Should Ontario Update Its Forest Management Guides for Boreal and Great Lakes Landscapes?

Official title: Revisions to the Forest Management Guide for Boreal Landscapes (2014) and Forest Management Guide for Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Landscapes (2010)

Open Regulations & Permits Environment & Climate Natural Resources
Ontario wants to update two guides that tell forest managers how to protect wildlife habitat and biodiversity while logging Crown forests. The changes are mostly minor—clarifying confusing language, updating policy references, and moving one forest region between guides. The province says these updates won't affect wood supply or add new costs for the industry.

Why This Matters

Love hiking, camping, or hunting in Ontario's northern forests? These guides shape how logging companies balance timber harvesting with keeping forests healthy for wildlife. If you live in a community that depends on forestry jobs, the rules here affect local employment. Indigenous communities with traditional ties to these lands have a stake in how the forests are managed.

What Could Change

The Spanish Forest would move from the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence guide to the Boreal guide, changing which rules apply there. Forest managers would get clearer direction on when science packages override the main guide. Some compliance requirements would be removed to reduce paperwork for the industry.

Key Issues

  • Should the Spanish Forest be moved to the Boreal Landscape Guide region?
  • Are the proposed clarifications to guide language helpful for forest managers?
  • Do the reduced compliance requirements maintain adequate environmental protection?

How to Participate

  1. Review the Draft Boreal Landscape Guide and Draft Great Lakes St Lawrence Landscape Guide to understand the proposed changes.
  2. Read the Summary of Proposed Revisions for a quick overview of what's changing and why.
  3. Submit your comments through this consultation page or email jennifer.nielsen@ontario.ca by the deadline.

Submit Your Input

Comment On The Landscape Guide Revisions Draft Email

Key Documents