Forest Management Planning Manual

Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Forest Management Planning Manual

March 2017

Policy Division

Crown Forests and Lands Policy Branch

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FOREST MANAGEMENT PLANNING

MANUAL

Prepared under the Authority of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994

March, 2017

Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

FOREWORD

? 2017 Queen's Printer for Ontario Printed in Ontario, Canada

Publications and price lists are available from this office: Service Ontario Publications 300 Water Street P.O. Box 7000 Peterborough, ON, K9J 8M5 1-800-668-9938 serviceontario.ca/publications

Telephone inquiries should be directed to the Service Ontario Contact Centre:

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Cette publication hautement sp?cialis?e {Forest Management Planning Manual} n'est disponible qu'en anglais conform?ment au R?glement 671/92, selon lequel il n'est pas obligatoire de la traduire en vertu de la Loi sur les services en fran?ais. Pour obtenir des renseignements en fran?ais, veuillez communiquer avec le minist?re des Richesses naturelles et des For?ts au 1-800-667-1840.

Visit Ontario's Forests website at:

Visit the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry website at:

How to cite this manual:

OMNRF. March 2017. Forest Management Planning Manual, Toronto. Queen's Printer for Ontario. 462 pp

ISBN: 978-1-4868-0114-5 (Print) ISBN: 978-1-4868-0115-2 (PDF)

Forest Management Planning Manual 2017

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FOREWORD

1 FOREWORD

2

3 The Policy Framework for Sustainable Forests

4

5 The overall context for forest management in Ontario is the Policy Framework for

6 Sustainable Forests that was approved by Cabinet in 1994. The framework sets broad

7 direction for forest policy and makes forest sustainability the primary objective of forest

8 management. It helps to address climate change by ensuring Ontario's forests contribute

9 positively to the global environment. This contribution is made through the application of

10 the principles for sustaining forests.

11

12

13 Overview of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act

14

15 The Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994 (CFSA) came into effect on April 1, 1995. The Act is

16 enabling legislation, and provides for the regulation of forest planning, information,

17 operations, licensing, trust funds, processing facilities, remedies and enforcement, and

18 transitional provisions. The CFSA is designed to allow for the management of all forest-based

19 values, while providing for the sustainability of Crown forests. The CFSA defines

20 sustainability as long-term Crown forest health, and reflects the broad direction set out in

21 the Policy Framework for Sustainable Forests.

22

23

24 A Manual Approach to Implementation of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act

25

26 The CFSA requires the provision of four manuals to guide various aspects of forest

27 management in Ontario. These manuals are prepared in accordance with Section 68 of the

28 Act and are regulated in accordance with Section 69(1) 29:

29

30

1. The Forest Management Planning Manual (FMPM);

31

2. The Forest Information Manual (FIM);

32

3. The Forest Operations and Silviculture Manual (FOSM); and

33

4. The Scaling Manual (SM).

34

35 The FMPM is the pivotal document that provides direction for all aspects of forest

36 management planning for Crown lands in Ontario within the area of the undertaking, as

37 defined in Schedule 1 of MNRF's Environmental Assessment Act Requirements for Forest

38 Management on Crown Lands in Ontario, (2015) (Declaration Order MNR-75). This FMPM

39 incorporates conditions 1 to 34 and 39(a) of Declaration Order MNR-75.

40

41 In accordance with the CFSA, forest sustainability will be determined in accordance with the

42 approach described in the FMPM. The approach requires the identification of measurable

43 indicators in order to assess the effectiveness of activities in achieving management

44 objectives and to assess the sustainability of the forest for the management unit. For the

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Forest Management Planning Manual 2017

FOREWORD

1 forest management plan (FMP), the determination of sustainability will be a conclusion that 2 the FMP provides for the long-term Crown forest health on the management unit, and has 3 regard for plant life, animal life, water, soil, air, and social and economic values, including 4 recreational values and heritage values. Management unit annual reports require the 5 monitoring and evaluation of future forest conditions to compare with planned outcomes, 6 which provide a means for continual refinement, redevelopment and improvement of forest 7 management activities. 8 9 The FIM describes the information requirements the MNRF has to support forest 10 management. The FIM also provides for the sharing and exchange of forest-related 11 information between the MNRF and Ontario's forest industry. 12 13 The FOSM sets out the over-arching principles and accepted approaches for forest 14 management, the standards for forest operations and silvicultural practices, the minimum 15 qualifications for forestry workers, and the procedures for the evaluation of forest 16 management in Ontario. 17 18 The SM contains instructions and standards for the measurement of Crown forest resources, 19 provides instructions for the authorized movement of Crown forest resources and sets out 20 the requirements for conducting scaling audits. 21 22 Manual Revision 23 24 The four manuals are revised, improved, and updated based on experiences in using the 25 manuals, and as new information becomes available. Revisions to the manuals will be made 26 in accordance with the CFSA regulation requiring public review and comment. 27 28 Forest Management 29 30 Forest Management is conducted in an adaptive management cycle. A FMP is prepared by a 31 plan author who is a registered professional forester, who certifies that the FMP provides for 32 the sustainability of the Crown forest. The FMP is implemented as scheduled in the annual 33 work schedule and as reported in the annual report. Following year five, the implementation 34 of the FMP to date is assessed and a determination is made as to whether the 35 implementation of the FMP has provided for the sustainability of the Crown forest and 36 recommendations for future planning are provided. The next FMP is prepared in 37 consideration of recommendations from the year five annual report; changes to the forest 38 condition; updates to science and policy; and specific efforts to confirm, update, or revise 39 management objectives and practices. 40 41 Figure 1 provides an overview of the adaptive management cycle as it pertains to the 42 provision of forest sustainability in FMPs. 43 44 45

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