This week: . Putting plan on Tessas best of times, but with Milton Jovial hanging over his shoulder, Terrace forester Herby Squish had his work cut out for him. Squish tried to explain: "Look, Milton. We have to submit a - ‘Management working plan for each of your forest licences. And then a Development Plan for each. And he Management and then cutting and road permits for each... Once all those are approved, which will take at least a year, and your mill has been completed, which is going to take about a year and a half, you can start logging. But until then... Well, why don’t you relax and let everyone do their work." Jovial wasn’t listening. "No way," he told Squish. "This is my show and I’m going to help. And besides, there’s not going to be any pulp chip exports, at least not for a while, and you said there are the paper a few corners that could be cut. Let’s start cutting." | Squish tried to explain that this was not the time to cut any cor- ners. This was the time to do your homework and submit a plan acceptable to the Ministry of Forests, "What we submit now," he explained, “has to be acceptable to the government. We can fine- tune your operation later. But until then..." But he still hadn't captured Jovial’s attention. Maybe a diver- slonary tactic would work. Perhaps a quick run-through of a manage- ment working plan would discour- age Jovial and he would find someone else to bother. "Milton. Let me put it this way..." Squish began by asking Jovial if he could describe management goals for his pending operation; or procedures for managing timber and other resources in his harvest- ing area. Faced with a blank stare, Squish could feel victory. Explain Insights _ |Forestry by Tod Strachan, in consultation with Rod Amoid and Doug Davies these things in even very basic terms, he was convinced, and Jovial would wander away and leave him in peace. "Here goes," Squish thought to himself. He quoted from the ministry’s introduction to the pro- cedure: "The Management and Working Pian contains the long term goals and objectives for the ‘Management of the licence and the Strategies and measures to be implemented to achieve them. "A Management and Working Plan must be prepared and sub- mitted for approval every five years or more frequently as Fequired by the Regional Manager. Once approved, the Management and Working Plan provides the The Way I See It... by Stephanie Wiebe | With Valentine’s day approaching, most of us think about love and romance. Romance makes me think of famous romantic couples, like Prince Charles and Princess Diana, or Cinderella and whats- his-name, or Fred and Wilma Flintstone. These couples are. often considered the romantic ideal, the fantasy for many people. Well, okay, maybe not Fred and Wilma. But for most people, real- life romance is different. It never turns out to be the same as it does in books or magazines. In stories, HE sees HER across the room and their eyes meet as fireworks explode and music. plays. That’s never happened to me. The closest I’ve ever come to "love-at-first-sight-fireworks" was at age fourteen, when I tried to get the attention of a good- looking Grade Twelve guy across my high school cafeteria. I was acting “cool” with my friends, when he looked up, smiled and our eyes met — I nervously laughed, causing the milk I was drinking to spray forcefully out my nose, across the cafeteria. I'll bet Princess Diana never did THAT. Sometimes I wonder about Diana and Charles. They’re real people, yet they seem so romantic and fairy-tale-ish. It’s difficult to imagine them schlepping afound the house like regular married folks, being just plain old Chuck and Di. Do they look awful in the moming? Do they walk around in their underwear? Do they argue about whether to buy red or blue dishtowels? Does their life together read like a romantic novel? He took her in his strong arms and as their lips brushed softly together, he breathlessly whispered, "Darling... darling.” Or is it a bit more like this: He took the garbage can in his strong arms and said, "Darling, I’m taking out the garbage." As their eyes. met, she breathlessly replied, "Don't forget the bag in the kitchen, honey.” I wonder if Chuck and Di’s marriage is at all like my own. Does Charles get into goofy — moods and make faces at Diana behind her back, even though she’d know he was doing it because of the children’s laughter and the sound of his fingers distorting his lips? Does he play with the TV remote control, just to annoy Diana? Does Diana snatch the remote from him, and put him on "remote control probation" until his behaviour improves? Does she throw out his favourite baseball shirt, the one with paint on the sleeve and holes across the front? Does she say that all the children’s bad habits came from HIS side of the family? I think not. But I can’t imagine that Charles and Diana are always formally groomed, sitting up straight in antique chairs while a servant pours tea, as they earnestly exchange "How do I love: thees" either, A person can’t possibly live like that. Eventually, the glass slipper has to come off, and sometimes there has to be a hole in Diana’s sock underneath. I like to think about that. And then Charles has those big floppy ears Come to think of it, why should they be any different from anyone else? You never know, maybe Diana HAS had milk