Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association

The mining exploration community is in desperate need of a few good individuals to volunteer some of their time working on LCC's, Local Citizen's Committees, for MNR Forestry Districts in Ignace, Sioux Lookout and Fort Frances.

The work is exciting, stimulating and highly rewarding. Imagine being in a position where you could successfully prevent a road from being closed or a bridge from being dismantled; thus allowing prospectors and explorationists access to freshly exposed rocks. Imagine how impressed your friends will be if this leads to a new discovery, especially if it is yours.

One of the major bonuses of your job will be to have a first hand look at brand new Forest Management Plans (FMPs). You will see where future clear cutting will be and will know where all of the roads will go plus many more benefits that we won't go into now.

Below are listed the MNR office numbers for an area that you might be interested in. Give them a call and tell them that you would like to work on the LCC planning team and they will direct you to the proper contact person. Once you are on, contact either:

and we will give you all the support that you need.

MNR District Offices
Area Code (807)

Atikokan	597-6971	Kenora	468-2501
Dryden	223-3341	Nipigon	887-5000
Fort Frances	274-5337	Red Lake	727-2253
Geraldton	854-1030	Sioux Lookout	737-1140
Ignace	934-2233	Terrace Bay	825-3205

Forest Management

A Guide To Forest Management Units For Prospectors or Gaining Access To The Forest For Mineral Exploration Purposes

Prospectors usually always research an area before they venture into the bush to explore for minerals. There are many different types of maps at their disposal but there is one resource that many of us may not be aware of.

The MNR has divided the province's Crown forests into management units (FMUs) and each one has a Forest Management Plan (FMP).

Some plans are currently being prepared and some are about to start preparation.

The plans have a five-year duration. To find out when a particular area is up for renewal, contact the local MNR district office.

Get to know the RLUG in your area. They are very informed regarding land use issues.

Some Specifics About Forest Management Plans
Article #2

Recently I have been prospecting for PGM in the Keweenawans in the vicinity of Thunder Bay. My target areas are in the vast tracts of land that are being cleaned up after the big blowdown of 1999. Since this is part of The Lakehead Forest (FMU#796, Plan Renewal Year 2007... now pay attention here... since these are five year plans, 2007-5 years = 2002... this means that the plan for this particular forest must be approved/accepted/signed by the MNR District Manager by January 2002. After that the public, including prospectors, can not whine about what forestry companies are going to do to the roads, bridges and access points ). And this is fair because the MNR has put the Plan (FMP) through 6 stages of public input. I will go into this process and how you can get involved, in more detail in a future article.

So there I was cruising around on these new logging roads and inspecting the recently scarified landscape for promising mafics when I came to a sign that said Temporary Water Crossing. What? When? Why? If they pull this bridge, many miles of excellent roads and geology will be lost to easy access. Why would they do that after so much money has been spent on building them? Fortunately since the FMP has not met final approval I can apply for a Bump-up.

If you are not satisfied with the decision made (in this case to remove a bridge) in the planning process, you may ask the Minister of the Environment and Energy to order a "bump-up" or individual environmental assessment of specific proposed forest management activities identified in the plan.

Better still, mining people need to get involved in the FMP at the very beginning.

John Halet, President NWOPA