Index

Manitoba Model Forests Programs and Projects

A very diverse group of organizations worked over a ten month period to develop our current five year strategic plan. This plan has a number of initiatives that support the mandate of the Forest Communities Program, a new program funded by the Canadian Forest Service. The Manitoba Model Forest became a partner in this program in the Fall of 2007. Our plan outlines the details of its development along with the range of activities, deliverables and outcomes and can downloaded as a PDF file (372 KB).

Manitoba Model Forest Five Year Strategic Plan

An outline and brief description of plan initiatives and their correlation with the Forest Communities Program follows:

FCP Objective One - To pilot ideas, conduct experiments and develop models that assist forest-based communities to build capacity and meet the opportunities and challenges of a forest sector in transition.

First Nation Co-management of Moose in Eastern Manitoba: Since 1992, the Committee for Moose Management, a committee of the MBMF which includes four MBMF First Nation communities, a local wildlife association, Manitoba Conservation, and the forest industry (Tembec Inc), has provided people in the MBMF area the opportunity to address management issues related to one of the most culturally and socially important wildlife species in our area - moose. The "moose committee" has established much credibility in the MBMF as a vehicle for building capacity and involving people (in particular, First Nations) with the opportunity with provide recommendations for the management of moose. First Nation participation on the moose committee is amongst the highest of all the MBMF committees.
Implementation of a Regional Trade School: Local communities and industries in the MBMF area have long recognized the need for a regional trade school which will provide local communities with the opportunity to receive education and training on trades of importance to local industries (forestry, mining, hydro) and to the communities. In particular, First Nation youth find it difficult to move away from their communities to larger urban centres to undertake educational programs.
Junior Rangers Program: Over the last 2 years, the MBMF has been actively working with its industrial and government partners, communities and educational specialists to develop a Junior Rangers program that is similar to those established in Ontario and Alberta, and as such, the MBMF will host meetings between our partners and these other provincial initiatives.
Forest Education: In Phase III of the Model Forest Program, the MBMF hired an Education Coordinator to develop provincially-accredited forest-based curricula and to develop educational programs related to the boreal forest and forest values and products. Our educational programs have been an overwhelming success with continual requests for presentations, boreal forest tours and training sessions for teachers.
Enhancing First Nation and Local Community Participation in MBMF Decision-making: A significant contribution to the growing success of the MBMF has been the steady increase in community participation in activities of the MBMF, including sitting as members on the MBMF Board of Directors, as members of the Executive Committee, on our various working groups (Forest Stewardship, Education, Local Level Involvement), program committees (Committee for Moose Management, Eastern Manitoba Woodland Caribou Advisory Committee) and in various MBMF-sponsored projects.
Community Opportunities Program: Annually, the MBMF puts out a call for proposals to local MBMF communities for community-based projects and initiatives that meet MBMF goals and criteria.

FCP Objective Two - To develop and share integrated, multi-sector approaches, based on science and innovation, to address community transition that involves new and existing natural resources stakeholders.

Species at Risk and Rare Species: Since 1992, the Eastern Manitoba Woodland Caribou Advisory Committee (EMWCAC), a committee of the MBMF has conducted research on woodland caribou in the MBMF area and beyond. Woodland caribou in western Canada are a threatened species under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and a Threatened species under the Manitoba Endangered Species Act. Under the FCP, woodland caribou will remain a cornerstone of our science-based portion of our program.
Testing of Water Quality/Watershed Management Tools: In early 2007, the MBMF will complete the development of draft watershed planning tools for forestry activities in eastern Manitoba. The tools, based on 3 years of water quality surveys on rivers, streams, creeks and lakes will provide guidance to the forest industry on appropriate watershed-level harvesting planning and harvesting operations in order to maintain water quality.
Assessment of Provincial Riparian Management Guidelines and Existing Riparian Buffer Strips: In Manitoba, riparian buffer strips are commonly in used forest management operations to protect aquatic resources and terrestrial values (wildlife, sensitive soils, aesthetics). Under previous provincial guidelines, riparian buffers have been left along waterways for the last 30 years, but an assessment of the effectiveness of such buffer strips in maintaining the key values that they were designed to protect has never been undertaken. In addition, in eastern Manitoba, wildfire is a very common natural disturbance agent which may commonly burn down to the waters edge. A comparison between ��natural�� buffers created by wildfire with the artificial buffers created by forestry operations has never been attempted, but would provide valuable information on the importance of riparian areas and disturbances in the MBMF area.
Integrating First Nations Values Into Land Use Planning: First Nations values and land useinformation is a critical component of any integrated landscape management plan. In Phase II of the Canadian Model Forest Network program, the MBMF provided support to two First Nation communities in the MBMF area to develop land use plans. These plans provide each community with a written and GIS-based record of locations of spiritual, cultural and economic importance in their traditional areas and provide information necessary for future land use decisions.
Incorporating Trapping Values Into Landscape Management Decision-Making: In Phase II of the Model Forest Program, the MBMF worked with the trapping community to develop a GIS-based database of trapper's values (location of trails, cabins, high value habitat) in each registered trap line. This product has been used effectively to help plan forest harvesting areas in trap lines and to develop associated mitigation plans. In addition, the MBMF, with the assistance of the Manitoba Trappers Association, is currently completing the development of a Best Management Practices (BMP) manual entitled "A Foresters/Contractors/Trappers Guide to Best Practices When Planning and Operating on Trap Lines".
Natural Disturbance-Based Forest Harvesting �� Re-measurement of Permanent Sample Plots: Starting in 1998, the MBMF undertook research to understand and document wildfire behavior in the MBMF area, followed by the design and implementation of a forest harvesting trial at both the landscape level and site level based on a natural disturbance template as a way to enhance the ecological sustainability after harvest.
Terrestrial Biomonitoring: From 2004-2006 the MBMF lead the development of a regional terrestrial Biomonitoring program to examine the potential impact of climate change and other stressors on forest ecosystem parameters. In 2005 and 2006, the MBMF partnered with Environment Canada's Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) to establish and monitor permanent sample plots in various parts of the MBMF area and a limited number of plots have been established in the Assiniboine Forest in Winnipeg (the largest urban forest in North America) using nationally approved EMAN protocols.

