Contiguous Forest Mapping in the Islands Trust Area Report, 2020

Extracted text (beginning)

Contiguous Forest Mapping in the Islands Trust Area 
 
 
 
Prepared by: 
 
Cabin Resource Management 
Unit 20A - 100 Kalamalka Lake Road 
Vernon, BC V1T 9G1 
 
For: 
 
Islands Trust 
200 - 1627 Fort Street 
Victoria, BC V8R 1H8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

20A 100 KALAMALKA LAKE RD 
VERNON, BC, V1T9G1 
778-475-3655 
1 
 
 
Table of Contents 
1.0  Executive Summary          2 
2.0  Background Information         2 
3.0  Approach and Rationale         2 
4.0  Analytical Procedure         5 
5.0  Results             7 
6.0  Interpretation and Use          9 
7.0  Limitations           10 
8.0  Considerations for Future Work        11 
9.0  References           11 
10.0  Appendices          12 
11.0  Maps           13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

20A 100 KALAMALKA LAKE RD 
VERNON, BC, V1T9G1 
778-475-3655 
2 
 
1.0  Executive Summary 
Cabin Resource Management was hired by the Islands Trust to map contiguous forest 
patches in consultation with the Islands Trust Conservancy (ITC). The goal of the mapping 
exercise was to identify contiguous forest patches within the Islands Trust Area in order to 
provide the Islands Trust with information to underpin policy, regulatory and legal 
conservation tools that protect Coastal Douglas-fir forests and their associated ecosystems. 
This mapping was identified as an essential step in the Islands Trust's report titled 
"Protecting the Coastal Douglas-fir Zone & Associated Ecosystems: An Islands Trust Toolkit
."  
 
After the initial proposal of using overlays of Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM) and 
disturbance layers in a Geographic Information System (GIS), various subsequent analyses 
were evaluated by the project team and members of the ITC staff. Consultation with ITC staff 
was focused on the identification of ecological values and careful consideration of the 
geographic scale of the planning activities that would be informed by the resulting product. 
Following the identification of the ecological parameters, Islands Trust staff provided input 
on the draft mapping products and these products were adjusted to reflect planning needs. 
The resulting maps and data sets show the distribution of forested ecosystems in the Islands 
Trust Area, differentiating between established forests and forested ecosystems in earlier 
structural stages; a stand quality rating was calculated considering low or high intensity of 
effects based on road density and structure locations. 
 
2.0 Background Information 
The Islands Trust and the Coastal Douglas-fir and Associated Ecosystems Conservation 
Partnership have emphasized the protection of Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) and associated 
ecosystems in order to maintain their unique ecological value and the numerous ecosystem 
services they provide. Mapping of the CDF and associated ecosystems is essential to the 
establishment of conservation priorities and the administration of regulatory tools such as 
zoning and Development Permit Areas (DPAs) whi

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