Better forecasting of weather-related operational shutdowns in forestry activities on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Forestry operations on Vancouver Island are carried out in a region of difficult, mountainous landscapes with very large amounts of rain and snow falling in the area. Heavy precipitation, especially liquid rain falling on snow, can cause not only landslides and floods, but water quality issues as well. These issues affect the environment, people, infrastructure, and the economy associated with the forestry industry. To reduce the risks of landslides and flooding to forestry workers and operations, the shutdown of logging operations during wet weather occurs when enough rain has fallen to meet a shutdown . However, these thresholds have not been standardized across BC, and certainly do not reflect important local conditions; this reduces the utility and accuracy of shutdown criteria. The objective of this project is to improve the guidelines for forest operation shutdown during storms that can trigger landslides and/or floods. By investigating the large-scale weather patterns that cause problematic weather, improvements to the shutdown decision-making process will be accomplished. Financial costs can be reduced while simultaneously improving the protection of people and infrastructure in the process.

Faculty Supervisor:

David Atkinson

Student:

Partner:

Mosaic Forest Management Corp

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

University of Victoria

Program: