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Backgrounder

July 2003

Declaration Order for Forest Management

The Minister of the Environment has issued a Declaration Order containing new rules for forest management in Ontario.

The Declaration Order extends and amends the existing Class Environmental Assessment Approval for Timber Management (Timber Class EA approval). It contains improvements to the forest management process and imposes new conditions to strengthen forest management.

The conditions of the Declaration Order define broad direction for forest management planning and complement the forest management planning principles of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act 1994 (CFSA). Detailed technical direction for forest management will continue to be applied through the Forest Management Planning Manual regulated under the CFSA.

The Declaration Order strengthens criteria and procedures for auditing forest management activities through an independent forest audit process. Audits are used to assess the Ministry of Natural Resources’ compliance with the planning process and the effectiveness of forest management activities.

An important aspect of the conditions is the periodic review of the process and protocols around independent audits. The Declaration Order requires MNR to notify the public that audit findings are available, along with any action plans that MNR is required to undertake as a result of those findings.

The Declaration Order also changes the name of the Timber Class EA approval to MNR’s Class Environmental Assessment Approval for Forest Management on Crown Lands in Ontario to emphasize the requirements for planning for forest sustainability under the CFSA.

Other MNR Instruments for Managing Ontario’s Forests

The CFSA requires MNR to ensure the long-term sustainability of Crown forests and contains tough rules for managing forests. The act represents a shift in managing forests for the purpose of providing timber for harvest to management of the whole forest to ensure a healthy, diverse forest that provides a wide range of benefits over the long term.

The Forest Management Planning Manual, regulated under the CFSA, is key to planning healthy, diverse forests. The manual contains provisions to implement the CFSA and the planning provisions of the Timber Class EA approval. In 1995, the EA Board determined that the Timber Class EA provisions were properly described in the manual. Proposed new planning conditions would be added to the manual.

Conditions

The previous Timber Class EA approval has 115 terms and conditions; the new Declaration Order - and the resulting Class EA approval - has 55. The major reason for the change in the number relates to planning. In its review, MNR took the 82 planning-related terms and conditions of the previous Timber Class EA approval, and reorganized and amalgamated them into 26 proposed conditions that would help ensure sound planning of forest management.

In some cases, terms and conditions of the previous Timber Class EA approval have been dropped because MNR has completed the requirements and there is no further need for the condition.

Key conditions in the Declaration Order relate to the following:

Planning

A condition in the Declaration Order requires MNR to propose amendments to the Forest Management Planning Manual to incorporate the requirements of Conditions 1 through 26 within one year of the Declaration Order coming into force.

The manual is regulated under the CFSA. It can only be changed through an open and transparent public consultation process, and a review and approval by Cabinet. MOE will review the revised manual to ensure that the intent of the conditions has been incorporated.

Incorporating the requirements of Conditions 1 to 26 of the Declaration Order into the Forest Management Planning Manual will improve the manual. When developing a forest management plan, the current manual requires the evaluation of alternatives (to harvesting, for example), an assessment of environmental effects, and the development of mitigation measures. New conditions add detail to consultation requirements and other areas.

Clear-cutting

A new condition requires MNR’s guide relating to the emulation of natural disturbance patterns to be used for clearcut harvest operations. The guide, called the Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation, promotes timber harvesting in such a way as to leave the forest in a state that is closer to what nature would leave behind after a forest fire or other natural disturbance.

MNR developed the guide through public consultation that included the involvement of the Provincial Forest Technical Committee made up of representatives from MNR, the forest industry, the environmental and academic communities and other interest groups.

Clearcuts (of any size) are determined through the forest management planning process by a registered professional forester with the assistance of a multi-disciplinary planning team that includes technical experts and may include Aboriginal peoples and the general public.
Clearcuts are vetted through a local citizens committee comprised of all local stakeholders and documented in a Forest Management Plan. That plan then goes through five stages of mandatory public consultation. As part of the process, the public can request that the Minister of the Environment “bump up” the undertaking to an individual EA.

The current direction in the guide is for a range of clearcut sizes that generally shall not exceed 260 hectares. The guide includes a standard that calls for 80 or 90 per cent of clearcuts to be less than 260 hectares, depending on the forest type. It also sets out that a rationale, based on sound biological or silvicultural (the science and art of cultivating forest crops) reasons, has to be documented when larger clearcuts are proposed.

By applying the emulation guide, foresters will simulate the natural pattern of forest fire disturbances with both large and small areas of harvest. A range of harvest patterns will create habitat that is desired for wildlife species, such as moose.

The Declaration Order also requires MNR to develop within a year an action plan to describe scientific studies to assess the effectiveness of the direction in clearcut sizes, separation criteria for planned clearcuts, and standards for residual stand structure provided by the Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation. The order also includes provisions for stricter monitoring and reporting on the effects of the guide.

