NEBC VRI Old Forest

The Northeast BC VRI Old Forest (NEBC_VRI_OLD_FOREST_PY) is a layer derived from the 2023 vintage of the annually updated Forest Vegetation Composite Polygons and Rank1 Layer (VRI) that represents forest stands 140 years and older.

This dataset was created to provide operators and decision makers with current old forest stand information for the northeast. Existing old forest datasets have either been retired or are out of date. The dataset is generated following a similar approach to the legacy RSEA Old Forest Dataset, using a newer and more comprehensive version of the VRI, to capture stands that have matured to the 140 age criteria, and address known gaps in the older datasets related to Tree Farm Licenses.  The data was derived using RSEA methodology where old forest polygons were extracted from VRI with the following logic: BCLCS_LEVEL_2 = 'T' And PROJ_AGE_1 >= 140. This dataset has not been modified or adjusted for Crown Forest Land Base or any other forest land base criteria. As such, this data is purely for the identification of old forest stands, irrespective of forest productivity, land ownership, or forest fire burn severity, and is not suitable for estimating stand reserves such as Range of Natural Variability without further analysis. The 140 age criteria has been applied to deciduous and coniferous stands. 

Data Properties

Attributes / Column Name

Field Alias

Data Type

Data Precision

Comments

OBJECTID

Object ID

Object ID

 

Unique row number auto generated by database

SHAPE

Shape

Geometry (Polygon)

 

 BCLCS_LEVEL_4

BC Land Cover Class L4

Text

2

British Columbia Land Cover Classification Scheme Level 4

Coded Values: 

TC = Treed - Coniferous

TB = Treed - Broadleaf

TM = Treed - Mixed

PROJ_AGE_1

Leading Species Projected Age

Short

 

Projected Age for Leading SpeciesVRI_YEAR

VRI Year

Short

 

Vintage of VRI used to generate the datasetSHAPE.AREA

 

Double

 

Area auto calculated by database (m2)SHAPE.LEN

 

Double

 

Polygon perimeter auto calculated by database (m)

Renewal Triggers and Service Levels

  1.  As Needed

 

References

1 Holt R.F, Myers D. “OLD FOREST CURRENT CONDITION: A CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ANALYSIS FOR THE NORTHEAST RSEA STUDY AREA – Final Report”. British Columbia’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative: Northeast Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment (RSEA), 01 JUN. 2019, https://www.bc-er.ca/files/gis/RSEA_Old-Forest_June2019_Version1.0.pdf

 

Contact Information:

For further information please contact

Jacqueline Howard

Environmental Management Specialist

Responsible Development & Stewardship

[email protected]

 

Anna Regnier

Land and Resource Specialist

Ministry of Forests (FOR) – North Area

[email protected]

 

Hannah Wilson

Land and Resource Specialist

Ministry of Forests (FOR) – North Area

[email protected]

 

 

 

Datasets available for download

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated March 24, 2026, 21:09 (UTC)
Created March 24, 2026, 21:09 (UTC)
Domain / Topic
Domain or topic of the dataset being cataloged.
Title
Title for the Dataset.
NEBC VRI Old Forest
Description
A description of the dataset.

The Northeast BC VRI Old Forest (NEBC_VRI_OLD_FOREST_PY) is a layer derived from the 2023 vintage of the annually updated Forest Vegetation Composite Polygons and Rank1 Layer (VRI) that represents forest stands 140 years and older.

This dataset was created to provide operators and decision makers with current old forest stand information for the northeast. Existing old forest datasets have either been retired or are out of date. The dataset is generated following a similar approach to the legacy RSEA Old Forest Dataset, using a newer and more comprehensive version of the VRI, to capture stands that have matured to the 140 age criteria, and address known gaps in the older datasets related to Tree Farm Licenses.  The data was derived using RSEA methodology where old forest polygons were extracted from VRI with the following logic: BCLCS_LEVEL_2 = 'T' And PROJ_AGE_1 >= 140. This dataset has not been modified or adjusted for Crown Forest Land Base or any other forest land base criteria. As such, this data is purely for the identification of old forest stands, irrespective of forest productivity, land ownership, or forest fire burn severity, and is not suitable for estimating stand reserves such as Range of Natural Variability without further analysis. The 140 age criteria has been applied to deciduous and coniferous stands. 

Data Properties

Attributes / Column Name

Field Alias

Data Type

Data Precision

Comments

OBJECTID

Object ID

Object ID

 

Unique row number auto generated by database

SHAPE

Shape

Geometry (Polygon)

 

 BCLCS_LEVEL_4

BC Land Cover Class L4

Text

2

British Columbia Land Cover Classification Scheme Level 4

Coded Values: 

TC = Treed - Coniferous

TB = Treed - Broadleaf

TM = Treed - Mixed

PROJ_AGE_1

Leading Species Projected Age

Short

 

Projected Age for Leading SpeciesVRI_YEAR

VRI Year

Short

 

Vintage of VRI used to generate the datasetSHAPE.AREA

 

Double

 

Area auto calculated by database (m2)SHAPE.LEN

 

Double

 

Polygon perimeter auto calculated by database (m)

Renewal Triggers and Service Levels

  1.  As Needed

 

References

1 Holt R.F, Myers D. “OLD FOREST CURRENT CONDITION: A CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ANALYSIS FOR THE NORTHEAST RSEA STUDY AREA – Final Report”. British Columbia’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative: Northeast Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment (RSEA), 01 JUN. 2019, https://www.bc-er.ca/files/gis/RSEA_Old-Forest_June2019_Version1.0.pdf

 

Contact Information:

For further information please contact

Jacqueline Howard

Environmental Management Specialist

Responsible Development & Stewardship

[email protected]

 

Anna Regnier

Land and Resource Specialist

Ministry of Forests (FOR) – North Area

[email protected]

 

Hannah Wilson

Land and Resource Specialist

Ministry of Forests (FOR) – North Area

[email protected]

 

 

 
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Dataset Size
Dataset size in megabytes.
0.09
Metadata Identifier
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Published Date
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2024-06-14
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GeoSpatial Area Data Span
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Field Value
Access category
Type of access granted for the dataset (open, closed, service, etc).
public
License
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This data is for representation purposes only. The BC Energy Regulator provides this data "as is" with the understanding that it is not guaranteed to be accurate, correct or complete and conclusions drawn from such information are the responsibility of the user. It carries no guarantee of any kind, express or implied.Please review the BCER Open Data License for complete details.
Limits on use
Limits on use of data.
Location
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https://data-bc-er.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/3a6629d370944e56a5a250f15d723e52
Data Service
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Owner
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BC_Energy_Regulator
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Author
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BC_Energy_Regulator
Author Email
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Accessed At
Date the data and metadata was accessed.
2026-02-09
Field Value
Identifier
Unique identifier for the dataset.
3a6629d370944e56a5a250f15d723e52
Language
Language(s) of the dataset
English
Link to dataset description
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https://data-bc-er.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/3a6629d370944e56a5a250f15d723e52
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Contains data about individuals
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Contains Indigenous Data
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Portal Type
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Field Value
Version
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None
Source
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None
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Is version of another dataset
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Temporal resolution
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GeoSpatial resolution in meters
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Field Value
Indigenous Community Permission
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Community Permission
Community permission (who gave permission).
The Indigenous communities the dataset is about
Indigenous communities from which data is derived.
Field Value
Number of data rows
If tabular dataset, total number of rows.
451560
Number of data columns
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11
Number of data cells
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4967160
Number of data relations
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