Silvacom News

Key observations from the Multi-Indicator Analysis in Northwestern Ontario

By Adrian Smith on June 17, 2025

The Multi-Indicator Analysis in Northwestern Ontario, led by a collaborative Working Group, assessed caribou habitat recovery by examining ecological, wildlife, forest, and socioeconomic indicators using an adaptive land management framework. Key findings highlighted trade-offs between indicators (e.g., caribou vs. moose habitat), the effectiveness of current caribou policy (like the Dynamic Caribou Habitat Schedule), and the potential of modified forest practices (such as CLAAG) to accelerate habitat recovery.

Managing Our Forests for Woodland Caribou

By Adrian Smith on June 17, 2025

Managing forests for Woodland Caribou in Northwestern Ontario is challenging due to the need to balance habitat protection with competing ecological, cultural, and economic interests, particularly in areas with active resource development and natural disturbances. The Working Group explored how different forest management strategies, including the current Dynamic Caribou Habitat Sequence and alternative scenarios, affect caribou habitat, moose populations, and socio-economic outcomes—revealing significant trade-offs between ecological preservation and human use.

Multi-Indicator Analysis in Northwestern Ontario

By Adrian Smith on May 29, 2025

Balancing Boreal Caribou conservation with forestry, mining, and tourism in Northwestern Ontario’s Brights and Churchill ranges requires integrated landscape-level planning that supports habitat recovery and regional development goals.

Spatial Modelling Techniques for Sustainable Forest Management

By Adrian Smith on December 14, 2021

Across Canada, there is a need to verify the long-term sustainability of forest management plans. This has typically required planners to demonstrate that their forest management plans provide long-term and steady fibre supply while complying with various fibre and non-fibre constraints over a projected planning horizon of between 100 to 200 years. While this is often done aspatially (without consideration to spatial planning constraints or harvest block scheduling) many planners are beginning to plan using spatial models to both comply with provincial regulations and improve planning efficiency. This begs the question: what is spatial modelling and how do planners make the conceptual jump from aspatial to spatial modelling during forest management planning?