Stage Three: Review of Proposed Operations for the 2021-2031 Forest Management Plan for the Black Spruce Forest

Our Ministry, along with Resolute FP Canada Inc. and the Black Spruce Forest Local Citizens Committee (LCC), invite you to attend an information centre.  This information centre is being held as part of the detailed planning of operations for the 10-year period of the 2021-2031 Forest Management Plan (FMP) for the Black Spruce Forest.

The planning process

The plan will take approximately three-years to complete. During this time, five formal opportunities for public consultation and First Nation and Métis community involvement and consultation are provided.

This Stage Three notice is to invite you to review and comment on:

• the details of access, harvest, renewal and tending operations for the ten-year period of the plan
• the proposed primary and branch road corridors and the proposed operational road boundaries for the ten-year period of the plan
• to request your contribution to background information to be used in planning

How to get involved

To facilitate your review, an information centre will be held at the following location from 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm on the following dates:

1. Thursday April 9, 2020 at the Valhalla Inn, 1 Valhalla Inn Rd, Thunder Bay, Ontario
2. Wednesday April 15, 2020 at the Nipigon Community Center, 52 Front St, Nipigon, Ontario

The detailed proposed operations will be available at the Company and Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) offices identified below by appointment during normal office hours for a period of 60 days April 9, 2020 to June 9, 2020.

Comments on the proposed operations for the Black Spruce Forest must be received by Bertha Strickland of the planning team at the MNRF Thunder Bay District Office by June 9, 2020.

About the forest

The Black Spruce Forest is located in the MNRF’s Northwest Region, predominantly within the ministry’s Thunder Bay District and partially within the Nipigon and Dryden Districts. For forest management purposes, the Ministry has issued a sustainable forest licence to Resolute FP Canada Inc. Under the licence, the corporation is responsible for, among other things, the preparation of an FMP in accordance with the provisions of the Forest Management Plan Manual.

The Black Spruce Forest has a total area of 1,370,189 hectares, of which 1,026,492 hectares are classified as forested. In addition to fibre for commercial use, the forest supports wildlife and ecosystem functions such as carbon sinks and water conservation. There are many productive areas of the forest in terms of moose populations. In addition, woodland caribou are known to use the northern and northeastern portions of the forest including the shoreline of Lake Nipigon. Commercial and non-commercial recreation opportunities are also associated with the forest.

Through logging, silviculture, and milling activities, the Black Spruce Forest provides employment directly and indirectly to numerous industrial suppliers and contractors, locally, regionally and provincially. In addition to fibre for commercial use, the Black Spruce Forest supports widespread commercial and recreational opportunities including trapping, angling, and hunting. It is accessed by provincial highways and forest access roads and is used extensively by the public.

Stay involved

There will be two more formal opportunities for you to be involved. These stages are listed and tentatively scheduled as follows:

Stage Four - Information Centre:  Review of Draft Forest Management Plan   September 14, 2020

Stage Five –      Inspection of MNRF-Approved Forest Management Plan   February 19, 2021

The approval date of the FMP is scheduled tentatively for February 2021.

If you would like to be added to a mailing list to be notified of public involvement opportunities, please contact Bertha Strickland at (807) 475-1147.

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 by the MNRF 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 Alyson Dupuis, MNRF District Business Coordinator, at (807) 475-1512.