Published: 2004
Total Pages: 73
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This report examines future implications of management provisions recommended by the Morice Land & Resource Management Plan (LRMP) Table, in comparison to implications for current management practices reported earlier in a base case projection of environmental risks. The main analytical tool used in this examination is the Morice Landscape Model, which keeps track over time of forest conditions on each individual hectare of the LRMP area. These conditions drive other computer models which evaluate habitat conditions for selected species. Three separate simulations form the basis for much of the analysis & discussion that follow: a base case scenario corresponding to current management practice, a natural case scenario to determine what the natural state of forests would be in the absence of industrial forestry, and the LRMP management scenario that applies the management provisions recommended by the LRMP Table. After reviewing the models & scenarios analyzed, the remainder of the report covers two main topics: the degree to which representation of particular ecosystems would be improved by the Table recommendations; and predicted future trends in coarse-filter biodiversity and status of identified wildlife species (grizzly bear, caribou, fisher, northern goshawk, mountain goat, moose, marten, bull trout), special or rare ecosystems, and general fisheries values under each scenario.