Creating criteria and indicators for use in forest management planning : a case study with four First Nations communities in British Columbia

In British Columbia (BC), Canada, there is a rapid shift in forest management systems as a result of historic and recent title cases involving Indigenous communities. Today, modern treaties mean more decision making power for the Indigenous communities that treaties involve. This research is built on that progression and was part of a collaboration with four Indigenous communities in BC to develop sustainable forest management plans for their traditional territories. Community members were interviewed to determine their forestry related goals and values. Alongside economic goals, these included habitat conservation for important game species, water quality, berry production, and the use of sustainable harvesting methods. To represent these findings, criteria, indicators and targets were developed for use with forest estate modeling software, such as Woodstock. A scenario that encompassed the current forest management practices and three alternative scenarios were created to support the goals and values of the community members. The three alternative scenarios that used the criteria, indicators, and targets developed from the goals and values of the community members did differ from the scenario of the status quo forest management practices.Forestry, Faculty ofGraduat