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Ontario's Forest Management Guides
More Information
The MNR produces forest management guides for use by forest management planning teams in the development of prescriptions for operations.
Current List of Guides:
- 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 Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation
- Forest Management Guidelines for the Conservation of Woodland Caribou -- A Landscape Approach
- 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 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
- Silviculture Guide to Managing Southern Ontario Forests
- Silvicultural Guide for the Tolerant Hardwood Forest in Ontario
- Timber Management Guidelines for the Protection of Fish Habitat
- Timber Management Guidelines for the Provision of Moose Habitat
Ontario’s forest management practices are governed by an array of guides that outline silvicultural practices and methods to enhance or protect wildlife habitat, aesthetics,
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Bald eagle |
The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), in consultation with the public, the forest industry and other interested parties, produces forest management guides for use by forest management planning teams in the development of prescriptions for operations. These guides are regularly reviewed and updated; for the current status of each document, see Summary of Ontario’s Forest Management Guides.
Silviculture Guides
Silvicultural guides provide Ontario forest managers with guidance on current scientific and technical information for use in developing forest management plans. Ontario has silvicultural guides for the Boreal Forest and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest. These guides contain ecological and management interpretations to help guide forest management activities.
Wildlife Habitat Guides
Wildlife is an integral part of forest ecology. Along with a number of wildlife programs lead by other parts of MNR, wildlife habitat can be managed during forestry operations.
Ontario's current approach to wildlife habitat management in forestry is to give special consideration to key species in forest management planning and operations. Ontario uses several guides for managing fish and wildlife habitat. These guides provide managers with scientific and technical direction for the design of forest operations, including tree cutting, regeneration and protection. They ensure the protection of critical habitat and an appropriate diversity of forest age classes. They also protect other vegetation that is important to the animals' life cycles.
Ontario has habitat management guides for the following species:
- marten
- pileated woodpecker
- moose
- white-tailed deer
- woodland caribou
- herons
- bald eagles, golden eagles & peregrine falcons
- osprey, hawks, nesting accipiters & buteos
- waterfowl
- bats
- fish
- furbearers
Societal Values and Other Guides
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Pine Marten |
- construction of access roads and water crossings
- protection of riparian areas
- protection of resource-based tourism values
- protection of cultural heritage values
Guide Revision Project
As part of an overall re-organization and consolidation of these guides, future wildlife habitat management will be based on a coarse filter-fine filter approach, rather than the species-by-species approach described here. For further details on the new set of guides, and for more information on how guides are used during the forest management planning process, see Ontario’s Forest Management Guides: An Introduction.
PhotographyDr. Wayne Lynch
This site is maintained by the Government of Ontario
Last Modified: May 16, 2009