This Forest Management Plan (FMP) has been prepared in accordance with paragraph 10 of Forest Management Agreement 9900037 (GoA, 2015b). This plan will be updated every ten years, or sooner if significant developments occur that impact current forest management strategies. It outlines the goals, objectives, and strategies that Canadian Forest Products Ltd. (Canfor) and other forest companies operating on the Forest Management Agreement area (FMA area) will employ in the management of the forest resource.
Supplemental to rights granted to Canfor with respect to coniferous timber, Deciduous Timber Allocations (DTA) for Norbord Inc. (DTAG150003) and Tolko Forest Industries Ltd (DTAG150001 & DTAG150002) are embedded in the FMA area. This FMP was developed in cooperation of the three forest companies, and although the companies operate under different business principles and markets, integration is fundamental to the successful management of the forest resource towards the future modeled forest within the FMA area.
Public involvement is a primary principle used in the development of the FMP and Canfor’s Forest Management Advisory Committee (FMAC) was integral in the planning process. Canfor’s 2012 Sustainable Forest Management Plan (SFMP), developed and approved under the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Sustainable Forest Management System Standard CAN/CSA Z809-08, was aligned as closely as possible with Annex-4 of Alberta’s Forest Management Planning Standard and is included as an appendix in the FMP. Through the process of public participation, the SFMP attains local relevance in the form of locally determined Values, Objectives, Indicators, and Targets (VOITs).
The FMP reflects the principles of Canfor’s Sustainable Forest Management Commitments-May 2012, which broadly outlines Canfor’s commitment to sustainable forest management, accountability, adaptive management, science, multiple value management, health and safety, Aboriginal people, opportunities for participation, defining objectives over temporal scale, continuous supply of timber resources, and maintenance of forest landbase in all of the forests Canfor operates. These commitments will maintain long-term health of forest ecosystems, while providing ecological, economic, and social opportunities for the benefit of present and future generations.
The FMP provides direction in the sustainable management of the associated forest landbase over a 200-year planning horizon, while providing guidance for operational activities over the term of the plan. The content and structure of this plan are compatible with the Alberta Forest Management Planning Standard- ver 4.1 (2006).