Digital Tools Supporting BC's Community Forests

By Jaya Freeman, ASTFT

Business Development Lead & Silviculture Specialist

DR Systems Inc.

 

Community Forests across British Columbia play a unique and vital role in forest stewardship. They balance ecological values, wildfire resilience, and local economic development-often with small teams and limited administrative capacity.

At the same time, expectations around reporting, documentation, and data management continue to grow. Requirements tied to ESF submissions (RESULTS, FTA, FOM, RRS), spatial data, and operational tracking are becoming more detailed, while boards and communities expect clearer communication and transparency.

For many community forests, the challenge isn't just doing the work-it's keeping information organized, accessible, and usable across teams.

 

Where Challenges Are Showing Up

While each Community Forest operates differently, a few common challenges are emerging:

• Fragmented data systems:

Information often lives across spreadsheets, GIS files, emails, and paper records, making it difficult to maintain a single source of truth.

• Increasing reporting complexity:

Submissions such as RESULTS and FTA require accurate, well-structured data, including spatial components for certain activities.

• Limited administrative capacity:

Many teams are small, with operational staff also managing reporting and data entry.

• Communication gaps:

Field crews, office staff, and boards may all be working from slightly different versions of the same information.

These challenges aren't new-but they are becoming more pronounced as expectations evolve.

 

Where Digital Tools Can Help

Digital forestry tools are increasingly being used to support day-to-day operations and reduce administrative burden. While tools vary, they tend to focus on a few key areas:

1. Centralized Data Management

Cloud-based systems can bring together silviculture activities, road information, spatial data, and documentation into a single platform. This reduces duplication and helps ensure consistency across reporting.

2. Field-to-Office Connectivity

Mobile tools allow field staff to capture data, photos, and notes directly on-site-even offline-and sync that information back to the office. This can reduce re-entry and improve accuracy.

3. Reporting Readiness

Structured data collection helps streamline reporting processes, including preparing submissions for provincial systems. Having data organized from the start reduces last-minute effort.

4. Improved Internal Communication

When teams are working from the same system, it becomes easier to track activity status, share updates, and provide clear information to boards and partners.

 

Lessons from Early Adoption

Community forests that have implemented digital systems often highlight a few consistent lessons:

• Start with your workflows, not the software:

Understanding how your team currently operates-and where the bottlenecks are- is key to choosing the right tools.

• Adoption matters more than features:

A system only works if it fits into day-to-day operations and is practical for field and office staff to use.

• Data structure upfront saves time later:

Setting up consistent naming, mapping, and tracking processes early on makes reporting significantly easier.

• Change takes time:

Moving away from established processes can be challenging, but incremental improvements tend to be more sustainable than large, immediate shifts.

 

A Practical Shift, Not a Complete Overhaul

For many Community Forests, adopting digital tools doesn't mean replacing everything at once. Instead, it often starts with:

• Digitizing a specific workflow (e.g., inspections or silviculture tracking)

• Improving how spatial data is linked to activities

• Creating a more consistent system for storing and accessing information

Over time, these changes can build into a more connected and efficient approach to managing operations and reporting.

 

Supporting Informed Decisions

A range of digital tools are currently in use across BC, including platforms like Phoenix Connect, which is used by many forestry organizations to manage operational data, mapping, and reporting workflows.

Each tool takes a slightly different approach, and what works best will depend on the specific needs, capacity, and structure of each community forest.

The key takeaway isn't about any one system, it's that there are now practical options available to help manage growing complexity, and many community forests are beginning to explore what that could look like for their operations.

 

Looking Ahead

As reporting expectations and operational complexity continue to evolve, having reliable, accessible data will become increasingly important, not just for compliance, but for decision-making and communication.

Community forests have always been adaptable and innovative. Digital tools are simply another step in that evolution-offering new ways to support the work that's already being done on the ground.

 

About the Author

Jaya Freeman is a forestry professional with a background in silviculture and GIS, with experience supporting community forests and forest licensees in Northern BC. She works with DR Systems Inc. on Phoenix Connect, focusing on aligning digital tools with real-world operational and reporting needs.