Spray out of her nose sometime. Maybe that’s what attracted Charles in the first place, a woman with exceptional nasal talents like that. And maybe she LIKES his huge cars flapping along in the breeze. The extra shade could be handy on a hot summer’s day. Maybe they DO look awful in the morning. Maybe they’re very normal, just like the folks next door. Maybe they DO argue over the colour of the dishtowels, "I think we should have RED, Charles." "Well, I want BLUE, and I’m the prince, so 1 win.” Nah, they couldn’t possibly be THAT normal. They must be perfect — I guess that’s the reason they can maintain their position as an ideal romantic couple. So my question is: why is it you can buy Flintstone Valentine cards, but not Charles ani Diana valentines? Answer: Because a Charles and Diana valentine would feature a picture of the couple, and. Charles’ huge cars would never fit into one of those little envelopes. Sometimes romantic perfection just isn’t enough. basis for operational “planning within the licence area until such times as an amendment or a new plan is approved. "The Management and Working Plan also contains provision for the subsequent submission of a Deve- lopment Plan. The latter contains the area — specific development proposals for a five-year period and is a prerequisite for the appli- cation of cutting permits. "The periodic approval of the Management and Working Plan and the Development Plan repre- sents approval in principle of management and operational intent but does not constitute authority to proceed with specific operational activities or projects. "Compliance with Forest Service policies, procedures and standards is required in the preparation of the Management and Working Plan and the Development Plan unless departures have been authorized, in which case these departures must be £ully explained, In all cases, the management directions. expressed in the Management and Working Plan must be consistent with management directions expressed in the Timber Supply Area Plan - and other management plans - affecting the licence area." Squish had over-emphasized the word "departures" twice, hoping Jovial would take the hint; but in case he hadn’t picked up the hint, Squish continued with an outline of just what was involved in deve- loping management goals and a timber management plan. Management goals includes things like current and projected employment figures, anticipated recreational use of the licence area, planned public involvement in the planning process, possible mill expansion and/or product diversi- fication, a list of harvesting priori- ties, proposed environmental pro- tection and a plan for integrated _ resource management. And a timber management pian is ihe real meat of the management — working plan. Here, the applicant has to demonstrate that he will distribute harvesting equally over the licensed timber profile, and explain how management pro- cedures will provide for successful reforestation as well as protect individual drainage areas and broad ecological uni units. To drive his entire point home, Squish then listed some of the basic silviculture considerations involved: backlog reforestation, site rehabilitation, brushing, juven- ile spacing, commercial thinning, conifer release, fertilization... And then pointed out that this was only the beginning. ; Also to be described in the plan were proposed methods for fire and pest protection, recreational and access management, and the: protection, improvement and en- hancement of other resources in the area; resources like fish, wild- life, cultural values and range lands. Jovial began putting on his hat and coat. "Good," Squish muttered to himself. "Now I can get on with my job. First, the coastal licence. That's going to be the most diffi- cult working plan to do anyway and I had better get it out of the way before this guy retums." Next week, Squish begins prepar- ing Jovial’s west coast Manage- ment and Working Plan. And as for Jovial himself, he’s going to try to get an audience with premier Woody Waffle in his ongoing battle for a pulp chip export licence. That, however, may prove to be much more difficult than completing a basic working plan, and Squish may have to tolerate Jovial’s interference in the end. Stewart to host mining conference More than .20 presentations, a panel discussion and a filed trip to an operating mine are on the agenda for Minerals North, an annual conference for mining industrialists and professionals and the general public. The 1991 con- ference will be held in Stewart April 10-12. The conference will be divided into four general sessions: a mineral industry overview con- ducted by Mining Association of B.C. president Jack Patterson, Energy and Mines Minister Jack Davis, B.C. and Yukon Chamber of Mines president Jack Patterson, Skeena district geologist Dave Lefebure and Westmin Resources president Walter Segsworth; a review session will profile north- west mines currently in production; a complimentary session will exa- mine deposits that have a good chance of going into production during the coming year; and a special session will be devoted to the geology of the now-famous Eskay Creek gold and silver find. For further information contact. the Skeena regional office of the ministry of energy, mincs and petroleum resources in Smithers at 847-7383.