Wildfire Season Outlook: Spring 2025
The BC Wildfire Service has published its Spring 2025 Outlook and is expecting warmer-than-usual temperatures as we continue into spring.
April 29, 2025
WHAT IS MANAGED FOREST LAND?
Managed forest land is a BC Assessment property classification established in 1988 to encourage private landowners
to manage their lands for long-term forest production.
Of the 2% of land in British Columbia that is private forest land, 51% is managed forest land, 22% is forested farmland and 27% is forested residential.
Section 31 (3) of the Private Managed Forest Land Council Regulation requires owners to reforest harvested areas within five years, but a recent audit report found planting is generally completed within one or two years.
The focus of private forest landowners in the Managed Forest Program is protecting key public environmental values—fish habitat, water quality, soil productivity, critical wildlife habitat and the growing of trees.
Social values, such as visual quality and biodiversity are protected on the public lands that make up over 95% of British Columbia. That said, PFLA members and other private landowners often go out of their way to manage their lands with consideration for these social values.
In total, Private Managed Forest Lands are bound by over 35 different legislative regulations, including:
* Federal Fisheries Act
* Forest Management Regulation
* Water Sustainability Act
* Drinking Water Protection Act
* Private Managed Forest Land Regulation
* Wildlife Act
* Species at Risk Act
* Soil Conservation Act
* Professional Governance Act (formerly Foresters Act)
