Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Opasatika Proposed Site 5

Northern Livestock Pilot - Opasatika Site 5

Project Location and Site Description

District: Cochrane

Municipality: Opasatika

Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) Administrative Region: Northeast Region, Hearst District

Size of Proposed Pilot Site:

The total proposed pilot site is approximately 3,616acres (approx. 1,463 Ha).

Forest Management Unit: Gordon Cosens

Sustainable Forestry Licence Holder: The current Sustainable Forestry Licence (SFL) holder is Rayonier Advanced Materials.

Roads: Highway 11 runs through the northern portion of the site from east to west. De Coeur Road provides access to the northern portion of the site. The site is ATV accessible via Beaudette Road to the east. There appear to be some previously used, internal access roads. These may have been used to access the site for forest harvest and/or planting.

Watersheds: The site is within the tertiary watershed of Lower Kapuskasing and the secondary watershed of Missinaibi-Mattagami.

Waterbodies: There are several streams wetland areas throughout the site. Wetlands areas are limited in size. Streams extend through the site from the northern to southern edges.

Agricultural Capability: The site is comprised largely of agricultural land suitable for livestock farming. Part of the site is comprised of organic soils, which are not suitable for livestock farming.

Additional Site Information:

• The site contains a pipeline right of way
• The application area surrounds a private land parcel
• A rail line transects a small portion of the parcel in the southwest
• A land use permit for a camp is located on De Couer Rd.
• A snowmobile trail crosses the application area
• Early winter moose activity is noted along the Highway 11 corridor within the proposed boundary of Opasatika Site 5

Crown Land Use Policies:

Crown Land Use Policy G1736, "Kapuskasing Resource Extraction Area" covers part of Opasatika Site 5. Crown Land Use Policy G1737, "Highway Number 11 Corridor" covers an area of Opasatika Site 5 at the northern portion of the site. Crown Land Use Policy G1732, "Fred Flatt Aggregate Area" covers a limited amount of Opasatika Site 5 at the northern tip of the site. OMAFRA has submitted a request for review and amendment as necessary, of existing Crown land use policies to allow for agriculture to occur as a permitted use on proposed Crown land Pilot sites.

The table below provides an overview of current Crown Land Use Polices regarding agriculture for the proposed pilot site.

Crown Land Use Policy	Policy Details
G1736, "Kapuskasing Resource Extraction Area"	Activity: Crown Land Disposition, Agriculture Permitted: No Guidelines: Crown land will be disposed of in this area only to facilitate expansion of existing adjacent farms.
G1737, "Highway Number 11 Corridor"	Activity: Crown Land Disposition, Agriculture Permitted: Yes Guidelines: This Ministry will permit the disposition of approximately 1,000 hectares of previously cleared Crown agricultural lands for agricultural purposes. In addition, this Ministry will support agricultural expansion into significant amounts of previously cleared private land which are currently not in production.
G1732, "Fred Flatt Aggregate Area"	Activity: Crown Land Disposition, Agriculture Permitted: Yes Guidelines: Farm related structural development will be discouraged. Disposition of Crown land for agricultural purposes will only be permitted on depleted aggregate areas or where aggregate potential has been disproved.