Plans on how forests in the region are going to be managed will soon be finalized.

The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry (MNFMNF) will put the finishing touches on its Forest Management Plan for the Bancroft-Minden Forest. The plan will dictate how forests will be harvested in the region until 2031.

The area affected reaches from South Algonquin Township and Algonquin Park in the north, down to North Hastings, Peterborough, and Haliburton Counties.

The plan says that over 30,000 hectares of forest may be harvested in the next ten years. The area is expected to provide over 2.4 million cubic metres of wood. However, less than the allotted amount may be harvested over the next decade because of things like wildfires, blowdown, issues with foresters or the state of the market. The plan also requires the same amount of wood taken out to be replanted, and the Ministry has determined that the amount of harvesting will be sustainable.

Comments about the plan can still be made to the Bancroft MNDMNF office, or online. The current plan is set to expire in 2022.

Written by Trevor Smith-Millar