2x4, 2x6, 2x8, etc. Standard dimensional lumber sizes expressed in inches (width x depth).

Aboriginal Section 35 of Canada's Constitution Act, 1982, recognizes and affirms the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of Indian, Inuit, and Métis peoples, which means that governments can no longer extinguish these rights without Aboriginal consent.

Additives Chemicals that are added to coatings in small amounts to alter the physical or chemical properties of the finish. For example, certain additives can reduce the drying time of alkyd (oil-based) finishes.

Afforestation Converting non-forested areas to forest naturally or by planting trees.

Air dry Process of drying or seasoning lumber naturally by exposure to air.

Allowable Annual Cut The allowable rate of timber harvest from a specified area of land. British Columbia's chief forester determines allowable annual cuts for public lands through a timber supply review process that is independent from government.

Beam A structural member loaded on its narrow face, and typically used in a horizontal or sloping position to span between bearing points.

Bearing The contact area over which one structural element, such as a truss, is supported on another structural element such as a wall.

Biodiversity (Biological Diversity) The diversity of plants, animals, and other living organisms in all their forms and levels of organization, including genes, species, ecosystems, and the evolutionary and functional processes that link them.

Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification A land classification system that provides a common reference point so resource managers can support the needs of British Columbia's unique ecosystems. There are 14 broad BEC zones, each based on characteristic climate, soils and vegetation.

Board A piece of lumber that is less than 38mm (2 inch nominal) thick in it's smaller dimension used for sheathing, formwork, or for further manufacture into trim and shaped products, such as siding.

Box Beam A built-up beam with solid wood flanges and plywood or woodbase panel product webs.

Chain of Custody A mechanism used by forest certification programs to track products from a certified forest, providing a link between the certified forest and the certified product. The process tracks and records the possession and transfer of wood and fibre from the forests of origin through the different stages of production including primary manufacturing, secondary manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, and to the end user.

Check A lengthwise separation of the wood that extends across the rings of annual growth, usually resulting from stresses set up in wood during seasoning.

Clearcut A silvicultural system that removes most of the trees from an area, leaving patches of trees and buffers to protect other forest values. It is used where it is best suited to the ecology of sites with species such as lodgepole pine and Douglas fir that thrive in full sunlight. The resulting forest is not unlike that produced by natural disturbances such as wildfire or insect infestations.

Conservancies Areas in British Columbia that provide a high level of protection and allow no commercial resource development while explicitly preserving and maintaining traditional Aboriginal uses and allowing low-impact compatible economic activities such as shellfish aquaculture.

Crown Land Provincial or federal lands that are publicly owned and managed by government on behalf of all British Columbians or Canadians.

Deforestation Permanent conversion to non-forest uses such as agriculture or urban development.

Dimensional Lumber Refers to the wood used in constructing the wall, floor and roof framing of a platform frame (2x4) house. Dimensional lumber is manufactured in a variety of sizes for use in wall framing, flooring systems, and roof trusses, as well as for exterior applications.

Earlywood The portion of the annual ring formed at the beginning of the growing season. Sometimes referred to as springwood.

Ecosystem-Based Management A strategic approach to managing human activities in sensitive areas that seeks to ensure the well-being of natural ecosystems and human communities.

Endangered Species A wildlife species that is facing imminent extirpation (no longer exists in the wild in British Columbia but exists elsewhere) or extinction (no longer exists).

Engineered wood products A composite wood product using glued fibre, lumber and/or veneer to meet specific design criteria.

Fibreboard A broad term including materials of widely varying densities manufactured by pressing wood fibres into panels sometimes used for sheathing.

Firewall A type of fire separation of noncombustible construction that subdivides a building or separates adjoining buildings to resist the spread of fire.

First Nation A First Nation is an Aboriginal community tracing its ancestry to people living in a particular area prior to European contact.

Forest Certification A voluntary process under which independent auditors measure the planning, procedures, systems and performance of on-the-ground forest operations against a predetermined standard to provide assurance of sustainable forest management.

Forest Conversion Permanently converting forest lands to other uses such as farms, ranches, urban areas or hydroelectric reservoirs.

Forest Practices Board An independent watchdog for sound practices in British Columbia that has an arms-length relationship from government and a mandate to hold both government and the forest industry publicly accountable for forestry practices.

Forest and Range Practices Act British Columbia's results-based forest practices legislation.

Forest Stewardship Plan A plan prepared by forest companies under the Forest and Range Practices Act that indicates generally where forest development will be taking place and shows how operations will be consistent with objectives set by government for soils, timber, wildlife, water, fish, biodiversity and cultural heritage resources.

Framing Lumber used for structural members in a house or other building. The skeleton to which roofs, floors, and sides are attached.

Free-growing The stage when there is assurance that harvested areas will grow into a new, healthy forest - it usually takes six to 15 years. In British Columbia, companies must reforest sites they log on public lands within three to six years, and remain responsible for the area until it reaches a free-growing stage.

Glulam (glue laminated) Structural wood product made by bonding together laminations of dimension lumber.

Green Building Choosing products and building designs that make structures more resource efficient and reduce their impact on human health and the environment through location, construction, operation, repair and maintenance, renovation and final deconstruction, demolition or removal.

Hardboard A panel manufactured primarily from interfolded wood fibres consolidated under heat and pressure in a hot press and used, for example, in the manufacture of siding products.

Hardwood(s), broad-leaved trees Trees that lose their leaves in autumn, i.e. deciduous trees. Also refers to the wood produced by these trees. Hardwoods belong to the botanical division Angiospermae (now Magnoliophyta) and are the dominant type of tree in the deciduous forest.

Heartwood The wood extending from the true centre to the sapwood, and whose cells no longer participate in the life processes of the tree. Heartwood may contain gums, resins, and other materials that usually make it darker and more decay resistant than sapwood.

Heavy timber construction A type of combustible construction in which a degree of fire safety is attained by placing limitations on the sizes of wood structural members and on thickness and composition of wood floors and roofs and by the avoidance of concealed spaces under floors and roofs.

I-joists Wooden members made of two pieces of LVL held together with a web of OSB. Substituted for wide dimensional lumber as a support for a ceiling or floor.

Identified Wildlife Management Strategy A strategy that provides direction, policy, procedures and guidelines for managing wildlife that have been legally established as species at risk under the Forest and Range Practices Act.

Illegal Logging The theft of timber or logs; deliberate harvesting without authority or in unauthorized areas or when government authority has been obtained by corrupt practices; and a deliberate failure to pay stumpage and/or royalties to forest owners.

ISO 14001 EMS certification An environmental management system for implementing environmental standards and tracking performance against set targets and objectives.

Joist One of a series of parallel beams used to support floor and ceiling loads, supported in turn by larger beams, girders, or bearing walls.

Kiln dry Process of drying or seasoning lumber naturally by placing the lumber in a kiln and exposing the lumber to heat for a prescribed period of time.

Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) Large sheets of veneer bonded together with resin, then cut to lumber-equivalent sizes.

Land Claim A phrase used by the federal and provincial governments to describe the assertion by Aboriginal people in Canada of their rights to traditional lands.

Land Use Planning A process that involves British Columbians in decisions that determine how public lands and resources will be used and managed today and in the future.

Latewood The portion of the annual ring formed in the later part of the growing season; generally of higher density and stronger than the early wood. Also known as summerwood.

Life Cycle Assessment A science-based process that examines the environmental impact throughout the life of a given product or service - from resource extraction through to product manufacturing, operation and use, and eventual reuse or disposal. It is frequently used to assess building products and assemblies.

Lumber The product of the saw and planing mill not further manufactured than by sawing, resawing, passing lengthwise through a standard planing machine, cross- cutting to length, and grading.

Lumber, boards Lumber that is less than 38mm (2 inch nominal) thick and 38mm (2 inch nominal) or more wide.

Manufactured housing Housing units partially or completely built in a factory.

Millwork Planed and patterned lumber for finish work in buildings, including items such as window sash, doors, cornices, panelwork, and other items of interior or exterior trim, but not flooring or siding.

Modular housing A type of housing in which major components are assembled in a factory and then shipped to the building site to be joined with other components to form the finished structure.

Moisture content The amount of water contained in the wood, expressed as a percentage of the weight of the oven-dry weight.

Moulding A wood strip having a curved or projecting surface used for decorative purposes.

Natural Regeneration Renewing a forest stand by natural seeding, sprouting, suckering, or layering seeds that may be deposited by wind, birds or mammals.

Old Growth Forest A forest that tends to have more large tree and standing dead trees, multi-layered canopies with gaps resulting from the deaths of individual trees, and coarse woody debris on the forest floor. Along British Columbia's Pacific Coast, scientists consider a stand old growth when most of the larger trees are more than 250 years old. In the interior, where trees typically have a shorter life span and wildfires are more common, old growth is considered to be more than 120 to 140 years old.

Old Growth Management Area Areas that contain or are managed to replace specific structural old-growth attributes, which are mapped out and treated as special management areas.

Oriented strand board (OSB) Panels made from narrow strands of fibre oriented lengthwise and crosswise in layers, with a resin binder. Depending on the resin used, OSB can be suitable for interior or exterior applications.

Parallel strand lumber (PSL) A structural wood product made by gluing together long strands of wood that have been cut from softwood veneer.

Plantation The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization defines plantations as either introduced species (all planted stands), or intensely managed stands of indigenous species, which meet all the following criteria: one or two species at planting, even-age class, regular spacing.

Platform frame construction The type of construction most often used in home building in which the floor joists are completed first and completely covered with a sub-flooring to form a platform upon which exterior walls and interior partitions are erected.

Plywood A glued wood panel made up of thin layers of veneer with the grain of adjacent layers at right angles, or of veneer in combination with a core of lumber or of reconstituted wood.

Prefabricated housing See manufactured housing.

Prescribed Fire The knowledgeable and controlled application of fire to a specific land area to accomplish planned resource management objectives such as reducing tree encroachment on grasslands and improving wildlife habitat. These fires are managed in such a way as to minimize the emission of smoke and maximize the benefits to the site.

Protected Area An area managed for important conservation values and dedicated to the preservation of natural environments.

Reforestation Replanting areas that have been logged or affected by natural disturbances such as wildfire or insects through natural means or by planting seedlings or direct seeding.

Retention A silvicultural system that leaves up to 80 per cent of the trees, individually or in groups. Once the area that was harvested has been replaced with trees that are large enough to harvest, the trees that were originally left behind can be cut. This meets objectives such as retaining old-growth structure, habitat protection and visual quality.

Riparian An ecosystem adjacent to a stream, river, lake or wetland that contains vegetation that, due to the presence of water, is distinctly different from the vegetation of adjacent areas.

Salvage Harvesting Logging operations specifically designed to remove damaged timber (dead or in poor condition) and yield a wood product. Often carried out following fire, insect attack or windthrow.

Sapwood The wood of pale colour near the outside of the log. Under most conditions sapwood is more susceptible to decay than heartwood.

Second Growth A forest or stand that has grown up (naturally or through replanting) after the original forest has been removed by fire, harvesting, insect attack or other causes.

Selection Cutting System A silvicultural system that removes single trees or small groups of trees at relatively short intervals, repeated indefinitely.

Shake A western red cedar roofing and sidewall product made by splitting blocks of cedar, as opposed to shingles that are manufactured by sawing.

Shearwall A wall or partition designed to transfer lateral loads (wind and earthquake loads) from abutting walls and roof to the foundation.

Shingle A western red cedar roofing and sidewall product made by sawing blocks of cedar.

Silviculture The art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health and quality of forests and woodlands. It includes tending and harvesting.

Softwood(s) Cone-bearing (coniferous) trees with needles or scale-like leaves; also refers to the wood produced by these trees. Softwoods belong to the botanical division Gymnospermae (now Pinophyta) and are the predominant tree type in coniferous forests.

Solid timber Timbers are thick cross sections of lumber typically sued for post and beam construction.

Species at Risk An extirpated, endangered or threatened species or a species of special concern.

Species of Special Concern A species that is particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events but is not endangered or threatened.

Special Management Area An area in British Columbia where other values such as wildlife habitat take precedence over commercial resource development.

SPF (spruce-pine-fir) Canadian woods of similar characteristics that are grouped as one lumber type for production and marketing purposes. Kiln-dried SPF lumber is used as a structural framing material in all types of residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural building applications. SPF species range in colour from white to pale yellow.

Stand An easily defined area of the forest that is relatively uniform in species composition or age and can be managed as a single unit.

Stud One of a series of vertical framing timbers used as a supporting element in a wall or partition.

Stumpage The fee that individuals and companies must pay to the government when they harvest Crown timber in British Columbia.

Sustainable forest management Management that maintains and enhances the long-term health of forest ecosystems for the benefit of all living things while providing environmental, economic, social and cultural opportunities for present and future generations.

Tenure The mechanism by which the British Columbia government transfers specific rights to use public forest or range land and resources to private forest companies, communities and individuals.

Threatened Species A wildlife species that is likely to become an endangered species if limiting factors are not reversed.

Timber A piece of lumber 140mm (5-1/2 inch) or more in smaller dimension.

Timber Harvesting Land Base The area of public land that is considered suitable for commercial timber production, based on economic, environmental, social and cultural considerations.

Traditional Territory The geographic area identified by a First Nation to be the area of land which they and/or their ancestors traditionally occupied or used.

Treaty A negotiated agreement that sets out clearly defined rights and responsibilities of First Nations and the federal and provincial governments over far-reaching matters, including land ownership, governance, wildlife and environmental management, financial benefits and taxation. A treaty is also a full and formal expression of reconciliation between First Nations and government.

Truss An assembly of members combined to form a rigid framework. All members are interconnected to form triangles. Light frame trusses are made from dimension lumber restrained by toothed plates. Heavy trusses are made for large members restrained by bolts and connectors or glulam rivets.

Value-added product / value-added production Adding value to a product by further processing it. Examples of value-added wood products include joinery stock, windows, doors, kitchen cabinets, flooring and mouldings. Value-added pulp and paper products include such items as packaging, diapers, coated papers, tissue, business papers and stationery, and other consumer paper products.

Veneer Wood peeled, sawn, or sliced into sheets of a given constant thickness and combined with glue to produce plywood or laminated-veneer lumber. Veneers laid up with the grain direction of adjoining sheets at the right angles produce plywood of great stiffness and strength, while those laid up with grains running parallel produced flexible plywood most often used in furniture and cabinetry.

Waferboard A mat-formed structural panel board made of wood wafers, randomly arranged and bonded together with a waterproof and boilproof binder.

Wildlife Habitat Areas Mapped areas that are necessary to meet the habitat requirements of one or more species of identified wildlife.

Wildlife Recovery The restoration of an endangered species to a viable, self-sustaining population level, able to withstand random events and other environmental variables.

Winter Range A range used by migratory deer, elk, caribou, moose, etc., during the winter months. It is typically better defined and smaller than summer range.

Wood I-joist, prefabricated A structural wood member made by using adhesive to attach wood flanges (LVL, MSR, or high quality dimension lumber) to a plywood or OSB web.

Wood preservative Any suitable substance that is toxic to fungi, insects, borers, and other living wood-destroying organisms.