FCP Objective Three - To work with industry and other community-level stakeholders to develop new forest-based opportunities in rural Canada.

Facilitation of the Development of Non-timber Forest Product Enterprises: There are many opportunities for the development of non-timber forest product (NTFP) businesses in the MBMF area. NTFPs can provide opportunities for communities by building on local skills and knowledge of the forest. In most instances, NTFPs represent an opportunity for supplemental income, and not for a main, annual income. Under the FCP, the MBMF will conduct an initial exploratory survey of what is being produced in Canada for NTFPs by reviewing information from the Northern Forest Diversification Centre (The Pas, Manitoba), the Centre for Non-Timber Resources and its associated newly created Canadian Non-Timber Forest Products Network, based out of Royal Roads University (Victoria, BC) and other Canadian Model Forest Network sites which have historically worked on NTFPs.
Tourism/Eco-tourism, Guiding and Outfitting: The MBMF area represents a geographically large and untapped resource for outdoor-based activities including tourism/eco-tourism, guiding and outfitting. In particular, communities located in the northern portion of the MBMF have been largely excluded from such opportunities, despite being road accessible and located in close proximity to large areas of pristine wilderness. The MBMF will bring together community governments, economic development organizations, Manitoba Department of Tourism and the Manitoba Association of Lodges and Outfitters to help identify opportunities in the MBMF area, host workshops and conduct skills assessments in communities.
Value-Added Forest Products: Currently, only a few forest products are produced from the Model Forest, far below what could be produced and sustained.Under the FCP, the MBMF will facilitate discussions and hold meetings with our local communities, forest product industries and our regional economic round table to identify other potential forest product opportunities, including the use of wood waste as a source of raw materials for other products or energy production.

FCP Objective Four - To develop and share sustainable forest management knowledge, practices, tools and experiences with international forest-based communities and their Model Forests, in keeping with Canada's international forest agenda.

Monarch Butterfly Model Forest: The winter habitat of the Monarch Butterfly in parts of Mexico is threatened by illegal forest harvesting, wildfire and land clearing for agriculture, brought on by a lack of economic opportunities for local people. The migration pattern of the Monarch Butterfly between forests in Mexico and forest in the MBMF area and the need to integrate economic development with habitat conservation in Mexico provided the opportunity in 1999 for the MBMF to work with the Mexican government and local peoples to establish the Monarch Butterfly Model Forest.
Chiloe Model Forest: Beginning in 2004, representatives of two MBMF First Nation communities (Black River First Nation and Brokenhead Ojibway Nation) began working on a project (funded by CIDA Indigenous Peoples Partnership Program) with the Williche peoples of Chile, Chiloe Model Forest and the MBMF on non-timber forest products, traditional medicines, establishment of a traditional medicines processing facility, cultural exchange between indigenous people of Canada and Chile, gender equity and the retention of traditional practices and culture.
Reventazon Model Forest: Over the past 6 months, Brokenhead Ojibway Nation and the MBMF has been in discussions with the Reventazon Model Forest, the Regional Model Forest Network for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC-Net) and Centro Agrinomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza (CATIE) to develop a project on ethno-cultural tourism with the Cabecares peoples of Costa Rica. To this end, a Concept Paper to the Indigenous Peoples Partnership Program of CIDA has already been submitted and approved for funding for the development of a full proposal.

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