Forest Management
The County Forest is managed for harvest following the "Silvicultural Guide to Managing Southern Ontario Forests" produced by the MNR and many of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) criteria for sustainable harvest practices.
Harvests are never intended to produce high revenues but rather help with the regeneration of pine plantations to mixed forest. The County ensures operations are coordinated with trail use and are supervised by a certified professional. Harvest plans are developed in 20 year cycles with 5 year planning stages. In the Northumberland County Forest our primary objective for harvest is forest health, not revenue. Planning and scheduling harvest activities helps to achieve many forest management objectives such as providing a variety of habitat types, producing a range of forest stands across the successional spectrum and to provide a predictable supply of forest products on a sustainable basis. Harvests are scheduled outside of the sensitive bird breeding seasons as well as sensitive plant seasons to ensure no negative impacts on the Forest's physiological processes.
