ABCFP - Practice Guidelines

ABCFP practice guidelines provide members with guidance on a particular issue related to the profession and the practice of professional forestry. The public can expect that guidelines will be followed unless compelling or exceptional reasons exist for departure from them.

Guidelines are passed by a resolution of the ABCFP council and are intended to signal a standard of expectation for practitioners. However, guidelines are not obligatory. This means that members are expected to use their judgment and discretion in site and situation specific cases, to follow a different approach where warranted, as long as the reasons for departure are set out in a professional practice rationale.

While the ABCFP council approves all guidance on this page, and the origin of the guidance in most cases is the ABCFP, in other cases it is a joint practice body (e.g. ABCFP/APEGBC, ABCFP/CAB) or multiple regulators (e.g. ABCFP/MFR), or a multiple stakeholder committee.

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Click on the headings below to view current or archived practice guidelines.

Current Practice Guidelines
November 2010	Guidelines on Scope of Practice for Registered Forest Technologists (2010) These guidelines repeal and replace the Guidelines on Scope of Practice for Registered Forest Technologists released November 2008 (available under the Archived Practice Guidelines heading).
August 2010	Guidelines for Professional Services in the Forest Sector - Terrain Stability Assessments
August 2010	Scope of Practice for Certified Forest Measurements Specialists – Silvicultural Accredited Surveyors (SAS)
January 2010	Standards of Professional Practice: Guidelines for Interpretation This document replaces the Standards of Professional Practice: Guidelines for Interpretation released January 2004 (available under the Archived Practice Guidelines heading).
November 2009	Managing Species at Risk in British Columbia - Guidance for Resource Professionals This document replaces Managing for Species at Risk: What are a Forester’s Professional Responsibilities? released February 2003 (available under the Archived Practice Guidelines heading).
October 2009	Supervision of Timber Harvesting Operations
July 2009	Guidance on the Assigning of Hearing Costs The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to the discipline committee and to a panel in the context of a discipline hearing on the assessment of hearing and investigation costs against members.
June 2009	Interim Scope of Practice for Certified Forest Measurements Specialists – Accredited Timber Cruisers (ATC) and Accredited Timber Evaluators (ATE)
April 2009	Guidance for Managing Non-Statutory Expectation in Forest Practices
March 2009	Code of Ethics: Guidelines for Interpretation
February 2009	Guidance for Professional Quality Field Work
February 2009	Guidelines for Professional Services in the Forest Sector - Crossings These guidelines replace the Guidelines for Professional Services in the Forest Sector - Crossings released March 2005 (available under the Archived Practice Guidelines heading). Guidelines for Professional Services in the Forest Sector - Crossings Letter of Introduction
February 2009	Guidelines for Management of Terrain Stability in the Forest Sector Summary of the Guidelines for Management of Terrain Stability in the Forest Sector
October 2008	Developing Professional Advice: Guidance Communications and the Joint ABCFP/CAB Committee
September 2008	ABCFP Statement of Endorsement: Silvicultural System and Partial Cut Harvesting Issues in the Coast Forest Region
September 2008	Guidance for Professional Quality Rationales and Commitments
September 2008	Notice to the Profession: High-Retention Harvesting and Partial Cutting in BC Coastal Forests
June 2008	ABCFP Position Statements
May 2008	Applying Professional Reliance Under FRPA
February 2007	Professional Reliance Principles for FRPA Operational Plans and Declarations
July 2006	Professional Reliance in Forest & Range Management in BC: From Concept to Practice
November 2004	Interpretation of the Definition of Supervision
October 2004	RFT Signing & Sealing Guidelines
September 2004	Definition of Professional Reliance
May 2002	Interpreting the Publics’ Interests
December 2001	Professional Issues related to Signing Appraisal Data Submissions
December 2000	Professional Issues related to Bridge Design and Terrain Stability
May 2000	Professional Independence and the ABCPF Member
March 2000	Professional Reliance Implementation Guidelines
September 1998	Application of Professional Discretion under the Forest Practices Code
October 1996	Professional Accountability Task Force Report

Archived Practice Guidelines
June 2008	Guidelines on Scope of Practice for Registered Forest Technologists (2008) (updated November 2010 and available under the Current Practice Guidelines heading)
March 2005	Guideline for Professional Services in the Forest Sector - Crossings (updated February 2009 and available under the Current Practice Guidelines heading)
February 2003	Managing for Species at Risk: What are a Forester’s Professional Responsibilities? (updated November 2009 and available under the Current Practice Guidelines heading)
January 2004	Standards of Professional Practice: Guidelines for Interpretation (updated January 2010 and available under the Current Practice Guidelines heading)
November 2003	Guidelines on Scope of Practice for Registered Forest Technologists (2003) (updated November 2010 and available under the Current Practice Guidelines heading)
January 2002	Standards of Professional Practice: Guidelines for Interpretation (Updated January 2004 and January 2010. The January 2010 version is available under the Current Practice Guidelines heading.)

General Guidelines
General Guidelines are approved by council resolution and provide guidance to committees and the profession.

Discussion Papers
Before launching a major new initiative or publishing a guidance paper, we commonly publish a discussion paper during the development phase and seek members’ input on the direction it is taking.

More Information
If you have any questions about guidelines, contact the registrar and director of act compliance. [more]

Some of the above documents are in

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