Our Forest
The Hearst Forest
The Hearst Forest is 1.2 million hectares (12,000 square kilometres) of public land in Northeastern Ontario, surrounding the towns of Hearst, Mattice/Val Cote, and Achikamii-Achikamaw (Constance Lake) First Nation.
The Hearst Forest is located on the traditional lands and Treaty 9 territory of the Cree, Oji-Cree and Anishinaabe Nations who first inhabited, cared for and live on this land. We recognize the contributions that Indigenous Peoples and Nations have made, and continue to make both in shaping and strengthening the forest.
The Hearst Forest is located in Ontario’s Clay Belt boreal forest. Much of the land was once a postglacial lake with a flat clay bottom extending all the way to Québec. Our region’s soils and expansive peatlands, along with the natural and anthropogenic disturbance, formed the forest landscape we know today.
Dominating the forest canopy are species such as Black Spruce (Picea mariana), Aspen (Populus tremuloides), White Spruce (Picea glauca), and Jack Pine (Pinus Banksiana).
Forest Certification
HFMI is committed to upholding the principles of forest sustainability. Learn more about High Conservation Values and Designated Conservations Lands by consulting the following reports:
Forest Renewal
A deep understanding of the ecology of the land and experience in the forest has supported forestry professionals to operate on this land sustainably. Best efforts are made by HFMI to regenerate the forest after harvesting so that it remains forest in the long-term. Natural regeneration and artificial regeneration techniques are used by professionals to achieve this goal.
Tree plants take place every spring to assist the regeneration process where areas may be struggling to regenerate naturally. Additionally, aerial tending takes place after extensive field surveying to determine if certain areas will benefit from herbicide application.
Regenerating sites are consistently monitored and surveyed (planted sites – after 7 years; natural sites – after 15 years) to be reported to the MNRF in compliance with Ontario’s laws.
Seedlings for the renewal process are retrieved from greenhouses owned by the local nursery, La Maison Verte, owned by the non-profit association, Association Parmi-Elles. The association is made up entirely of women and dedicated to providing employment to women, particularly in the forestry sector. This partnership is an example of the type of local engagement that HFMI attempts to foster.
HFMI seeks to prioritize local values and local economy while ensuring that communities can continue living in and of the forest sustainably.
Surficial Geology
Topography and surficial geology in the Forest is the result or outcome of several glaciations. The majority of the area has very little topographical relief, having been overridden and depressed by glacial ice and then buried beneath lacustrine deposits of glacial lake Barlow-Ojibway. However, in the south and southwest portions of the Forest and along the northeast boundary, a mixture of glacial and lacustrine deposits and pre-Cambrian bedrock exposure causes topography to vary from gently rolling to very hilly.
The Forest is divided into two main regions of soil classification. The difference between the regions is primarily the influence of glaciations:
- The north and central portions of the Forest are part of the Great Clay Belt, with soils generally consisting of clays through silt clays to clay loams, having been deposited as glacial-lacustrine sediments, and
- The southern, southwest and northeast portions of the Forest which have soils varying from clays to loams to sands, resulting from a wide range of types of glacial deposition.
Interspersed throughout the regions described above are areas of organic soils and poor drainages. The extent of these areas varies, ranging from insignificant to expanses large enough to influence operational planning in forest management. Organic soils occur in large expanses on the Great Clay Belt but are limited in extent elsewhere.
While the predominant tree species on the Hearst Forest is black spruce (Picea mariana), found extensively in lower lying areas, white spruce (picea glauca), balsam fir (abies balsamea), trembling aspen (populus tremuloides), black poplar (populus balsamifera), White birch (betual papyrifera) tamarack (larix laricina) and cedar (thuja occidentalis) form an important part of the forest.
Grow with Us, Thrive Tomorrow
Hearst Forest Management Inc. (HFMI) shall conduct its mission and mandate in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the laws of Canada. Furthermore, HFMI representatives, Directors and staff will neither offer or receive bribes in money or engage in any other form of corruption.