Stage Four - Information Centre: Review of Draft 2020-2030 Algoma Forest Management Plan

To advise the public, First Nation and Métis communities that the 10-year Forest Management Plan is being prepared for the Algoma Forest for the period April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2030. The plan will ensure the sustainability of the forest resource, encourage continued biodiversity, and provide social and economic opportunities of the Crown forest.

The Planning Process

The Algoma Forest Management Plan takes approximately three years to complete. During this time, five formal opportunities for public, First Nation and Métis involvement are provided:

• Stage One – Invitation to Participate: September 6, 2017
• Stage Two – Review of Proposed Long-Term Management Direction: January 16, 2019
• Stage Three – Information Centre: Review of Proposed Operations: April 16, 2019 when the public was invited to review and comment on proposed operations for the first and second terms of the plan.

This ‘Stage Four’ notice is to:

• invite you to review and comment on the draft Forest Management Plan
• request contributions to the background information to be used in planning

Comments from the public will be considered in revisions to the draft Forest Management Plan.

How to Get Involved

The draft Forest Management Plan and summary will be available on our Forest Plans website and at the Clergue Forest Management Incorporated office at the location noted below, by appointment during normal office hours for a period of 60 days from October 16 to December 14, 2019. Comments on the draft plan for the Algoma Forest must be received by Matt Kendrick of the planning team at the ministry’s Sault Ste. Marie office by December 14, 2019.

Our Information Centre and ServiceOntario locations in Sault Ste. Marie, Wawa, and the ministry district offices may provide internet access. To assist you in the review and to provide the opportunity to ask questions, information centres will be held at the following locations on the following days:

Wednesday, October 16, 2019 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Royal Canadian Legion, 51 Broadway Avenue, Wawa, Ontario.

Thursday, October 17, 2019 from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Water Tower Inn, 360 Great Northern Road, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

In addition to the most current versions of the information and maps which were previously available, the following information will also be available:

• Draft Forest Management Plan, including supplementary documentation
• Draft plan summary (copies may be obtained at the information centres)
• The ministry’s preliminary list of required alterations

During the planning process there is an opportunity to make a written request to seek resolution of issues with the ministry’s District Manager or the Regional Director using a process described in the Forest Management Planning Manual (2017). The last possible date to seek issue resolution with the Regional Director is January 13, 2020.

About the forest

The Algoma Forest is located in the Northeast Region of Ontario in the western part of Sault Ste. Marie District and the eastern part of Wawa District. It is located west of Highway 129, north of the City of Sault Ste. Marie to the junction of Highway 17 and Highway 519 to Dubreuilville and west through Wawa to the eastern boundary of Pukaskwa National Park.

The forest has a total forested area of 1,561,874 hectares, of which 62 percent (951,004 hectares) is classified as Crown land. Approximately 15 percent of the Crown land (174,000 hectares) is classified as provincial parks and conservation reserves. The remaining 38 percent (581,995 hectares) consists of a variety of patented land holdings.

The Algoma Forest is in the transition zone from the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Forest Region to the Boreal Forest Region, and thus includes a mixture of forest types and conditions. The forest supports tree species such as maple, birch, pine, spruce, and poplar. Sugar maple, white birch, and black spruce are the most abundant species in the forest. White spruce, trembling aspen, balsam fir, yellow birch and jack pine are relatively common. Red and white pine, hemlock, cedar and larch are also present. A few isolated occurrences of other hardwoods, including black ash are also found.

The Garden River, Batchewana and Michipicoten Aboriginal First Nations communities, as well as the Historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis and Bar River Métis communities are located in the Algoma Forest.

For forest management purposes, the ministry has issued a sustainable forest licence to Clergue Forest Management Incorporated (#542257). Under the licence, the corporation is responsible for, among other things, the preparation of the forest management plan in accordance with the provisions of the Forest Management Planning Manual (2017).

Timber is harvested pursuant to an approved plan. Rayonier Advanced Materials, Columbia Forest Products/Levesque Division, Midway Lumber Mills Limited, Domtar Incorporated, and Boniferro Mill Works have formed a business partnership to create Clergue Forest Management Incorporated. Under the terms of a sustainable forest licence issued by the ministry, Clergue Forest Management Incorporated is responsible for forest management on the unit.

In addition to fibre for commercial use, the forest supports wildlife and ecosystem functions such as carbon sinks and water conservation. Commercial and non-commercial recreation opportunities are also associated with the forest.

Stay Involved

A final opportunity to inspect the approved plan before it is implemented will take place during the inspection of the ministry-approved Forest Management Plan (Stage Five), which is tentatively scheduled for February 27, 2020.

The approval date of the plan is tentatively scheduled for January 28, 2020.

We are collecting your personal information and comments under the authority of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act. Any personal information you provide (address, name, telephone, etc.) will be protected in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; however, your comments will become part of the public consultation process and may be shared with the general public. Your personal information may be used to send you further information related to this forest management planning exercise. If you have questions about the use of your personal information, please contact Valarie Morin at 705-941-5119.