Abstract

A Planning Tool for Natural Resource Management in Scenic Landscapes
Track: Urban and Regional Planning
Authors: Mike Meitner, Brent Chamberlain

Natural resource management, which must address competing economic, ecological and social needs in resource-based communities can be challenging. In forested landscapes, this is a challenge because the knowledge base of ecologists, planners and the public leads to different assumptions about the best method for management. We have developed a GIS-based tool to aid planners working in publicly visible areas by helping them mitigate negative responses caused by visual impacts of resource management. We demonstrate this tool through two case studies in British Columbia. The first focuses on designing harvest plans along a major tourist route in the interior of British Columbia, while the second shows the tool's potential for mitigating visual impacts through the well-traveled Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. Both cases demonstrate that the tool can reduce planning time, and improve the potential for harvesting more lumber without increasing the negative visual effects.