Backgrounder to Tree Cutting Authority Session September 21, 2021 @ 3:45 pm

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Islands Trust Briefing Page 1 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
To: Trust Council  For the Meeting of: September 21, 2021 
      
From: CAO  Date Prepared: August 25, 2021 
     
SUBJECT:
  
Backgrounder for Trust Council session on tree cutting authority 
 
 
PURPOSE: To provide Trust Council with information in support of a structured discussion on the 
potential for the Islands Trust to adopt an authority to regulate tree cutting similar to the Section 8, 
Community Charter authority currently available to municipalities in British Columbia. 
CONTEXT: 
Trust Council has amended its Strategic Plan to include a number of forestry related initiatives: 
 Establishment of development permit areas for Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems 
 Enforcement of developments via municipal ticketing 
 Advocacy to increase community input to the Private Managed Forest Land program 
 The development of heritage overlay mapping for cultural heritage sites, which includes 
discussions with FLNRORD regarding Crown Lands 
 Seeking a tree cutting authority under S 8  of the Community Charter, similar to municipal 
governments in BC   
This briefing and related Trust Council session is focused upon potentially the most significant project, 
that being the request to the province for a tree cutting authority.  Islands Trust has made a request for 
such a power to the Minister as per Trust Council direction and has discussed the matter with ministry 
staff. To assist in advancing this request the Islands Trust needs to provide further information on its 
need to exercise a tree cutting authority and a proposal for how it would implement a tree cutting 
regulatory program. 
Accordingly, a session has been organized for September Trust Council to allow trustees to discuss the 
core concerns that they have with forestry activity in their local trust areas, to contemplate what 
outcomes could be possible with the application of this regulatory power, and to consider how it would 
organize and implement such a program.  These questions were the subject of a trustee roundtable at a 
previous Trust Council meeting; however, a deeper discussion is needed to focus our request and 
further this goal.  The results of this discussion will be built into the problem definition statement 
provided to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. 
Key considerations:  The following are some foundational questions for trustees to consider: 
 What are the activities that are causing concern with regard to habitat and biodiversity loss in 
your local trust area? 
 What do you want to protect generally? 
 Specifically would you a envision an authority that focuses upon: 
o Protected species of trees 
o Big trees 
o Area-based contiguous areas protection 
o Small lots, large lots. 

Islands Trust Briefing Page 2 
 Scope:  would a bylaw apply to your entire local trust area or selected areas? 
 If your local trust area and the region implemented a regulatory authority for trees, how would 
you measure succe

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