Ontario Agrees to 10-Year Logging Ban on Grassy Nerve First Nation Land

Since 2008, the people of the Grassy Nerve First Nation have closed logging roads near their homes to protect trees on their land. They marched in front of Queen’s Park and sued the province of Ontario after it opened up their traditional lands to clearing.

And now, according to reporting by the Toronto Star (4-7-23), it appears their actions have helped them win a partial victory.

In a letter sent from Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to Chief Rudy Turtle of the Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek First Nation, the province indicated that it has abandoned its plans to open a portion of the First Nation’s traditional forest to commercial logging for the next 10 years.

Instead, Ontario will ban logging in the entire no-harvest zone, an area covering about 75% of Whiskey Jack Forest, which was designated in 2017 when Grassy Narrows ordered the province to stop clearcutting.

The province’s reversal follows a de facto ban on logging that has been in place since all logging companies and mills in the region said they would not harvest timber from Grassy Narrows land without permission, the Toronto Star says.

However, the ministry is keeping its options open for future logging in the area, after the current plan expires in 2034. The letter says the government will monitor the forest in the no-harvest zone, which will involve “the identification of eligible forest stands, modelling wildlife habitat and establishing sustainable harvest objectives.”