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Forest Certification - Fort Frances
Forest certification · Divisions · Documentation · Policy · Map · Links
Sustainable Forest Management - Forest Certification
Our Commitment · Sustainable Forest Management Plan
Your Opinion · Audits · Annual Achievements · More Information
ISO 14001 Certificate · CSA Z809 Certificate
As Part of Our Continued Commitment to Sustainable Forest Management
The Crossroute Forest is managed under a Sustainable Forest License by the Fort Frances Woodlands Division of Abitibi-Consolidated and is certified under the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standard for Sustainable Forest Management, CAN/CSA Z809. In addition, the Company has developed a Forest Environmental Management System (FEMS), certified under the ISO 14001 standard since December 2000.
In order to become certified, the company must develop a Sustainable Forest Management Plan (SFM Plan), which outlines and addresses the range of social, environmental, and economic issues critical for the long-term health and vitality of the forest. The SFM plan ensures that Abitibi-Consolidated's forest management practices show continuous improvement, based on a higher level of public accountability associated with the CSA standard. Under the CSA standard, the SFM Plan is developed through a process that includes broad public consultation, and verification through an independent third party audit.
The CSA Standard requires adherence to a suite of broadly accepted Canadian criteria for evaluating sustainable forest management - that is the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers' (CCFM) set of Sustainable Forest Management criteria. The criteria address many key aspects of forest management including:
1. Conservation of biological diversity;
2. Maintenance and enhancement of forest ecosystem condition and productivity;
3. Conservation of soil and water resources;
4. Forest ecosystem contributions to global ecological cycles;
5. Multiple benefits to society;
6. Accepting society's responsibility for sustainable development.
Each of these criteria has a number of "CSA SFM Elements" that further define the criteria, and are addressed during the development of the SFM Plan.
In order to meet the requirements of the standard, public input is essential to identify specific performance requirements based on local values, objectives, indicators and targets that reflect these national criteria. Fort Frances Woodlands then takes the input received and incorporates these performance requirements into their Sustainable Forest Management Plan and practices.
It is important to note these initiatives are undertaken by Abitibi-Consolidated; outside of any legislative process or requirement in Ontario, and that our overall goal is to improve our forest management practices on the forest.
Sustainable Forest Management Plan
The Crossroute Forest is located in Northwestern Ontario on Crown land, and is managed under a Sustainable Forest License (SFL) issued by the province of Ontario. The Crossroute Sustainable Forest License area is the Defined Forest Area (DFA - as defined in the CSA Standard) for the Crossroute SFM plan. The DFA includes all managed Crown land within the perimeter of the Crossroute Forest, within the limitations and responsibilities associated with the SFL. The DFA does not include patent land, parks and conservation reserves, First Nations lands, or any other exclusions from the Crossroute SFL.
 Map of Woodlands Operations
Sustainable Forest Management has always been of paramount importance to the management of Crown lands in Ontario, as identified in the Crown Forest Sustainability Act (1994). Abitibi-Consolidated and predecessor companies have a demonstrated record of Sustainable Forest Management on the Crossroute Forest, in keeping with the forest management planning system in Ontario. All Sustainable Forest Licensees within the province of Ontario are required under provincial legislation to complete a Forest Management Plan in accordance with the Forest Management Planning Manual for Ontario's Crown Forest.
The first certified Crossroute SFM plan was developed in coordination with the Crossroute Forest Management Plan (covering the plan period 2002-2007) and remains in effect until March 31, 2007. An assessment of sustainability was required during the development of this Forest Management Plan; however, the indicators of sustainability and performance standards associated with the plan do not fully satisfy the requirements of the CAN/CSA Z809 standard. The SFM Plan found below was developed to address these gaps, and develop a comprehensive system for ensuring Sustainable Forest Management.
 2002-2007 Background Information (567 Kb)
 2002-2007 Terms of Reference (617 Kb)
 2002-2007 Sustainable Forest Management Plan - Entire Document (5,178 Kb)
 2002-2007 Public Participation Process Review (296 Kb)
The most recent Crossroute Forest Management Plan (FMP) has been developed and approved by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) for implementation beginning April 1, 2007 (covering the plan period 2007-2017). This FMP includes the indicators of sustainability and performance standards in accordance with the CAN/CSA Z809 standard. There are two planning phases to the preparation of this FMP. Phase I entails the preparation of the ten-year FMP that involves the development of the long-term management direction including identifying specific performance requirements (values, objectives, indicators and targets) along with the details of road construction, harvesting and silvicultural operations planned for the first five-year term. Phase II involves the detailed planning of operations for the second five-year term.
