Honoured to Receive Business & Technology Award!
During the 2007 Northern BC Business & Technology Award Ceremony, the Collaborative Research Award was presented to Dan Adamson from the McGregor Model Forest Association, Scott Emmons from the University of Northern BC, and Steve Findlay from Noratek Solutions Inc. for their work on PlanMapper, an innovative online application for searching land use plans. Dave Leman, project coordinator, was also later acknowledged with the award. In their acceptance speech, the recipients thanked Dave Leman for his dedication and the many partners who support the project. The award was sponsored by UNBC to celebrate a UNBC - Industry collaboration which fosters economic diversification and innovation. "This award recognizes a project which is an exciting and very promising collaboration among UNBC, local innovative organizations, the provincial government and the mineral exploration sector," stated Max Blouw, VP Research, UNBC.
Dave Leman, Scott Emmons, Dan Adamson, Steve Findlay,
Lorne MacGregor
More about PlanMapper...
This program is designed to make land use plans and associated information easily accessible in a simple-to-use, efficient and effective tool. By drawing any shape on the online map of BC, PlanMapper will generate a colour-coded map and report of all the land use direction for the area for potential resource developers, exploration sectors, and land use decision-makers. The full partnership for this project includes:
* McGregor Model Forest Association
* University of Northern BC, DataShare
* Noratek Solutions Inc.
* Omineca Beetle Action Coalition
* Geoscience
* Integrated Land Management Bureau
* GeoConnections Canada
* Association of Mineral Exploration BC
* Integrated Resource Management Partnership
* Muskwa-Kechika Management Area
With the successful completion of the PlanMapper tool to the beta version, the partners will continue to test the application across the area covered by the Omineca Beetle Action Coalition. Additional funds have been raised to improve and expand PlanMapper across the province. For more information, please visit our website, read the brochure, or go directly to www.planmapper.ca.
The Integrated Resource Management Partnership
McGregor hosted a booth at the BC Natural Resource Forum and Trade Show, held in Prince George on January 11th and 12th, promoting the two new partnership-driven initiatives of the Model Forest: the IRM Partnership and PlanMapper. The IRM Partnership submitted a proposal to the Canadian Forest Service’s Forest Communities Program in October to create or improve coordination a) between the different resource sectors (e.g. forestry, mining, tourism, oil & gas), and b) between these sectors and the communities they influence. The McGregor Model Forest is the host for the Partnership, providing administrative and strategic planning support. For further details about this exciting new initiative, please visit our IRMP website.
Partner Profiles
As a new addition to our newsletter, with each issue we will profile one of McGregor’s partners to highlight the work they are doing. In this issue we will profile Wildlife Infometrics, Inc.
Wildlife Infometrics, Inc. (WII)
This company is owned and operated out of Mackenzie, BC by Line Giguere. By providing financial management and extension services, McGregor is helping this resourceful consulting firm achieve the objectives of several projects funded by the Price Waterhouse Coopers Forest Investment Account’s Forest Science Program, including:
1. Caribou Predation Risk - This is the first year of a 3-year research project in which we will develop information to assist recovery of threatened herds of woodland caribou (northern ecotype) across their range in BC. A science-based comparison of predation mitigation will be made using a combination of Habitat Supply Modeling and Adaptive Management. Based on previous studies of radio-collared caribou, moose, and wolves in three caribou herd areas, the efficacy of predation mitigation can be compared in an adaptive management framework involving: regulated trapping of wolves in one herd area, an enhanced moose harvest in another herd area, and no predation mitigation (i.e., the control) in the third herd area. This project is collaborative with the Peace-Williston Fish and Wildlife Compensation program and forms a component of a province-wide effort to recover populations of woodland caribou.
2. Management of Mountain Goat Resource Values – In the third year of this 3-year project we are using collected information on mountain goat habitat resource values to develop criteria and indicators for measuring forest sustainability. Outcomes of the work will also be used to refine interim management recommendations for management of mineral licks and trails used by mountain goats in north-central BC. Through the development of effective monitoring protocols, we also expect to contribute to integrated management locally, and to the advanced use of habitat supply modeling more generally.
3. Extension of CHASE to Users. In this 1-year project we will refine, and extend to clients, a decision support tool that is currently used to provide information for planning recovery of woodland caribou in BC: the Caribou Habitat Assessment and Supply Estimator (CHASE). The non-proprietary software will be designed for application to recovery planning areas for threatened herds of caribou in north-central BC and will facilitate annual monitoring of changes in supply of critical habitat.
4. Extension of the Omineca Northern Caribou Project. In this project we will refine, and extend to clients, technical information concerning the ecology of woodland caribou (northern ecotype). During year two of this 3-year project we are focusing on a minimum of three technical publications: 1) Mortality causes and survival estimates, 2) Ecological basis for movement decisions, and 3) Timing and synchrony of parturition. Data on these topics were collected by monitoring >300 radio-collared caribou from 1991 through 2006 in 5 different herd areas in north-central BC.
For additional information about WII, the projects profiled above, and other projects conducted by WII, read their newly released NEWS BULLETIN or visit their website. As well, a website detailing Recovery Initiatives in Central BC was developed in partnership with WII, McGregor, the BC Ministry of Environment, and the BC Ministry of Forests and Range: please visit www.centralbccaribou.ca.
Are Canada’s forests managed sustainably?
The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers has just released Canada’s second report on criteria and indicators - National Status 2005. These C&I provide a science-based tool for defining and measuring progress towards sustainable forest management. View report.
The Board of Directors webpage under "About Us", provides a brief biography and photograph of all our directors. In this newsletter we profile two new directors: Brad Harold and Deborah Kulchiski. Approximately 170 students from secondary schools around Prince George participated in 6 camps held by the Council of Forest Industries (COFI) during the Fall of 2006 to introduce students to natural resource management. "Students got their feet wet trapping and netting fish, got their hands dirty in searching for artifacts, tramped through the woods laying our roads and cruising cut blocks" said Chris Lear, Forest Education Manager. McGregor sponsored Kathi Zimmerman to instruct 2 sessions on Wildlife Biology, providing demonstrations on how to identify and census birds, and use radio-telemetry equipment. Encouraging youth to pursue careers in Natural Resource Management was one of McGregor’s and COFI’s goals during National Forestry Week in September 2006, and participating in this camp allowed us to further our efforts. For more details about the camps, read the article in COFI’s newsletter.Director Profiles
Brad Herald is the Manager of Operations for British Columbia for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). Prior to assuming this position, Brad was an Environmental Policy Advisor for CAPP and worked on national environmental issues for the association. He has a degree in business administration from Saint Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. Prior to coming to Alberta, Brad was the owner of a successful small business in Nova Scotia.COFI Natural Resource Management Camps
