Project Description: Objectives of landscape-level planning are to promote sustainability and stewardship of multiple resource values with an emphasis on consistent fibre flow, but events such as mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) outbreaks create uncertainty that hampers meeting those objectives (Sutherland et al. 2004). Events as large as the current MPB outbreak can cause forests to lose some resilience to absorb further perturbation and reduce their capacity to provide key ecological services, such as wildlife habitat, mid-to long-term timber supply, and jobs (MOFR 2005). Innovative and forward-looking approaches that incorporate sources of uncertainty are needed to manage landscapes for both timber and non-timber values. In the mid-1970's, the East Kootenays experienced a MPB outbreak that can be used to provide a solid foundation for examining the potential consequences of the current epidemic. The broad goal of our project is to exploit this information to guide MPB-related decisions through a strategic analysis that compares the consequences of historic responses to alternative management approaches. This project will generate two major products: 1) an analysis framework to support decision makers ability to assess timber and non-timber values, trade-offs, and interactions, with explicit accounting for uncertainty; and 2) a report that evaluates current policy, presents alternative options, and provides guidance to inform MPB-related decisions. Our project directly addresses Theme 5 of the MPB Timber Growth and Value Program by modelling the effects of MPB attacks under different forest management strategies. We will also consider stochastic factors such as climate change that may affect MPB outbreaks, fire, land-use, and forest development. Target Audience/End Users: The project's target audience will be managers and decision-makers responsible for developing strategies concerning the MPB outbreak. Because the MPB outbreak could have wide-ranging impacts and our project addresses both timber and non-timber values there will be several beneficiaries of this project's results. We have directly contacted timber licensees (Tembec Inc. and Canadian Forest Products, Ltd) and non-industry landholders (The Nature Trust and The Nature Conservancy of Canada) that have agreed to be partners on this project. The chief benefit of the project's products will be to inform our audience of the consequences of current policy and articulate alternative management strategies based on principles of sustainable forest management. These strategies will be designed to mitigate the impact of MPB in a system that considers uncertainty, allows both timber and non-timber values to be evaluated, and interactions and trade-offs to be assessed. The results will also aid provincial government ministries (Environment and Forests and Range) in developing guidelines for MPB outbreaks specific to salvage-oriented strategies, size and spatial distribution of cut-blocks, and road access, at scales ranging from landscape units to management units.