Identifying trail users' interests within Ontario's sustainable forest management framework: A case study of the French/Severn Forest.

摘要

In Ontario, growing numbers of trail users are challenging Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) efforts through the assertion of their interests. With the release of the Ontario Trails Strategy promoting the development of trails in public forests, SFM will be further tested. Westwind Forest Stewardship Inc., the Sustainable Forest License holder in the French/Severn Forest, exhausted the MNR conflict resolution process on this topic and has since addressed the issues through a stakeholder engagement effort. With this in mind, this paper examines opportunities regarding the accommodation of trail users' interests, and by extension tourism interests and public participation avenues, within SFM. The analysis shows that while there is fair opportunity in Ontario for trail users to represent themselves, relative to other interests outside of forestry, current SFM practices are not meeting the public participation standards called for in established SFM framework, resulting in trail users' interests being ineffectively addressed.