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

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

Closed Regulations & Permits Environment & Climate Natural Resources
Ontario wants to modernize two guides that tell forestry companies how to manage Crown forests. The Boreal Landscapes guide (2014) and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence guide (2010) are getting updates to match current science and policy. The changes aim to reduce red tape for industry while still protecting biodiversity.

Why This Matters

Love hiking, camping, or fishing in Ontario's forests? These guides shape how logging happens around those areas. If you live in a forestry-dependent community, the changes could affect local jobs. Indigenous communities may see impacts on traditional land use.

What Could Change

Forest management planning teams would follow updated rules when deciding where and how to log. Regional boundaries would shift to match current ecological conditions. Some compliance requirements would be dropped, giving forestry companies more flexibility. The government says wood supply and costs won't change.

Key Issues

  • Do the proposed revisions adequately protect biodiversity while reducing regulatory burden?
  • Are the adjusted regional boundaries appropriate for current ecological conditions?
  • Will the changes benefit Indigenous communities and rural economies as claimed?

How to Participate

  1. Visit this consultation page on the Ontario Regulatory Registry to review the proposal details and submit your comments before the deadline.