 2007-2017 Terms of Reference (507 Kb)
 2007-2017 Summary of Long-Term Management Direction (549 Kb)
 2007-2017 Specific Performance Indicators (164 Kb)
Public Consultation Opportunities for Phase I of the 2007-2017 Crossroute Forest Management Plan....
Formal public consultation opportunities were provided at five stages during Phase I of the development of the 2007-2017 Crossroute FMP as follows.
1. Invitation to Participate January 31, 2005
2. Review of Long Term Management Directions September 12, 2005
3. Review of Proposed Operations January 24-26, 2006
4. Review of DRAFT Forest Management Plan July 4-6, 2006
5. Inspection of the MNR Approved FMP November 20, 2006
Public consultation opportunities associated with Phase II detailed planning of operations for the second five-year term (2012-2017) will commence in May 2001. If you would like to be added to the mailing list and be directly notified of these public consultation opportunities, please contact Joan Keene using the information provided below.
Approved Forest Management Plan
The approved 2007-2017 Crossroute Forest Management Plan is available for public viewing at the following locations:
MNR Northwest Regional Office
435 S. James St., Suite 221
Thunder Bay, ON
MNR Atikokan Area Office
108 Saturn Avenue
Atikokan, ON
MNR Fort Frances District Office
922 Scott Street
Fort Frances, ON
Abitibi-Consolidated Woodlands Office
145 Third Street West
Fort Frances, ON
A summary of the approved forest management plan is attached. The full forest management plan text and tables are also attached for more detailed information. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Joan Keene using the information provided below.
 2007-2017 Approved Forest Management Plan Summary (959 Kb)
 2007-2017 FMP Summary Map - 9a Harvest (9459 Kb)
 2007-2017 FMP Summary Map - 9b Renewal & Tending (11036 Kb)
 2007-2017 Approved Forest Management Plant Text (3237 Kb)
 2007-2017 Approved Forest Management Plant Tables 1 to 25 (2014 Kb)
Audits
QMI - a leading management systems registrar, conducts extensive audits to determine if our FEMS and SFM Plan meet all the requirements of the CAN/CSA Z809-02 standard. The results of these audits are found below. Certification is required every 3-years. Annually, a certified third-party auditor is required to review our system for compliance and continual improvement.
 Certification Audit Report - December 2002 (174 Kb)
 1st Surveillance Audit Report - September 2003 (173 Kb)
 2nd Surveillance Audit Report - September 2004 (101 Kb)
 Re-Certification Audit Report - September 2005 (200 Kb)
 1st Surveillance Audit Report - September 2006 (185 Kb)
 2nd Surveillance Audit Report - September 2007 (145 Kb)
Annual Achievements
Annually the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has regulated reporting requirements of actual operations by November 15th for the previous fiscal year (April 1st - March 31st). For this reason, a report of our achievements related to our FEMS and SFM Plan is produced after this date. For example, a report below is dated 2002/2003 reporting on our achievements between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2003.
 2002/2003 Annual SFM Report (462 Kb)
 2003/2004 Annual SFM Report (603 Kb)
 2004/2005 Annual SFM Report (495 Kb)
 2005/2006 Annual SFM Report (583 Kb)
 2006/2007 Annual SFM Report (506 Kb)
Your Opinion Matters
We would like to know how you feel about sustainability issues on the Crossroute Forest. What values are important for the management of the forest? What should the forest look like in the future? How should sustainability be measured? Your opinion can help shape the future. Send your comments to the Abitibi contact listed below for future planning consideration.
More Information
Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada
Fort Frances Woodlands Division
145 Third Street West
Fort Frances, ON
Canada P9A 3N2
TEL: 807 274-5311 ext 1849
FAX: 807 274-8202
EMAIL: joan_keene@abitibiconsolidated.com
About Fort Frances Woodlands Operations
 Map of Woodlands Operations
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