The Crown Forest…

The Crown Forest Sustainability Act is a progressive framework for managing forest landscapes that evolved out of perhaps the most comprehensive and inclusive environmental review of forest management on public forests anywhere. The CFSA and all of the regulatory instruments that flow (and are routinely updated based on new knowledge) from this progressive legislation are designed to strike balance between the harvest and manufacturing of Ontario timber and the maintenance of ecosystems and habitats across forest landscapes over time. It is this specific direction towards the maintenance of diverse habitats over time and space through the application of forest harvesting, reforestation and the protection of rare and unique habitats that is a central principle of forestry on public lands in Ontario. The CFSA is intended and continues to serve as a progressive means by which to manage for species at risk.

The Endangered Species Act has been proven to be unworkable when applied across broad forest landscapes. This has led to the necessary imposition of temporary fixes to prevent Ontario's forest-based communities from suffering permanent and unwarranted harm. The ESA not only provides duplication, but fails to look at ecosystems as a whole in the application of single species constraints and prescriptions that can have collateral and detrimental effects to other species and the maintenance of diverse habitats over time. The ESA fails to take into account the importance of communities and socio-economic well-being within the space

Recognition that the CFSA as the legislative instrument to manage for species at risk in Ontario forest landscapes is timely and appropriate.

Michael Martel
resolute Forest Products