Scope and Purpose
Source: PEI Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Standards Manual (October 2025), p. 2
The standards manual is a technical document. It is written for forest professionals — foresters, forest technicians and contractors — and for woodlot owners who want to understand the work being prescribed on their land.
Who it applies to
| Situation | How the standards apply |
|---|---|
| Work on publicly owned forest | Prescriptions should follow the standards. |
| Work on private woodlots seeking incentives under the Forest Enhancement Program (FEP) | Prescriptions should follow the standards; treatments are assessed against them. |
| Private work with no public funding | The standards are a reference for good practice; legal requirements (permits, buffer zones, pesticide rules) still apply. |
What every treatment is for
The stated objective of any intervention guided by the manual is to improve the quality of the forest. At the provincial scale the forest provides many values at once — timber, wildlife, water, recreation — and no single value should be pursued at the expense of the others. The standards exist so that managers prescribe the right treatment in the right forest conditions.
For more resources, contact your local PEI Forests, Fish and Wildlife office or visit the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action website. Throughout this guide, “the Department” means that department.
How to read a treatment page
Most pages in Tree Establishment, Stand Improvement and Enhancement Techniques follow the same three-part pattern as the manual:
- What it is — the treatment and what it is meant to achieve.
- Eligibility — the stand or site conditions that must exist before the treatment can be prescribed.
- Standards and assessment — how the work must be carried out, and what an inspector checks afterward.
The General Standards apply on top of every treatment: an approved management plan, harvest and planting rules, biodiversity retention and environmental protection. Technical terms are explained in Definitions.
Based on the PEI Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Standards Manual (October 2025), p. 2. Where this guide and the manual differ, the manual governs.