Kenora Forest Management Unit Management Plan (2001-2021)
	Background

The link between Forest Management Planning and the Audit The following section provides background information on forest management planning in Ontario, and the responsibility of the forest manager. An independent forest audit is conducted every 5 years to ensure the forest manager is fulfilling the obligations of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act. Forest Management Planning System Ontario’s forests are managed for a broad range of uses and to conserve economic, social, environmental and cultural values. To achieve sustainability, forest ecosystems must be maintained in a healthy state, and the value of the forest to all users must be respected. Ontario’s forest management planning system for Crown forests is based on a legal and policy framework that has sustainability, public involvement, Aboriginal involvement, and adaptive management as key elements. The Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA) and the Environmental Assessment Act (EA Act) provide the legislative framework for forest management on Crown land in Ontario. The forest management planning requirements of the CFSA and the provisions of the environmental assessment approval under the EA Act are incorporated into the Forest Management Planning Manual, which provides the direction for preparing a forest management plan. The primary goal in every forest management plan is to achieve a healthy, sustainable forest ecosystem, which is vital to the well-being of forest-based, as well as non-forest-based, Ontario communities.

The province of Ontario has over 70 million hectares of forest land, of which approximately 49 million hectares are publicly owned, or Crown land. Approximately 29 million hectares of that Crown land is available for planning forest management activities. Crown land is the principal source of wood for Ontario’s forest products industry. For management purposes, the Crown forest in Ontario is divided into management units (Figure 1). Most of these management units are managed by individual forest companies under a Sustainable Forest Licence (SFL). The SFL holder is responsible for carrying out the activities of forest management planning, harvest, access road construction, forest renewal and maintenance, monitoring and reporting, subject to MNR regulations and approvals. A forest management plan is prepared by a Registered Professional Forester with the assistance of a multi-disciplinary planning team, local citizens committee and interested members of the public. A forest management plan contains long-term management direction covering 20 years or more, as well as detailed operations for the five-year term of the plan. Forest management plans are currently renewed every five years. It generally takes 24 to 27 months to prepare a forest management plan. This planning process provides formal opportunities for public input at key stages in the development of the plan. A forest management plan is not approved until the MNR Regional Director is satisfied that the plan provides for the sustainability of the forest and all identified concerns have been addressed. An approved plan permits the forest management activities, of access road construction, harvest, renewal and maintenance, to take place on the management unit.