Meeting Minutes

Minutes of FFT Seed Group Meeting. Please report any errors or omissions to whole group.

1) Seed use and reporting requirements in FFT/FIA planting contracts.

FIA/FTT planting and reporting standards should set a higher same as CF standards - monitor results before recommend anything different.
Consider FFT MoFR policy for higher standards (highest GW)
Proposed changes to FIA/FFT standards (see attached for proposed changes and comments).

Action: FFT seed group members to provide comment on attached proposed changes (by April 10 please)
Brian to forward proposed changes to FIA/FFT standards to Rick Brand (FIA), Colene Wood (MoE - eco restoration), Al McDonald (BCTS), Ian Brown (PWC), and CF Standards Steering Committee.
Upon agreement - forward recommended changes to Brian R/Nigel to incorporate.
Need to develop standards for assessing impeded stands (stands that did not meet free-growing and for which treatments need to be prescribed). Requires seed transfer assessment component (maybe seed was off-site).
Action:Leslie, Brian and Mike to discuss standards for impeded stands.

2) Review of last year's work

a) Yoursry - on Pli Seed Utilization project (1st year).

Stratification treatments breaks difference in clonal dormancy, germination rates etc.
Recommend single sowing to increase seedling yields
Further work to verify results with seed from orchard 307, and bulked lots and in nursery.
Small percent improvement can increase # seedlings, ha, AAC in a large program such as Pli
Need to consider how, when to move results and recommendations (after this year's results) into policy and operations.
Research methods - but not results - could be applied to other spp.
Action: Comments on report to Yousry

b) Leslie - Seed Analyses - Genesis and Timberline Contracts.

Mark Faliszewski report - received year end
Action: group members to review and provide written comments to all (by April 13 please)
Timberline report forthcoming - plan face-to-face meeting to discuss after delivery (May)
FGC plans for Jack Woods's report? Difficult to read/interpret his tables.
Client expectations high for assessing MPB seed implications, facilitating collections but high level of uncertainty harvest and reforestation.
TIB staff to meet this Wednesday to discuss CF challenge/question and short- and long-term strategies for addressing.

c) Heather - FFT sowing requests, services,sales and processing $

Lots of Pli collection activity occurring - dynamic, difficult to know what's happening where (e.g. lots being processed by Silva Seed).
No indication collections being guided by an overarching plan - everyone collecting what they can.
$75,000 spent last year on seed sales, services and cone and seed processing.

3) 2006/07 FFT work plan seed projects and $

Budgets not finalized. $ very tight this year.
Regions instructed not to do surveys, etc. to be 3rd party delivery - so hard to plan.
$60k for Pli project Ok.
FFT TIB - perhaps $75k for strategic planning and information gathering, couple work with other funding sources FIA, GRIM etc.
TIB to discuss CF request for MPB seed analysis and longer-term project on Wednesday - refine projects, keep regions in the loop. Also need to coordinate with FGC to ensure no overlap of work (e.g. FIA incremental $)
$100,000 anticipated for seed sales, services and cone and seed processing - in FPB's FFT budget

4) Other

Canfor did FFT Pli collection in Mackenzie via PWC in coop with NIFR. Processing to be paid by Anna. Seed to be owned by MoF 28 (NIFR FFT)

Brian Barber, RPF
Technical Advisor
Tree Improvement Branch
BC Forest Service
ph (250) 356-0888