Revisions to the Forest Management Guide for Conserving Biodiversity at the Stand and Site Scales (the Stand and Site Guide)

Background and purpose of the Stand and Site Guide:

Forest management guides are an important part of sustainable forest management in Ontario. Forest managers use guides when developing and implementing forest management plans. They provide guidelines, standards, and best management practices based on the best available science and knowledge.

The Stand and Site Guide provides direction for conserving biodiversity and managing wildlife habitat at spatial scales below the landscape level. The direction emulates natural disturbance patterns and protects forest values and features including aquatic ecosystems, special habitat features, species at risk, and forest soils.

For example, the guide gives direction on modifying forest operations to:

• retain decaying trees and fallen logs
• protect bird nests and woodland pools
• conserve water and forest soil resources

A companion document called the Forest Management Guide for Conserving Biodiversity at the Stand and Site Scales:  Background and Rationale for Direction (Background and Rationale document) provides the information and science that support revised direction in the guide.

Why we are proposing revisions:

We review forest management guides at least once every ten years to ensure they reflect the best available evidence, such as:

• published and unpublished literature
• practitioner experience
• Indigenous knowledge and community perspectives 

A review of the Stand and Site Guide generally supported current direction while providing more than 100 recommendations for consideration. Based on the number and nature of these recommendations a revision of the guide was initiated.

Proposed revisions to the Stand and Site Guide, and consequently the Background and Rationale document, address:

• recommendations from the guide review
• input received from the Provincial Forest Technical Committee, the revision project’s Technical and Indigenous Advisory Teams, and subject matter experts

Key proposed revisions to the Stand and Site Guide:

To assist with your review of the proposed changes, we are providing (see links in supporting materials section below): 

• the draft revised Stand and Site Guide including a change and rationale document
• a table summarizing the proposed revisions

The following is an overview of some of the proposed changes:

• Administrative
  • Re-evaluated key uncertainties identified for guide effectiveness monitoring.
• Climate change
  • Added a new climate change section covering climate change considerations at the stand and site scale (section 1.7).
• Wildlife habitat
  • Changed wildlife tree direction including the retention of more super canopy trees and providing a maximum number of wildlife trees for the clearcut silviculture system.
  • Revised direction for white-tailed deer and moose habitat management based on new science and knowledge.
  • Changed bird nest site direction including changes to area of concern dimensions, nest classification, and new direction for trumpeter swan nest sites.
  • Increased operational flexibility for use of existing roadbeds in some bird nest site and species at risk areas of concern.
• Water
  • Revised classification of potential sensitivity of standing and flowing water features and permitting carefully implemented clearcut harvest to shore on some streams.
  • Changed direction for Provincially Significant Wetlands.
  • Added new direction to protect hydrological function in wetlands and areas of hydrological connection between terrestrial and aquatic systems.
  • Incorporated new direction for high-risk self-sustaining lake and brook trout lakes and ponds.

There are no anticipated negative environmental implications associated with this proposal. 

• Implementing the revised Stand and Site Guide will maintain or enhance stewardship of Ontario’s Crown forests, including consideration of biodiversity at the stand and site scales, and protection for fish and wildlife habitat and species at risk.

Regulatory impact analysis

The environmental consequences of the proposal are positive.

• Stewardship of Ontario’s Crown forests will be maintained or enhanced by implementing the proposed revised Stand and Site Guide. The best available science and knowledge was incorporated into the revised guide direction including considerations for biodiversity, fish and wildlife habitat, and protection for species at risk. The proposed revisions will continue to conserve biodiversity and long-term health of public forests by emulating natural disturbances and landscape patterns while minimizing adverse effects on plant and animal life, water, and soil.

The social consequences of the proposal are positive. 

• The proposed revisions have considered potential social implications to other forest users including those who use forests for recreation and tourism. Additionally, proposed revisions that reduce burden and increase flexibility support Ontario’s forest sector and the socio-economic wellness of associated rural and Indigenous communities.

The economic consequences of the proposal are positive.

• An economic analysis showed that, compared to the current guide as a baseline, the new and revised direction would result in an overall positive impact on wood supply (e.g., increased available harvest area) and wood costs (e.g., reduced forest management plan production and operational costs) for the forest industry. The impacts of new or revised direction anticipated to potentially have a significant impact on wood supply and/or wood costs, were explored (e.g., protection of standing and flowing waters, bird nest sites, and species at risk).
• Changes to protection for flowing water features would result in a potential modest increase in available harvest area. Increases in available harvest area resulting from reduced area of concern dimensions for some bird nest sites and species at risk would be offset by proposed increased area of concern dimensions for four other species at risk. New fine filter direction for nine species at risk would also reduce available harvest area and operational flexibility (e.g., overlapping seasonal timing restrictions).
• Reduced restrictions on road construction and use in some bird nest site and species at risk areas of concern, simplified bird nest classification, and removal of the requirement for an Environmental Impact Study for Provincially Significant Wetlands are anticipated to result in potentially reduced wood costs (by reducing plan production and road construction costs) and increased operational flexibility. These cost reductions would be offset by new fine filter direction for high-risk self-sustaining trout lakes and conditions on road construction in wetlands (e.g., potential additional cross drainage infrastructure) which may increase road planning, construction, and access control costs.
• Administrative costs to the forest industry associated with implementing the new and revised Stand and Site Guide direction in the development of forest management plans (e.g., planning team members learning about the new requirements) and during operations (e.g., training operations staff on the new requirements) are minor.