Mississippi Valley Conservation manages community forests with the help of GIS

Lanark County Community Forest was recently awarded Forest Stewardship Certification, largely in part to the forest management services provided by Mississippi Valley Conservation (MVC) and its investments in its Geographical Information Systems (GIS).  The Forest Stewardship Certification is a management system implemented in cooperation with the Eastern Ontario Model Forest Program that ensures that compliance with a set of planning, implementation and protection standards.

The Lanark County Community Forests is a collection of properties purchased by the County between the years 1938 to 1987.  The current area of community forest is 4,638 hectares and is one of 59 community forests in Ontario and part of a network of green spaces in Southern Ontario that comprises of 107,000 hectares.

The MVC proposal to provide professional forest management services was a two year pilot project (2006-2007).   During this time, initial property inspections were carried out to assess the current conditions and to determine land uses that were inconsistent with County policy.  This work encouraged the Lanark County Community Forest to also look for opportunities to cooperate with neighboring land owners on issues of joint interest.   As a Result of this pilot, a longer term operating plan was drawn up.

The Conservation Authority was responsible for basic property administration, forest management through the renewal of a traditional program of plantation thinning and hardwood management, and the preparation of a five year operating plan (2008-2012).

GIS was a key tool in the delivery of an integrated resource management system.  The properties were mapped with the latest geographical datasets to recognize existing conditions and provide a basic plan view to include roads, buildings, access and property boundaries.  An overlay of the Provincial Forest Resource Inventory (FRI) and the latest aerial photography provided an understanding of the overall state of the forest cover. 

With a general property map in hand the forester can conduct an entire inventory of the property and GPS the location of other areas and features that require special consideration.  These Areas of Concern, that can only be identified by site inspections such as raptor nests, den (habitat) trees, mast (nut and fruit) trees and sites of cultural significance, need to be afforded sufficient protection from cutting and thinning practices. Their locationswould be recorded and the information provided to Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and categorized in the Natural Resource Values Information System (NRVIS).

The Lanark County Forest Management Proposal was successful at the grassroots level and has evolved into a streamlined land management tool. Through the use of GIS, MVC was able to meet and exceed the expectations for the Lanark County Community Forest properties, achieve Forest Certification, develop and promote educational and recreational programs for the County Forests and further promote MVC stewardship services.

Alex Broadbent - Information Technology Supervisor, Mississippi Valley Conservation