Ontario's Policy Framework for Stewardship of Crown Forest Lands

The policy instruments listed below comprise what is referred to as Ontario’s forest policy and legal framework for the stewardship of Crown forest lands. Collectively, these documents enable the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to:

• administer and regulate sustainable forest management practices on Crown land through arrangements with its business partners
• organize and manage the various policy directions written down in each document
• ensure that policy directions are implemented through an array of programs and applied at appropriate geographic scales and/or MNR administrative levels across the province to meet the needs of a broad base of business partners and clients on both Crown and private forest lands
• provide a solid foundation for sharing forest stewardship responsibilities with others through a variety of supportive arrangements on both Crown and private lands.

List of Policy Instrument Documents:

Strategic policy

• Policy Framework for Sustainable Forests – a provincial policy statement

Legislation and regulations

• Ontario’s key forest law and regulations
  • Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA)
  • CFSA Ontario Regulation 167/95 GENERAL
  • CFSA Ontario Regulation 160/04 INDEPENDENT FOREST AUDITS
• Requirements for MNR's forest management class environmental assessment
• Ministry of Natural Resouces forest related laws
• Other provincial forest related laws
• Federal forest related laws   

Program policy

• Forest Resource Assessment Policy
• Provincial Wood Supply Strategy
• Old Growth Policy for Ontario’s Crown Forests
• Forest Compliance Strategy

Operational & administrative policy

Operational: 

Manuals approved under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act regulations: 

• Forest Management Planning Manual
• Forest Information Manual
• Forest Operations and Silviculture Manual
• Scaling Manual

Forest management guides:

The following list of guides are regularly reviewed and updated. Please go to Ontario's Forest Management Guides for the most current version of the guides and a status summary of the "Guide Review and Consolidation Project".

• Aerial Spraying for Forest Management
• Bald Eagle Habitat Management Guidelines
• Boreal Mixedwood Notes
• Code of Practice for Timber Management Operations in Riparian Areas
• Environmental Guidelines for Access Roads and Water Crossings
• Forest Management Guide for Cultural Heritage Values
• Forest Management Guidelines for the Conservation of Woodland Caribou -- A Landscape Approach
• Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation
• Forest Management Guide for the Protection of Osprey Nests
• Forest Management Guidelines for the Protection of the Physical Environment
• Forest Management Guidelines for the Provision of Marten Habitat
• Forest Management Guidelines for the Provision of Pileated Woodpecker Habitat
• Forest Management Guidelines for the Provision of White-Tailed Deer Habitat
  Forest Raptors & Their Nests in Central Ontario
• Golden Eagle Habitat Management Guidelines
• Guidelines for Providing Furbearer Habitat in Timber Management
• Habitat Management Guidelines for Bats in Ontario
• Habitat Management Guidelines for Birds of Ontario Wetlands including Marshes, Swamps, and Fens or Bogs of Various Types (excluding waterfowl)
• Habitat Management Guidelines for Cavity Nesting Birds in Ontario
• Habitat Management Guidelines for Warblers of Ontario’s Northern Coniferous Forests, Mixed Forests or Southern Hardwood Forests
• Habitat Management Guidelines for Waterfowl in Ontario
• Habitat Management for Ontario’s Forest Nesting Accipiters, Buteos and Eagles
• Management Guidelines for Forestry and Resource-Based Tourism
  Management Guidelines for the Protection of Heronries in Ontario
• Ontario Tree Marking Guide
• Peregrine Falcon Habitat Management Guidelines
• Prescribed Burn Planning Manual
• Selected Wildlife and Habitat Features: Inventory Manual
• Silvicultural Guide for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Conifer Forest in Ontario
• Silvicultural Guide to Managing for Black Spruce, Jack Pine and Aspen on Boreal Ecosites in Ontario
• Silviculture Guide to Managing Spruce, Fir, Birch and Aspen Mixedwoods in Ontario's Boreal Forest
• Silvicultural Guide for the Tolerant Hardwood Forest in Ontario
• Silviculture Guide to Managing Southern Ontario Forests
• Timber Management Guidelines for the Protection of Fish Habitat
• Timber Management Guidelines for the Provision of Moose Habitat

Administrative:

Order-in-Councils

• 993/95

Directives, procedures and bulletins

• Forest Management Directives and Procedures
• Forest Compliance Handbook

Documents Required under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act

• Forest Management Plans
• Supply Agreements
• Sustainable Forest Licences
• Forest Resource Licences
• Forest Resource Processing Facility Licences

Technical Reports

• Old Growth Forest Definitions for Ontario Report
• Tourism and Forestry Industry Memorandum of Understanding
• Guide to Resource Stewardship Agreements
• Guide to Stewardship Planning for Natural Areas
• Managed Forest Tax Incentive (MFTIP) Program Guide