Val Rita-Harty Proposed Site 3

Northern Livestock Pilot - Val Rita-Harty Site 3

Proposed Val Rita-Harty Site 3. This is a map showing existing features and the proposed site plan. Existing features include: Roads, Logging and Passage Trail, Research Plots, Pipeline - Natural Gas, Lakes, Wetlands and Streams. Proposed site plans include buffered areas for protection of waterways to allow for movement of wildlife. Plans include areas for the production of hay as well as built infrastructure, and pasture or silvopasture areas for grazing of livestock.

Project Location and Site Description

District: Cochrane

Municipality: Val Rita-Harty

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 3,068 acres (approx. 1,241 Ha).

Forest Management Unit: Gordon Cosens

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

Roads: There are three roads that provide access to the site. Concession Road 14 & 15 provides access to the site along the site's northern edge. Concession Road 12 & 13 and Dagenais Road provide access to the eastern edge of the site. 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 and waterbodies within the site. These appear to be fairly limited in size.

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 application area contains 3 forest research plots
  • The application area contains a natural gas pipeline

Crown Land Use Policies:

Crown Land Use Policy G1736, "Kapuskasing Resource Extraction Area" covers the majority of Val Rita-Harty Site 3. Crown Land Use Policy G1737, "Highway Number 11 Corridor" covers a limited amount of Val Rita-Harty Site 3 at the northern tips 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.

For more information:
Toll Free: 1-877-424-1300
E-mail: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca