Wildlife Danger Tree Assessor Certification

CONTINUING STUDIES

Wildlife Danger Tree Assessor Certification

Wildlife Danger Tree Assessor Certification Retention of living and dead trees, singly and in patches, is key to maintaining biodiversity. The Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor’s Course (WDTAC) is recognized in British Columbia by the provincial Ministry of Forests and Range, Ministry of Environment, and WorkSafe BC (Workers’ Compensation Board), as the current “standard of care” (i.e., the best available and accepted standards and practices) for assessing dangerous trees and evaluating wildlife habitat value in forestry, non-urban park, and wildland fire situations.

Wildlife Danger Tree Modules Three modules of the Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor’s Course currently exist. Each course is two days in length, involving a mix of classroom and field exercises, and qualifying exams. All course modules are complementary to one another, consequently persons can upgrade with a qualifying written exam for that particular module.

Forest Harvesting and Silviculture This module is intended for persons working in the forestry sector who wish to assess wildlife/danger trees in all types of harvesting, silviculture and road travel applications.

Wildland Fire Safety This module is intended for persons involved in wildland fire suppression, including all activities ranging from work with hoses and hand tools (mop up), to involvement of heavy machinery and aircraft.

Specific criteria and safety procedures relevant to fire suppression activities are presented in this course.

In these courses, students will:

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Understand the use of wildlife trees and their role in forested ecosystems;

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Identify high-value wildlife tree characteristics;

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Describe site assessment factors;

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Inspect and identify dangerous tree defects;

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Determine levels of disturbance for various work activities;

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Make appropriate safety decisions;

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Perform detailed tree assessments and related measurements;

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Inspect rooting systems.

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Parks and Recreation Sites This module is intended for persons involved in wildlife/danger tree assessments in forested parks and recreation sites (assessment procedures are restricted to BC native tree species). Along with assessment of tree hazards, detailed information on the determination of wildlife habitat value is presented in this course.

Wildlife Danger Tree Modules XWDT 110-1 Forest Harvesting & Silviculture

This two day classroom and field course trains participants to identify wildlife trees and assess steps necessary to ensure worker safety and habitat protection when operating around wildlife/dangerous trees.

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to identify potential habitat; determine which trees are safe and dangerous in various settings; determine if dangerous trees should be removed or modified; and establish no-work zones. This process is applicable to all work activities in forested settings, e.g. harvesting (especially relevant to partial cutting where various group retention, shelterwood or individual tree retention systems are employed), silviculture, roads, etc. This certification is recognized by WorkSafe BC.

XWDT 120-1 Wildland Fire Safety

This two day training course provides information and technical procedures for assessing tree hazards and establishing appropriate safe work practices in situations where there is potential exposure from dangerous trees to workers involved in wildland fire fighting. It also provides information on habitat quality which can be used to retain some high-value wildlife trees where opportunities exist to assess both tree hazards and wildlife tree habitat value (e.g. in sustained action fires where there is sufficient time to assess wildlife tree habitat components). Fire crews involved in wildland fire fighting do not have the time to complete a detailed tree assessment to determine if trees that appear dangerous might actually be assessed as safe.

Consequently, this course primarily focuses on worker safety and tree defects which are visually inspected and rated as having “high defect failure potential�. This certification is recognized by WorkSafe BC.

XWDT 130-1 Parks & Recreation Sites

The Parks branch of the Ministry of Environment in cooperation with the Wildlife Tree Committee has undertaken a modification of the existing Wildlife Danger Tree Assessment Course for forestry operations. This course is developed and designed specifically for Parks, Recreation Sites and other municipal settings where there may be exposure to potentially dangerous trees. Participants will learn how to identify wildlife and dangerous trees, and determine steps necessary to enhance worker/public safety and habitat protection when operating around wildlife/dangerous trees. Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to identify potential habitat, determine which trees are safe and dangerous in various settings, determine if dangerous trees should be removed or modified and establish hazard zones. This certification is recognized by WorkSafe BC.

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Wildlife Danger Tree Assessor Certification Certification

COST

Those individuals who successfully complete the course (see passing grade for exams) will receive a letter with your exam marks and a certificate with an assessor number. The certification is valid for 4 years. Certificates will be sent via mail within 2 - 4 weeks of course date. Please ensure correct mailing address on registration forms.

Certification $395.00

Recertification/Upgrade Wildlife Danger Tree Assessor Certification expires four years after the date of issue. For those who seek recertification within a one year period after certificate expiration, day one of any of the Wildlife Danger Tree modules may be waived. This individuals need only attend day two, complete the oral and field examinations. Minimum passing grades on the exams must be met in order for recertification to be granted.

Passing Grade for Exams There are two exams required for Wildlife Danger Tree Certification.

A combined average of 75% for the oral (field) exam and written (class) exam is required, including a minimum 85% on the oral exam.

This standard applies to the full two-day course as well as the oneday Recertification/Upgrade course. A minimum score of 75% is required on the written exam for Challenge, there is no oral exam.

Recertification $350.00 Additional Modules (taken concurrently) $350.00

REGISTRATION Registration for the Wildlife Danger Tree Assessor Certification is on a first-come, first-served basis. Enrolment is limited per course. Contact Continuing Studies to register online, by phone, by fax, by mail or in person.

Please consult our website for current Wildlife Danger Tree Manuals. www.unbc.ca/continuingstudies

Combined Module Offerings

Prerequisites

Upon special request combined: Forest Harvesting & Silviculture Module and Wildland Fire Safety Modules are offered over three days. Persons who enroll in the two day Forest Harvesting and Silviculture Module followed by the one day Wildland Fire Safety Upgrade Module must successfully pass the two day Forest Harvesting and Silviculture Module before certification will be given for the one day Wildland Fire Safety Upgrade Module.

The following pre-qualification standards are required of anyone taking the Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor’s Course for the first time:

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Three or more years of experience working in the fields of forestry operations, habitat biology, parks management, arboriculture, transportation safety management, occupational health and safety, or wildland fire;

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Grade 10 equivalency skills (reading, writing, basic arithmetic);

Schedule

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Ability to calculate percentages;

Multiple sessions of all modules are scheduled regularly each spring, summer and fall throughout the province of B.C. Session s are also available for contract booking or through our regular schedule out of province as well. Each module is scheduled over two days, with the first day largely in the classroom and day two in the field.

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Knowledge of native tree species identification.

In-house or Contract Courses Companies or organizations that have a minimum of eight (8) people interested in a Wildlife Danger Tree course can request to have their own course offering with a location and date that meets their needs. Occasionally, contract courses can be coordinated to accommodate smaller groups by combining course delivery with another small group. Contact us to discuss the potential for such an offering for groups smaller than the minimum requirement for participants.

250-960-5980 or 1-866-843-8061

FOR MORE INFORMATION: UNBC Continuing Studies Tel: Fax: Toll free: Email: Web:

250-960-5980 250-960-5984 1-866-843-8061 cstudies@unbc.ca www.unbc.ca/continuingstudies

University of Northern British Columbia 3333 University Way Prince George, British Columbia Canada V2N 4Z9