ISSUE DATE: June 1, 2021

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 2021

The BC Energy Regulator (Regulator) has completed the 2021 annual update to Area-based Analysis (ABA). These changes will come into effect on June 1, 2021.

ABA is an operational program used to support decision making at the Regulator. Since 2015, ABA has monitored changes in surface land on a yearly basis as an indicator of potential cumulative effect risk in the northeast. ABA includes annual updates to riparian reserve zones, old forests, wildlife areas and old growth management areas.

Updated ABA status information will be available on June 1 in the online reports. Spatial data and maps will be available for download from the Regulator’s Data Center and ABA website. Additional information regarding ABA can be found in Supplementary Information for Area-based Analysis and in Area-Based Analysis Frequently Asked Questions.

Below is an update on the status of riparian reserve zones, old growth management areas, old forest, and wildlife areas for 2021. For detailed information, see the appendix at the end of this bulletin.

Riparian Reserve Zones:

As of June 1, 2021, 46 water management basins are normal, 21 are enhanced management and two are regulatory policy.

Old Growth Management Areas (OGMA):

There is no significant change to OGMA. Current analysis shows 193 OGMA are status normal and 47 are regulatory policy.

Old Forest:

This year’s assessment included a full update of baseline old forest from the vegetation resource inventory. There has been an increase in ‘old forest’ in the Boreal Plains natural disturbance unit, as forest cover has reached an age class representative of old forest age as defined by the Province. There is no change to ABA old forest status, with Boreal Plains, Northern Boreal Mountains and Boreal Foothills, remaining ABA status normal, and Omineca, Wet Mountains and Wet Trench remaining enhanced management.

Wildlife Areas:

ABA wildlife values remain unchanged this year, with no new Ungulate Winter Range (UWR) or Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHA) established in the Peace Region in 2020. New oil and gas activity has been minimal in wildlife habitat areas and ungulate winter range over the past year. Current analysis shows 323 wildlife areas are status normal, 20 are enhanced management, and 48 are regulatory policy.

If you have any questions regarding this Industry Bulletin, please contact:

Dean Zimmer
Executive Director, Permitting and Applications
BC Energy Regulator
Dean.Zimmer@bcogc.ca
250 794-5278

Jacqueline Howard
Environmental Specialist
BC Energy Regulator
Jacqueline.Howard@bcogc.ca
250-419-4496

Appendix: ABA Status - 2021

ABA Riparian Reserves

Enhanced Management			Regulatory Policy
Blueberry River	Lower Fort Nelson R.	Middle Beatton River	Pouce Coupe
Cache Creek	Lower Halfway River	Middle Fort Nelson R.	Upper Peace River
Cameron River	Lower Kiskatinaw River	Milligan Creek
Chinchaga River	Lower Muskwa River	Moberly River
Doig River	Lower Peace River	Murray River
Kyklo River	Lower Pine River	Sukunka River
Lower Beatton Riv.	Lynx Creek	Upper Pine River

ABA Wildlife Areas

Enhanced Management		Regulatory Policy
9-047	u-7-005_E-001	9-033	9-116	9-138
9-052	u-9-001_SPE-002	9-034	9-118	9-139
9-058	u-9-001_SPE-013	9-049	9-119	9-140
9-066	u-9-001_SPE-015	9-060	9-120	9-142
9-097	u-9-001_SPE-023	9-063	9-122	9-143
9-105	u-9-002_SPC-018	9-067	9-123	9-144
9-117	u-9-002_SPC-047	9-070	9-124	u-7-005_E-002
9-121	u-9-004_GR-009	9-073	9-126	u-7-006_S-008
9-125		9-099	9-127	u-9-002_SPC-001
9-134		9-100	9-128	u-9-002_SPC-009
9-135		9-104	9-129	u-9-002_SPC-017
9-141		9-109	9-130	u-9-004_GR-007
		9-110	9-131	u-9-004_GR-017
		9-111	9-132	u-9-004_GR-024
		9-112	9-133
		9-113	9-136
		9-115	9-137

ABA Old Growth Management Areas

Regulatory Policy
FSJ_DC_bea_01	FSJ_DC_gwi_05	FSJ_DC_kis_22	FSJ_DC_ois_11
FSJ_DC_bea_02	FSJ_DC_gwi_09	FSJ_DC_kis_23	FSJ_DC_pbo_13
FSJ_DC_bea_06	FSJ_DC_gwi_11	FSJ_DC_kis_27	FSJ_DC_ppa_15
FSJ_DC_bea_09	FSJ_DC_gwi_13	FSJ_DC_lmo_02	FSJ_DC_pug_05
FSJ_DC_bel_01	FSJ_DC_hhp_12	FSJ_DC_lmo_03	FSJ_DC_pug_09
FSJ_DC_bel_04	FSJ_DC_kin_01	FSJ_DC_lmo_05	FSJ_DC_red_01
FSJ_DC_dck_02	FSJ_DC_kin_06	FSJ_DC_lmo_12	FSJ_DC_red_09
FSJ_DC_dck_03	FSJ_DC_kin_07	FSJ_DC_lmo_13	FSJ_DC_sep_03
FSJ_DC_dck_05	FSJ_DC_kin_10	FSJ_DC_ois_04	FSJ_DC_umo_18
FSJ_DC_dck_07	FSJ_DC_kin_11	FSJ_DC_ois_07	FSJ_DC_wap_06
FSJ_DC_dck_08	FSJ_DC_kis_04	FSJ_DC_ois_09	FSJ_DC_wap_12
FSJ_DC_gwi_01	FSJ_DC_kis_07	FSJ_DC_ois_10

ABA Old Forest

Enhanced Management
Omineca	Wet Trench	Wet Mountain