Designing conservation covenants for conservation forestry: A case study from Cortes Island, British Columbia

Conservation covenants have the potential to be powerful tools for protecting both ecological values and timber harvesting opportunities on lands dedicated for forestry purposes. Covenants for conservation forestry are among the most complex form of conservation covenants and must be carefully tailored to reflect ecological conditions and conservation objectives. In this report I evaluate the design of a covenant for conservation forestry on Cortes Island, British Columbia. I assess both structural and ecological provisions of the covenant to determine whether covenants were a useful tool for conservation forestry in this case. Effective covenants for conservation forestry must include clear objectives, balance flexibility with rigour, adopt provisions to maximize compliance and include a monitoring program. In addition to regulating forest practices, covenants for conservation forestry should protect habitat at multiple scales, designate reserves, maintain structural complexity and ensure connectivity across the landscape. Careful consideration must also be given to how covenants for conservation forestry will incorporate societal values.