Document(s) 6 of 8

Country:  Canada

Location:  Kemptville, Ontario

Area:  1.5 million hectares 

Regional affiliation: Canadian Model Forest Network (est. 1992)  

 

Forest and resource profile

Eastern Ontario Model Forest (EOMF) is not a woodland in the traditional sense as only 34% of the region is actually forested. The rest is made up of farms, suburbs, wetlands and roads-or was developed for other purposes and is now being reclaimed by the forest. Lumbering, agriculture and other forestry activities have always played an important role in the region, especially in the last two centuries when vast stands of maple, oak, pine and spruce were felled to supply demands at home and abroad. A biosphere reserve and national park also exist within the boundaries of the EOMF. 

 

Today, most of the trees in this mixed forest (36% coniferous, 64% deciduous) are less than 80 years old.  The forests are dominated by sugar maple and beech, with red maple, yellow birch, basswood, white ash, largetooth aspen, and red and bur oak. More than one million people live in the EOMF, 8000 of whom are woodlot owners (who, together, own 88% of the forested land).

 

Economic profile

Local communities rely on the forest for employment, forestry products, and educational opportunities-more than 7000 jobs in eastern Ontario are forest-dependent. The model forest area also supports farming, maple syrup production, tourism and recreational activities. Over 50% of farms in eastern Ontario are engaged in some form of agroforestry.  And, 40% of Ontario's maple syrup production occurs in eastern Ontario. 

 

Many people, including indigenous peoples, look to the forest for food, medicinal plants and materials for traditional crafts. Handmade black ash baskets generate more than $500 000 annually for the Mohawk Community of Akwesasne. 

 

 

The fragmented nature of the forests in eastern Ontario represents a key management challenge.  Urban expansion, coupled with agricultural and other development pressures, continue to splinter the landscape, jeopardizing the integrity of existing forest ecosystems.  An additional challenge is reaching the million or so inhabitants of the model forest with messages about sustainable forestry-this is where the value of broad-based partnerships becomes important.

 

The model forest offers opportunities for engaging forest stakeholders in efforts toward sustainable forestry. The need for involving stakeholders with a variety of interests is imperative given the nature of the landscape and the many values and uses associated with the forests of eastern Ontario.  Adopting the philosophy of the indigenous peoples, the EOMF considers each decision and new technology bearing in mind how it will affect future generations.

 

Partners - More than 150 partners (% by category not available)

 

Strategic goals

 

The goals of the EOMF in the current 5-year program (2002-2007) are as follows:

 

Eastern Ontario Model Forest activities directly address number 7 of the Millennium Development Goals. Further, the objectives of the EOMF are supportive of the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).  For example, the EOMF:

Document(s) 6 of 8