FOT also helped the Town of Latchford protect the Burns and Coleman Trails and Greenwood Provincial Park. Unbeknownst to Latchford, the MNR prepared plans to log the trails adjacent to Greenwood Park, both key parts of the town’s tourism strategy. FOT notified Latchford of the plans then provided assistance as they launched their own successful issue resolution. These historic trails are now protected.

Early in the forest management planning process, FOT collaborated with other environmental groups and tourist businesses to identify problem areas and ways of tackling them. This cooperation ensured that when those groups went to issue resolution, no group carried too heavy a load and no issue was overlooked. FOT has maintained contact with these groups as they pursued their own issue resolutions. Issues they brought forth include logging old-growth red and white pine, logging in Temagami’s western backcountry, logging over cross-country ski trails, protection for the Ottawa-Temiskaming Highland Trail, and increased harvest level projections. FOT continues to support these groups in their ongoing efforts.

In June 2008, after failing to make significant headway, FOT launched an Issue Resolution complaint regarding the draft forestry plan. After two unsuccessful rounds of meetings with local MNR staff, we felt that a change in tactic was required to make headway and gain on our issues. We modified the FOT’s initial request by “agreeing to disagree” on some important issues: clearcuts larger than 260 hectares, rapid implementation of the Federal Species at Risk Act, and the development of short and medium term road density targets. We dropped our request to have four minor viewpoints recognized, but kept our request for two major viewpoints. In exchange for doing this, we requested a cap on long-term road density, recognition of road decommissioning, greater involvement in cultural heritage management, and protection for viewpoint access trails. Most importantly, we reiterated our strong opposition to secondary canoe routes and portages.

This strategy paid off allowing FOT to win the highest level of protection we could reasonably expect through this process. With upcoming forest management planning processes in the Sudbury and Timiskaming Districts, the lessons learned will soon be put to use. However, this does not mean that all is well in Temagami. More roads will be built in the short term, endangered species are still at elevated risk, large clearcuts are more frequent and Spirit Forest may be among them. The new protections we earned pale in comparison to what still needs to be done. With your help, Friends of Temagami will continue to fight for Temagami’s wild spaces.