Forestry in 2020

Archived content – for the latest forestry update please visit https://www.kapoa.ca/forestry/

There are forestry activities currently underway or planned for Kamaniskeg Lake:

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Ottawa Valley Forestry Long-Term Management Direction for 2021-2031 (Kamaniskeg north basin)

The Long Term Management Direction for the Ottawa Valley Forest will guide the harvesting operations around the north end of Kamaniskeg Lake:

The Thomas P Murray Recreational Trails and Gun Lake are listed as “preferred” areas for harvesting and road building. Expect to see extensive cutting and road building operations in this area.
Optional areas for harvest are between Bleski Road and Kartuzy Road and between Hwy 62 and the lake in the vicinity of Horseshoe Lane, Wales Drive, and Barneys Drive. These are “optional” areas but once identified as optional, these areas can be revised to be harvest areas with no notice or consultation required as has occurred on Parchers Rd (see above)

KAPOA encourages you to provide feedback as soon as possible if these areas are in the vicinity of your property or you use these trails for recreational or other purposes.

The Planning Team and the Local Citizens’ Advisory Committee (LCAC) would appreciate receiving your written comments regarding the Forest Management Plan for the Ottawa Valley Forest for the 10-year period April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2031; Stage Two – Review of Proposed Long-Term Management Direction. All comments received will be reviewed by the Planning Team and the LCAC. – feedback form in Appendix B of the Summary of the Proposed Long-Term Management Direction.

Summary of the Proposed Long-Term Management Direction 2021-2031 Forest Management Plan

Invitation to Review of Long-Term Management Direction Ottawa Valley Forest 2021-2031 Forest Management Plan

Comments Form Appendix B

Map of the Proposed Long-Term Management Direction 2021-2031 Forest Management Plan (very large)

Contacts

Krista Watters, Management Forester, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, 613-504-2320, krista.watters@ontario.ca
Nick Gooderham, General Manager and 2021 OVF FMP Plan Author, Ottawa Valley Forest Inc, 613-735-1888, ngooderham@ovfi.ca

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Stage 3 Comment Period for Bancroft-Minden Forestry Long-Term Management Direction for 2021-2031 (Kamaniskeg lower basin)

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), Bancroft Minden Forest Company (BMFC) and the Bancroft-Minden Local Citizens’ Committee (LCC) invite you to participate in a stage 3 review of proposed operations from Jan 4 to Feb 2, 2021. This is the 3rd of 5 public comment opportunities during the 2021-2031 Forest Management Plan (FMP) process.

In the last stage the public was invited to comment on BMFC’s draft Long Term Management Direction for its forestry practices over the next 10 years, this ‘Stage Three’ notice is to specifically invite you to review and comment on:

the specific planned areas for harvest, renewal and tending operations for the 10-year period of the plan;
the confirmed corridors for new primary and branch roads for the 10-year period of the plan; and
the proposed operational road boundaries for the 10-year period of the plan.

The Stage 3 Operational Planning documents have been made available to the public effective Jan 4 for a period of 30 days at the Natural Resources Information Portal:

Bancroft-Minden Stage 3 Consultation Notice (gov.on.ca)

Important Navigation Notes (these documents are not easy to find):

To view a map of the proposed harvesting areas (i.e., behind Hinterland Beach), expand “Draft FMP Map” and select to download “Operations 2266” which covers the lower basin of Kamaniskeg Lake.
To understand the allowable setbacks along waterways (note there are no considerations for roads) and considerations afforded trail networks and viewscapes for harvesting and forestry roads, refer to Table FMP-11 in the Tables.pdf file – expand “Draft FMP Tables” and download the file to view. You will also find considerable information in these tables such as an inventory of the forest species in BMFC’s productive crown forest, the sustainable forestry (silviculture) rules that must be followed, renewal practices to be used post harvest, projected harvest volumes, etc.

Comments on the proposed operations must be received by Corinne Arthur of the planning team by Feb 2 2021

Comments may be submitted on the MNRF Consultation page referenced above via a link at the bottom of the page, or by email. Please consider cc’ing forestry@kapoa.ca.

Contacts

Corinne Arthur, Regional Planning Forester, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, 705-313-3274, corinne.arthur@ontario.ca
Svetlana Zeran, Bancroft Minden Forest Company, 613-332-6890, svetlana@bmfci.ca
Jane Dumas, Bancroft-Minden Local Citizens’ Committee (LCC), mayor@southalgonquin.ca

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Harvesting on River Road

The 2020-2021 Annual Work Schedule highlights clearcut and shelterwood harvesting for Block 1651 on River Rd on the west side of Kamaniskeg Lake. Expect this to have a profound impact on the trails and area around Biernacki Lake and Big Pond and the creek that drains into Mud Bay.

KAPOA has been informed that River Rd harvesting will not be occurring this winter (2020-2021). If you do see activity please contact us and we will follow-up with the forestry planning team. This area will be bridged into the new 2021-2031 forestry plan and harvested in the next few years.

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Revised Harvesting on Parchers Road

The 2011 to 2021 forestry management plan identified planned and contingency areas for logging that are adjacent to or in the vicinity of members properties, and KAPOA requested that we be made aware of all significant developments during the implementation of the Plan. KAPOA members met multiple times with MNR forestry staff as well as members of BMFC during this process.

Work commenced on Parchers Road without any notice to KAPOA or impacted neighbors. This is not consistent with these commitments made during forestry planning. As recent as April 2020 when KAPOA discussed the AWS with BMFC representatives and these changes were not included in the plan. The Annual Work Schedule for 2020-2021 previously indicated only chemical tending in a small portion of the amended area. A substantial revision was done on September 22 2020, and the updated plan was only made available upon multiple requests 2 weeks later. These revisions should be a matter of public record and were not posted for public access until November 6. In the meantime, a significant road building operation was undertaken to prepare for harvesting this fall.

Harvesting was well underway in January 2021 with an estimated 3/4 of the area already cut:

(Images January 2021)

There was no notification to or consultation with nearby property owners before work began. The harvesting impacts 183 hectares from the Renfrew County border extending to both sides of Parchers Rd.

(Map updated December 2020)