Wood Supply

A new condition requires MNR to develop a provincial wood supply strategy in consultation with the forest industry and interested parties in an attempt to find solutions for a projected shortfall in future wood supplies. The condition provides that the strategy cannot be used to set a wood-supply target or to guarantee a wood supply. The strategy must also be in keeping with the long-term sustainability goals of the CFSA. MNR is required to consult with the public on the development and future review of the strategy.

The Room to Grow policy framework was developed by the Ontario Forest Accord Advisory board as part of the Ontario Forest Accord. Based on concerns raised by members of the environmental community and members of the public, the wood supply condition in the Declaration Order was revised to include the requirement that the provincial wood supply strategy support the Room to Grow policy framework.

Old growth policy

To comply with a condition of the previous Timber Class EA Approval, MNR developed a strategy to define old growth for specific forest conditions in Ontario and develop an old growth policy that would provide an environmentally sound conservation strategy. This strategy was finalized by May 18, 2003, which satisfies a Declaration Order. The strategy includes a schedule for its implementation in forest management planning.

MNR has already implemented another condition under the previous Timber Class EA approval to produce a conservation strategy for old growth red and white pine forests.

Roadless Wilderness Areas Policy

The 1994 Timber Class EA approval contained a condition that required MNR to develop a policy on roadless wilderness policy, which it did.

MNR is implementing its roadless wilderness policy through the establishment of parks and protected areas through Ontario’s Living Legacy process and the Ontario Forest Accord. MNR also takes wilderness values into account through the application of legislation, policy, resource management planning and on-site management programs.

Aboriginal Consultations

Through its Forest Management Native Consultation Program, MNR provides notices about community meetings or forums to band councils, native communities and organizations, and the inclusion of Aboriginal representatives on forest management planning teams.

The Declaration Order contains a number of conditions that address issues related to Aboriginal peoples. These conditions include a detailed consultation process that must include, if requested by the local Aboriginal community, special information centres, information forums, easy access to information and the inclusion of local Aboriginal community representatives on forest management planning teams.

The Declaration Order retains a condition that requires MNR to negotiate with Aboriginal peoples regarding more equal participation by Aboriginals in the benefits provided through forest management planning.

Growth and Yield

A new condition requires MNR to continue to support a provincial program to obtain information on forest growth and yield. The condition also requires that program results be included in the Forest Management Planning Manual so that the information can be used in the planning process.

Policy and Scientific Research

Several new conditions require MNR to continue its commitment to policy development and scientific research for Crown forests, including: the effectiveness of regeneration, wildlife populations, forest ecosystems, full-tree harvesting, and tending and protection improvement programs.

Public Involveme4nt in Forest Management Planning

A series of conditions strengthen requirements to have local citizens committees, technical committees, regional committees and other avenues that provide opportunities for outside public involvement in forest management planning.

Expiry Date

The Declaration Order has no expiry date. This is consistent with the MOE’s current approach, which is to approve Class EAs on other matters without an expiry date, while providing opportunities for periodic review and revisions.

Instead of an expiry date, the Declaration Order requires:

• annual reports tabled in the Legislature;
• review and reporting on the implementation of conditions every five years by MNR;
• opportunities for public input as MNR updates its manuals to include proposed new conditions; and
• a mechanism to amend the Class EA.

The five-year report will provide the MOE and the public with a review of the overall effectiveness of the Declaration Order’s conditions, as well as details on the progress on scientific studies and monitoring programs.

Background on Timber Class EA

The Timber Class EA was approved in April 1994 following a four-year hearing by the Environmental Assessment Board. The hearing, the longest in Ontario’s history, involved submissions from 500 individuals. The approval was subject to 115 terms and conditions and was to remain in effect until May 18, 2003. (The term of the approval was subsequently extended to July 17, 2003 to allow more time for review by MOE and the government review team).

The Timber Class EA approval set out a prescriptive process for timber management in Ontario for the related activities of forest access roads, harvesting, maintenance and renewal. It covered a wide range of routine or recurring activities.

The 1994 approval required the Ministry of Natural Resources to review forest management practices during the eighth year of the approval, submit that review to the Minister of the Environment and, at the same time, make it available to the public. The review – which was submitted to the Minister on July 17, 2002 – made recommendations regarding the extension and amendment of the Class EA. Both MNR and MOE consulted extensively with stakeholders on the contents of the review.

 

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For a copy of the Declaration Order or to make inquiries, contact:

Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch
Ministry of the Environment
2 St. Clair Avenue West, Floor 12A,
Toronto, ON M4V 1L5
Telephone (416) 314-8001 or 1-800-461-6290