 Powell River from Aux;BOB MERRELL - FT-3 Powell Riverfrom Aux; AUDRY TYMO - CL-4Powell River from CL-3 Squamish;DAVID WOODGATE - RO TimberDuncan from Hazelton; RUSSRUCHES - Regional Protection OfficerHQ from Op Sup Squamish; TIMSHELDAN - RO Inventory CampbellRiver from FT-3 Smithers; CLYDELOGGIE - TA-2 Campbell River fromVictoria Aux; STEVEN HOLROYD ­TA-2 Duncan from Environment;

Nelson from FA-3 Kamloops Aux; SAMCAMPESE - RO Protection VanderhooffromFT-3.

Cariboo RegionGEORGE MCKEE - RO SilvicultureAlexis Creek from FT~2 Enderby;GERRY POWELL - RO SilvicultureQuesnel from FT-3; TRACEYCOOPER - Tech-2 Quesnel fromHighways; LARRY ZACHER - Op SupHorsefly from RO Timber; GILDARANDALL - Resource Clerk Horseflyfrom OA-2; BARRY ALEXANDER ­FT-3 Williams Lake from Alexis Creek;JANE SKELTON - FT-3 100 MileHouse from FT-2 Aux; KEVIN LUKES­FT-3 100 Mile House from Mackenzie.

Prince George RegionGARY GURNSEY - Finance and Ad­min Manager HQ, new; EMILY BEN­CHER - OA-2 HQ from Aux; ROBERTELLIOTI ; FT-2 McBride from Aux;JOHN CURRIE - Forestry Crew Coor­dinator Prince George East from FT-4;STANISLAW KUDRLE - Bridge DesignEngineer HQ, new; VALERIE LYNCH- FT-3 Silviculture Prince George Westfrom FA-3 Aux; STEVE PRICE - Field­Engineer Roads HQ from AssistantProfessional Engineer Roads Aux;HELENA BRASNETT - CL-3 PayrollHQ from CL-3 Accounts. Payable;DOUGLAS KONKIN - RO Timber Fort

Kamloops RegionRUSSELL BELL - Bird Dog OfficerKamloops from FT-3 Clearwater;GLEN ALLAN - FT-3 Ashcroft fromAux.

Nelson RegionEARL SEPT - Timber CoordinatorNelson from RO Timber PrinceRupert; LORNE EVIN - CL-4 Nelsonfrom Timekeeper; CLIFF BELIVEAU ­RO Silviculture Invermere from FT-3Clearwater; JAMES SMITH - FT-3Creston from LS()..l Aux.

'"::l....WQC

l!'w~

!!lz~

4

Questionnaires for the employeecommunication survey weredistributed April 15. Deadline forreturn of the completed question­naires to Information ServicesBranch, Victoria, is May 14. Thesurvey is anonymous and the con­fidentiality of your answers isguaranteed.

•

A useful new guide to theMinistry of Forests' organizationand programs has be.en released.Meeting the Challenge outlines theministry's mandate, managementsystem, organizational structure,programs and responsibilities. Thepublication is available from In­formation Services Branch.

•

The Canadian Forestry Service,D.S. Forest Service and provincialforestry officials from B.C. andAlberta have begun a study of thelong-term effects of mountain pinebeetle infestations. There are6,000 mountain pine beetle in­festations in British Columbia and100,000 hectares of trees havebeen killed or damaged.

•Vol. 2 No. 5 The Ministry of Forests Employee Newspaper May, 1982

PostscriptsDid you notice the feature ar­

ticle on the Ministry of Forests'Public Involvement Program inthe April issue of Contact, anewsletter distributed to all mem­bers of the Public Service. It's en­titled, Taming The Monster.

•ForesTalk does it again. In the

1982 International Association ofBusiness Communicators GoldQuill Awards, our ministrymagazine was selected by thejudges as an outstanding entry,worthy of a letter of commen­dation. Last year ForesTalk wonan award of merit.

•

Hetpkeepour forest

from smoking.

~< . . rJlI".~~~~~~

.I'i . '?1..

Useyourashtr~I Don't be careless I

WIth the future. A

Rick Woods of Inventory Bran­ch, Victoria, has won the De SalisTrophy, awarded to the memberof the Victoria Toastmasters Clubwho gives the best feature speechof the year. The subject of hiswinning ten-minute address wasParkinson's Law, which states:"Work expands to fill the timeavailable.' ,

•The million-acre Gang Ranch,

largest in North America, is up forsale again, ending a brief span ofCanadian ownership. The. ranch,located 50 miles southwest ofWilliams Lake, is on the marketfor 510 million by owner DaleAlsanger.

•In a recent land swap, Pacific

Forest Products acquired a block'of 2,190 hectares of forest land inthe Sechelt Peninsula in return fornine blocks of recreational andforest land on Vancouver Islandwhich were turned over to thepro~ce. The company also han­ded over a cheque for 55.8 million- the difference between the ap­praised value of what PacificForest Products got and what itgave.

•

At the invitation .of ForestsMinister Tom Waterland, a groupof 12 Chinese officials arrived inRC. at the end of April for aweek's tour of the province'splywood industry. The Chinesevisitors viewed plywood manufac­turing methods and relatedequipment during their tour,which also highlighted specialsocial events.

•Fifteen air tankers, nine spotter

planes and 370 ministry person­nel, were on call when the fireseason opened April 15. Theheavy snowpack could make this abetter year than 1981, when 2,737fires occurred. This year, the newelectronic lightning detectorsystem has been expanded to mostof the province. Lightning accoun­ted for 65 per cent of last year'sfires.

•

Welcome to the newest ForestService newsletter, Tidewater toTimberline, brainchild of RaiThomas, manager of the MidCoast Forest District. It is inten­ded for external circulation, aswell as for ministry personnel.There are no formal news mediain the Bella Coola Valley, and Raisays the publication will keep thepublic informed about what ishappening at their local ministryoffice, and provide a vehicle forasking questions, voicing concernsand becoming involved with thevarious stages of forestmanagement planning. Rai hasalso invited other ministries to getinvolved and turn the newsletterinto a government agenciesnewspaper for the Valley.

Fire Fashions Catching OnSporting the latest in protective coverall's for fire fighters are Victoria· Headquartersfashion models, Diana Mayhew of Protection Branch and Mike McGregor of Legal andAdmin's property room. This natty, canary-yellow sylvan ensemble features the blousontop and loose-fitting style favored by Vogue this season. Set off by headgear in brightorange, high-impact material, the coveralls carry the familiar designer symbol of theprovincial government, adding a suitable touch of authority to these jaunty outfits. Slimleather belts and hip radios are optional. With axes and shovels as accessories, these go­anywhere coveralls are bound to be the hit of the summer season, particularly withinitial attack crewmembers who will appreciate their fire-resistant qualities. (See StoryPage 2). John Thomson photo