4.
Windthrow Management Protocol
CONTENTS
Overview_________________________________________________________________________ 3
Training __________________________________________________________________________ 4
Identifying and Filling Strategic Gaps __________________________________________________ 4
Planning fieldwork, conducting risk assessments, managing risk and monitoring _______________ 4
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Overview
Windthrow management is a multi-scale challenge. Endemic windthrow is generally
triggered by stand level harvesting activities. The risk to management (windthrow risk) is is
connected to planning values and objectives at the management unit scale through
consequences. Site-level biophysical hazard, windthrow likelihood, and windthrow risk all
gain important context at the landscape scale. For example, in landscapes where windthrow is
a significant recurring management challenge, it is important to build windthrow
management into the sequence and location of harvesting rather than trying to solve all
problems at the cutblock scale.
Effective windthrow management therefore requires a multi-scaled approach. Because it is
highly technical, bringing together a wide range of knowledge and skills, training is essential.
Because windthrow management is relatively young in its development in British Columbia,
monitoring is important to provide feedback to those who are trying to predict and manage
for windthrow so that assessment and management practices can be adjusted or refined.
The diagram below shows steps in the protocol. The blue boxes set the stage for assessment
and management. Strategic gaps are filled at the management unit and landscape scales. The
orange box is office-based prior to the field-based stand level work (green). Monitoring
occurs both at the landscape and stand level and therefore is highlighted in purple.
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Training
Many of the tools, guidelines and protocols listed in this document may be new to various
staff. It is therefore important that all staff learn how to use the tools and understand the
principles and knowledge they are built upon. The information in this manual provides a
framework and starting point for greater awareness and expertise in windthrow management.
When this knowledge is applied and augmented by field experience over time, a more
complete understanding and developed skill set will be acquired.
Training, either formally using workshops, or informally using mentoring will greatly
facilitate this process. Workshops can incorporate discussions and field exercises, conducted
with peers and windthrow specialists over several days to promote a structured learning
environment. For those who are somewhat familiar with windthrow, but not entirely
comfortable with their prescriptive judgments or their ability to interpret some of the
information in this manual, mentoring is a good approach.
Mentoring can be conducted as a one-on-one exercise or with a group. It is informal training
whereby a specialist or highly skilled practitioner works for a number of days with field staff
to hone their predictive and interpretive skills, and ensure analytical tools, guidelines and
protocols are being used correctly. It has the advantage of being operational in that it can be
done in the process of completing layout and prescriptions for current harvesting. Fieldwork
may be slowed but not interrupted by training in this setting.
Identifying and Filling Strategic Gaps
Once staff have acquired a reasonable level of skill and knowledge with windthrow risk
assessment and management, and they are familiar with general trends and concerns on the
management unit, they are in a position to identify and fill strategic gaps for windthrow
management. The Chinook Business Area has probability mapping created by computer
simulation (Mitchell and Lanquaye-Ooku 2009 ) to characterize windthrow probability at a
coarse scale across the management unit. To provide a similar level of direction, Georgia
Strait and other Business Areas will need to either acquire this information through
monitoring at the landscape level, by conducting a similar modeling exercise, or through
other means.
In any case, it is useful to become aware of those portions of the management unit where
harvesting and prescriptions are generally driven by wind, separate from those areas where
wind is an occasional concern. In wind driven areas, management strategies may need to be
specifically designed and tested over time to create a specific area-specific set of guidelines
for harvesting approaches and prescription strategies.
While it may not be possible to set thresholds to be applied over large areas, as these
generally must be very site and situation specific, guidance on approaches to thresholds will
be useful. As new management objectives or targets for certain values emerge from
planning, consideration of guidance for windthrow thresholds should be promoted.
Planning fieldwork, conducting risk assessments, managing risk and
monitoring
SEE the appropriate sections that follow in this manual.
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References
Mitchell, S., Lanquaye-Opoku, N. 2009. Windthrow Hazard Mapping using GIS,
Chilliwack, Queen Charlotte Islands, and Squamish Operation. Final Reports for
BCTS - March 2009.
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