Public Engagement
Background
Section 15(1) of the Forestry Act provides the authority to issue a Crown Timber Licence to a company that operates a timber processing facility (such as a sawmill) in the province.
A Crown Timber Licence grants a company the right to harvest Crown timber within a specified geographic area of the province.
To be eligible to obtain a Crown Timber Licence, a company must first enter into a Forest Management Agreement with the Provincial Government.
A Forest Management Agreement describes a company’s forest management responsibilities on a Crown Timber Licence area, such as:
- Re-planting trees (silviculture).
- Building forest access roads.
- Harvesting timber.
- Forest management.
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is currently in discussion with Sexton Lumber Company Ltd. about entering into a 20-year Forest Management Agreement and obtaining a 20-year Crown Timber Licence. Both would be reassessed every five years. We are seeking your input as part of this process.
Sexton Lumber owns a sawmill in Bloomfield and intends to increase mill production from 60 million to 100 million board feet of lumber per year. As such, Sexton Lumber has requested to enter into a 20-year Forest Management Agreement with the province for an area of 836,791 hectares of forest within Forest Management Districts 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13 on the Island of Newfoundland.
The Annual Allowable Cut for the area under the Forest Management Agreement would be approximately 370,500 cubic meters per year, with 230,000 cubic metres of that Annual Allowable Cut available to Sexton Lumber.
The remaining Annual Allowable Cut (140,500 cubic metres) within the Forest Management Agreement is allotted to other existing harvesters and they will not be impacted by the agreement and Crown Timber Licence. After a transition period, Sexton Lumber will be fully responsible for forest management activities under the Forest Management Agreement.
Sexton Lumber's Annual Allowable Cut under the Forest Management Agreement includes timber volume already issued to the company under annual cutting permits, with Sexton Lumber obtaining a net Annual Allowable Cut increase of 41,000 cubic metres through the issuance of a Crown Timber Licence.
Entering into a 20-year Forest Management Agreement and Crown Timber Licence would offer Sexton Lumber the security of a long-term timber supply and enable the company to invest in its sawmill infrastructure and the timber resource.
Under the Forest Management Agreement, Sexton Lumber forest management planning activities would be subject to:
- Forestry Act and all subordinate legislation.
- Environmental Assessment Regulations 2003.
- Environmental Protection Guidelines.
- The Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands’ Environmental Management System program (ISO 14001-2015).
A Crown Timber Licence and a Forest Management Agreement do not include mineral, land, access, or water rights. It only applies to timber rights.
Issuing a Crown Timber Licence would not impact individuals or enterprises with existing rights in the area covered by the licence, nor would it restrict the Provincial Government’s ability to promote and establish non-forestry development on the licence area.
Issuing a Crown Timber Licence would not restrict individuals from carrying out activities within the licence area, including domestic wood cutting, existing commercial cutting permits, fishing, hunting, hiking, snowmobiling, berry picking, or other similar uses.
Forest Management Area Location
The proposed Crown Timber Licence represents approximately 1.7 million hectares of forested land located across the central portion of the Island of Newfoundland, from the Community of Terra Nova in the east to Buchans in the west.
This area comprises parts of Forest Management Districts 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12 and 13.
Please note you must log in or register to complete the questionnaire.
If you have any questions related to this questionnaire or require an alternate format, please contact the department at: FMA@gov.nl.ca.
Written Submissions:
Written submissions will be accepted by email and mail.
Email address for FMA : FMA@gov.nl.ca (will be checked daily)
Mailing address:
Forest Management Agreement
Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands
PO Box 2006
Corner Brook, NL
A2H 6J8
Att. Wes Morgan
Privacy Statement
The collection of information is done under the authority of section 61(c) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015, for the purpose of collecting public and stakeholder feedback on whether to sign a Forest Management Agreement with Sexton Lumber and issue a 20-year Crown timber licence to the company. It is recommended that you do not include personal information with your submission. However, any personal information that may be received will be governed in accordance with the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 and will only be used for the purpose of informing public and stakeholder feedback on whether to sign a Forest Management Agreement with Sexton Lumber and issue a 20-year Crown timber licence to the company. If you have any questions about how this information will be collected, used and disclosed, please contact: ATIPP-FAL@gov.nl.ca.
