Ottawa Valley Forest FSC Case Study EOMF FSC-GLSL Workshop March 30, 2011
Ottawa Valley Forest FSC Case Study • Profile of Ottawa Valley Forest
• Profile of Ottawa Valley Forest Inc. • Why FSC? Why now?
• Steps to Certification • Our experience in gaps between FSC and Ontario’s Crown forest management system.
17 " !
C la ra
Ottawa Valley Forest
M a ria Head R o lp h
%
Deep Riv er
Buch an an
17 " !
Wylie
Provincial High way Petaw a w a %
Cou nty Ro ad
Pe t a w a w a
Lakes and Rivers
Pem br ok e
g %
M cK a y
28
% Pe m b ro ke
Towns h ip B oun daries
W e st m e a t h
Alic e
g %
%
58
Man age d C rown La nds R ich a rd s
St a ff o rd
Con se rvation Rese rve Bu rn s
Alg o n a
Killaloe%
Jo n e s
Sh e rw o od
Barr ys Ba y
Alg o n a
g %
g % 20
%
g %
60 " !
41 " !
51 2
H o rto n
%
Renfrew Ar npr ior 17 " !
Gra t ta n
62
N
g %
R o ss
Cobden
Eganvil le Bro m le y
S o ut h
51 2
%
% W ilb e rfo rc e
60 " !
H A G A RTY
17 " !
41 " !
N o rth
Provincial P ark
60 " !
Beachbur g
F ra se r
Ad m a st o n
Bru d e n e ll R a d clif fe
g% % 515
Dacr e
Se b a s to p o l
Palm e r Rapids
g %
" !
g % 508
515
Ly n d o ch
% g 28 " !
%
13 2
Grif fit h
41 " !
Ba g o t
g %
Bro u g h a m
R a g la n 5 1 4
g % 71
M a ta w a tc ha n
g % 65
511
Blit h fie ld
M cN a b
%
Ottawa Valley Forest Profile • 240,522 hectares of managed Crown lands
• 217,517 hectares of production forest • Parks and Conservation Reserves contribute to forest management objectives for forest diversity and wildlife habitat. • Diverse forest of pine, oak and mixedwoods • Many forest users – minimal conflict with industry
S ilviculture S ys tems S election: 15% T olerant Hardwoods , Hemlock, C edar
S helterwood: 44% White P ine, R ed O ak, Mixedwoods
C learcut and Variations : 41% P oplar, White B irch, J ack P ine, R ed P ine, Mixedwoods
Ottawa Valley Forest Profile • 2011-2021 forecast annual harvest area 3,467 hectares • 2011-2021 forecast annual harvest volume of 250,000 m3 • 66,000 m3 PwPr • 92,000 m3 Poplar • 52,000 m3 Oak and Other Hdwds • 40,000 m3 Bw, SPF, Other Con
Ottawa Valley Forest Inc. • Sustainable Forest Licence (SFL) on the Ottawa Valley Forest • Do not manage private lands • Responsible for: • Forest management planning • Forest operations including renewal and maintenance • Compliance monitoring
Ottawa Valley Forest Inc. • Located on Brazeau Rd., Pembroke • Currently five full time staff
Ottawa Valley Forest Inc. • Partnership of shareholders and associate members operating wood processing facilities and logging companies in and near Renfrew County. • Governed by a Unanimous Shareholders Agreement.
FSC C.O.C.
FSC C.O.C.
FSC C.O.C.
FSC C.O.C.
FSC C.O.C.
Shareholder Logging Companies • Bonnechere Madawaska Sustainable Forestry Alliance Inc. (BMSFA) • Consortium of independent loggers and sawmills
FSC C.O.C.
Shareholder Logging Companies • Hec Clouthier and Sons Ltd. (Dieux Rivieres) • John Stewart Forest Products Ltd. (Deep River) • Makwa Community Development Corporation (MCDC) - Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation
Why certify the forest? Why now? • In 2004 MNR Looked at mandatory 3rd party certification for all SFL’s.
• Decided otherwise, and to allow the market drive it. • Community Forests and private land got a jump start
• High level recognition meeting rigid standards. • Has evolved slowly and has been market driven starting with the interest from the pulp mills.
Mill Chain of Custody, Why now? • Sawmills have showed interest in past 2 years, and some have obtained Chain of Custody Certification • Buyers are asking for it but not paying any more $$ • Some are saying that it is just another cost and a distraction • It will open doors to new markets
• It also could be a way to maintain markets • “ As soon as I have a sales request I will talk about CoC certification” said one mill owner.
Steps to Ottawa Valley Forest Certification • The OVF and shareholders recognized the benefit but were concerned about cost • OVF partnered with the EOMF and obtained funding assistance from the Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation.
• OVF hired a consultant to write a gap analysis report
Steps to Ottawa Valley Forest Certification • RFQ were sent out to four 3rd party certifiers • The Soil Association ( Woodmark ) was successful in obtaining the contract • The process began in the fall of 09, the preassessment was in January, and the assessment was in June. The certificate was issued within one year.
Gaps ─ FSC and Ontario’s Crown • Our experience was that there were few gaps between FSC Standards and Ontario’s Crown forest management system. • Terminology is different but most of the bases are covered. Re-alignment has to take place between the two.
• The auditor’s remarks were quite positive ( compared to other jurisdictions in the world)
Some of the Gaps ( 6 CARS in total ) • Assessing the risk to workers of particular tasks and equipment • Procedure to record the most appropriate nonchemical alternative • Consult stakeholders on the identification of High Conservation Values • Credible external review of the HCVF assessment. The HCVF assessment has not been made publicly available
Some of the Gaps • Procedure ensuring coordinating with private neighbouring land regarding protection measures of HCV. • Monitoring is carried out on an annual basis for all identified HCV categories
EODP Community CapacityProgram