Silviculture
100 Mile house, BcCanadaAug 2022[ Service overview ]Our complete silviculture services support the entire regeneration cycle—from seed collection and nursery coordination to stand tending and long-term monitoring. Our work is grounded in best practices and operational excellence, ensuring projects are planned, delivered, and monitored to the highest professional standards.
Our Experience
Accredited Surveyors on Staff
27
Enough to cultivate 36 million trees
Seeds Collected Since 2021
Hectares Surveyed Since 2021
42,000
Photo credit: Tom Miller, Veritree
Photo credit: Tom Miller, Veritree
Project Development & Silviculture Management
Full silviculture program planning
Meticulous planning and scheduling ensure every project is delivered successfully. Our experts develop detailed, thoughtful, and collaborative plans tailored to the unique conditions and requirements of each region.
Multi-year regeneration pathways & budgeting
Growing forests takes time. Our work doesn’t end once the seedlings are in the ground. We monitor plantings for several years, collecting data and evaluating outcomes to guide future operations. This long-term approach helps ensure the forests we establish are healthy, adaptable, and resilient for generations to come.
Contractor coordination & field program oversight
Large-scale restoration takes collaboration. CCS serves as the central link between a wide network of partners, ensuring every project moves forward with clarity and coordination. From budgeting and engaging funders to securing government authorizations, sourcing seed, coordinating nursery production, and organizing cold storage and logistics, we manage every stage of the process.
We work closely with equipment operators, surveyors, fallers, trail builders, and planting contractors, while also liaising with local stakeholders and landowners. Each project is a complex, multi-year undertaking that relies on the contributions of many skilled people.
It truly takes a village to restore forests at scale. We are grateful to the thousands of hands that contribute to our projects each year and are committed to ensuring local communities are meaningfully involved and supported along the way. Together, we bring people onto the land to build something larger and more enduring than ourselves.
Mapping & GIS Services
High-precision mapping
We provide mapping services for access, prescriptions, planting, and surveys.
Digital surveying
We use spatial datasets to identify restoration opportunities and support decision making.
Landscape analysis
When mapping landscapes, we can provide digital survey integration as well as RESULTS-ready spatial outputs.
Prescriptions & Operational Planning
Planting Prescriptions
Every site is different, and so is every planting plan. Our prescriptions are tailored to the soil moisture, nutrient levels, and ecological conditions of each location. By carefully matching tree species to site conditions, we give every seedling the best possible chance to survive, grow, and become part of a thriving future forest.
Operational Prescription Development
Successful restoration requires thoughtful coordination in the field. Our project development includes multiple operational phases such as site preparation, surveying, layout, danger tree falling for hazard reduction, and large-scale tree planting. We also support long-term stewardship through services like thinning, brushing, and spacing to help forests grow strong and resilient over time.
Field Surveys, Monitoring & QA
Silviculture surveys
Our team brings extensive experience conducting the full range of silviculture surveys across British Columbia, including stocking, survival monitoring, free-growing, and multi-story assessments. Crews review and refresh provincial standards and guidelines annually to ensure our work remains accurate, current, and reliable. We also integrate drone technology where appropriate or when requested, providing high-value aerial data and mapping products to support foresters and land managers.
Silviculture quality assessment
Quality implementation is essential to successful forest restoration. We conduct independent quality assurance (QA) assessments during planting and other silvicultural operations to ensure prescriptions are followed and work meets the highest standards. Our team also supports third-party audits for organizations seeking objective field verification.
Training
We support the next generation of forestry professionals by offering hands-on training opportunities across many of our services. Team members gain experience in silviculture surveying, build familiarity with the FS704 system used for QA assessments, and develop practical decision-making skills for activities such as block boundary layout and GPS traverse work. For those pursuing professional advancement, this experience can help support the pathway toward SAS accreditation.
Seed, seedling & stock management
Sowing & seedling supply management
Growing seedlings for BC’s forests requires forethought and adaptability. Our team carefully selects seed to match the environmental conditions of each planting site, ensuring the trees’ genetics are suited to thrive in a changing climate. Summer site surveys inform planting prescriptions, which guide sowing requests submitted in the autumn. Because seedlings take 12–18 months to grow to planting size, we are always planning two years ahead to ensure a steady supply of healthy trees.
Cone collection & seed procurement
Healthy forests start with strong seeds, and seed security is at the heart of everything we do. Each year, we plan and manage a proactive, comprehensive seed collection program for a variety of species—both conifers and deciduous trees. Our collections typically include Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, trembling aspen, black cottonwood, red alder, and paper birch. We provide high-quality seed for reforestation projects and are always happy to discuss custom collections or seed sales to meet your needs.
Nursery and seed supplier coordination
Over the years, we’ve built strong relationships with nurseries and seed suppliers across BC. Together, we produce and plant high-quality seedlings for projects province-wide. Beyond growing our own trees, we excel at finding solutions for surplus seedlings—ensuring they’re put to good use in ecosystems rather than wasted. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell seedlings, our team can help connect you with the right partners.
Field Operations Support
Layout & GPS traverse
We establish layout lines and GPS traverses for planting blocks, plots, and other operational features, ensuring crews can navigate, measure, and complete work efficiently on the ground.
Certified Danger Tree Assessment (DTA) & falling
To maintain safe working conditions, our certified professionals assess and manage danger trees in operational areas, identifying hazards and safely falling unstable or high-risk trees before field crews begin work.
Access route planning
To ensure safe and efficient operations, we plan routes for treeplanting, surveys and other field activities.
Reporting, Compliance & Professional Oversight
RESULTS reporting
Accuracy matters. Our staff are meticulous in preparing and submitting detailed reports and maps to RESULTS, ensuring every project record is reliable, complete, and compliant.
Professional oversight & sign-off (RPF/RFT)
All CCS projects are guided by our team of Registered Professional Foresters (RPFs) and Registered Forest Technologists (RFTs). They review and support project plans, sign off on surveys and prescriptions, and ensure our work maintains ecological integrity, complies with legislation, and meets both current and future land-use goals. Our professionals stay connected with peers, participate in conferences and communities of practice, and continuously adapt methods based on new information and feedback. They also mentor trainees, helping the next generation of forest professionals work toward their designations while upholding the Forest Professionals of BC Code of Ethical and Professional Conduct.
Silviculture Accedited Surveyors (SAS)
CCS is proud to have a team of highly experienced Silviculture Accredited Surveyors (SAS). Covering hundreds of kilometers on foot each year, they collect reliable field data and provide expert recommendations that form the foundation of our planting prescriptions. We also offer annual training programs to develop and grow our surveyors’ expertise, ensuring consistent, high-quality results across all projects.
