Stage Two: Review of Proposed Long-Term Management Direction for the 2021-2031 Forest Management Plan for the Mazinaw-Lanark Forest

The Ministry, Mazinaw-Lanark Forest Inc. (MLFI) and the Mazinaw-Lanark Local Citizens’ Committee (LCC) invite you to participate in the review and comment on proposed long-term management direction for the 2021-2031 Forest Management Plan (FMP) for the Mazinaw-Lanark Forest.

The planning process

The Mazinaw-Lanark FMP takes 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.

The first opportunity (Stage One) for this FMP occurred on October 31st, 2018, when the public was invited to “Participate” in the development of the plan.

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

1. To invite you to review and comment on:

• the proposed long-term management direction for the forest
• the areas which could reasonably be harvested, and the preferred areas for harvest operations, during the 10-year period of the plan
• the analysis of alternative one-kilometer wide corridors for each new primary road which is required for the next 20 years

2. To request your contribution to background information to be used in planning

How to get involved

To facilitate your review, a summary of the proposed LTMD for the forest can be obtained on the Ontario government website (www.ontario.ca/forestplans). A summary map(s) of the preferred and optional harvest areas for the 10-year period of the plan and alternative corridors for each new primary road which is required for the next 20 years will also be available.

In addition to the most current versions of the information and maps which were available at Stage One of public consultation, the following information and maps will be available:

• draft First Nation and Métis Background Information Report if communities agree
• summary of public comments and submissions received to date and any responses to those comments and submissions
• summary report of the results of the desired forest and benefits meeting
• environmental analysis, including use management strategies of the alternative corridors for each new primary road
• maps that portray past and approved areas of harvest operations for the current forest management plan and the previous 10 years
• criteria used for the identification of areas that could reasonably be harvested during the 10-year period of the plan
• the rationale for the preferred areas for harvest
• summary report of the activities of the local citizen’s committee (LCC) to date

The above information can be made available by MLFI and MNRF during normal office hours for a period of 30 days July 28 to August 27, 2020.

Comments on the proposed LTMD for the Mazinaw-Lanark Forest must be received by Joel Martineau at joel.martineau@ontario.ca of the planning team by August 27, 2020.

Remote meetings with representatives of the planning team and the LCC can be requested at any time during the planning process. Reasonable opportunities to remotely meet planning team members during non-business hours will be provided upon request.  If you require more information or wish to discuss your interests and concerns with a planning team member, please contact one of the individuals listed below:

MNRF Contact
Joe Martineau, Bancroft District Management Forester
joel.martineau@ontario.ca

Company Contact
Margaret Hatton, Mazinaw-Lanark Forest Inc.
613-336-0816 ext. 224
mhatton@mlfi.org

LCC Contact
Tom Sheppard
tom@snowbase.ca

About the forest

The Mazinaw-Lanark Forest is in Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Bancroft, Kemptville and Peterborough Districts. The Bancroft District will be the lead District for forest management. These districts are administered by Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Southern Region. The area included in the planning process lies within Hastings, Lennox & Addington, Frontenac, and Lanark Counties.

The Mazinaw-Lanark Forest management unit lies within the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest and is dominated by white pine, maple, oak, other hardwoods and poplar, with lesser amounts of balsam fir, eastern hemlock, white birch and white spruce.

The Mazinaw-Lanark Forest is managed by the Mazinaw-Lanark Forest Incorporated of Cloyne, Ontario. Mazinaw-Lanark Forest Incorporated is a partnership comprised of traditional Crown wood harvesters and users in the unit. The area of the Mazinaw-Lanark Forest currently supplies both softwood and hardwood timber and residual to a wide assortment of local sawmills, pulp and paper mills and biomass facilities.

The anticipated dates the forest management plan will be in effect are for the 10-year period from 2021 to 2031.

Stay involved

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

Stage Three - Information Centre: Review of Proposed Operations     December 2020

Stage Four - Information Centre: Review of Draft Forest Management Plan     April 2021

Stage Five - Inspection of Ministry-Approved Forest Management Plan     August 2021

If you would like to be added to a mailing list to be notified of public involvement opportunities, please contact Joel Martineau, at Joel.martineau@ontario.ca.

A final opportunity to inspect the approved plan before it is implemented will take place during the inspection of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry-approved Forest Management Plan (Stage Five), which is tentatively scheduled for June 2021.

The implementation date of the FMP is tentatively scheduled for 2021.

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: Shari MacDonald by email at shari.macdonald@ontario.ca.

An alternate to the government contact for this notice is:

Margaret Hatton
Plan Author
Mazinaw-Lanark Forest Inc.
613-336-0816 Ext. 224
mhatton@mlfi.org