The Wabadowgang Noopming Forest

The Wabadowgang Noopming (WN) Forest (Management Unit #443) is located northwest of Lake Nipigon. The WN Forest covers approximately 632,231 hectares of Crown land, of which 114,721 ha (18%) is protected by Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves.

Wabadowgang Noopming is the Ojibway translation of Whitesand Bush. The WN Forest is the dominated by conifer species such as black spruce, balsam fir, and jack pine, and hardwood species such as poplar (trembling aspen) and birch. The forest is somewhat older, with about 40% of the managed area being 81-100 years old.

Where we are.

The Wabadowgang Noopming (WN) Forest is located northwest of Lake Nipigon and lies within the northern portion of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Thunder Bay – Ignace Administrative District, with approximately 632,231 hectares of Crown land. This forest was previously known as the Armstrong Forest until it was amalgamated in 2011 with the Lake Nipigon Forest. The amalgamation was short-lived, however, as the Armstrong portion (now known as the Wabadowgang Noopming Forest) was de-amalgamated in 2021 following the approval of the 2021-2023 WN Forest Contingency Plan. The WN forest is about 230 km north of the City of Thunder Bay and is accessible via Highway #527. This forest is bordered by the Ogoki Forest to the north and the Black Spruce Forest to the south. The Wabadowgang Noopming Forest is also bordered on the west and northwest by Wabakimi Provincial Park, on the southeast by the Lake Nipigon Forest, and on a small portion of the southwest side by the English River Forest.

Wabadowgang Noopming is Ojibway for Whitesand Bush. The WN Forest spans much of the traditional territory of the Whitesand First Nation. The forest has historically been important to the Nation as a land base for hunting, fishing, and gathering and supplying traditional food and medicinal plants. The Whitesand Ojibway have lived in the northern Lake Nipigon region for over 4000 years. This area has sustained families, bands, and large congregations in hunting, fishing, and gathering activities since this time. Today, the forest continues to provide valuable resources to the community, both in terms of economic development through forestry/mining/natural resources and tourism opportunities, and in traditional ways such as hunting and gathering.

Dam building in the 1920s along the Nipigon River resulted in massive flooding of Whitesand’s traditional use areas. This caused displacement of people and homes. In 1986, Whitesand First Nation Reserve #190 was officially formed. The Whitesand First Nation Reserve #190 is located approximately 250 km north of Thunder Bay, Ontario on the northern side of Lake Nipigon. The community is home to over 1200 band members, with an on-reserve population of approximately 350 (2016 Census).

Whitesand has one square kilometre of reserve land within the Robinson Superior Treaty and is affiliated with the Independent First Nations Alliance tribal council and the Independent First Nations political treaty organization. Whitesand First Nation follows the Band Custom Electoral System and is governed by a Chief and six Councillors who are elected for a two-year term. In 2009, Whitesand and Ontario Power Generation settled their flooding claim which resulted in the transfer of lands at Mud River, Ferland and Old Whitesand to the community.

Today, Whitesand is young and vibrant community that maintains and runs its own fleet of school buses and medical transportation, as well as operates its own fire station. Since the Whitesand First Nation were granted their reserve lands in 1986, the community has developed over 100 housing units. The Early Childhood Education Center provides a program focused on improving the health and social development of preschool children and their families. Programs offered aim to culturally connect and spiritually root children in the traditional language and history of family, community and Nation. Upon graduation from Armstrong Public School, Grade 9 students seek secondary education off-reserve.

An annual traditional pow wow has been held since 1980, in a peaceful secluded area located between reserve land and Old Whitesand.

Whitesand First Nation is working hard to create a bright future for all members of the community while respecting lessons learned from the past and valuing the knowledge of its elders. They have adopted five pillars of sustainability that are equally valued and codependent: Society, Culture, Capacity, Economy, and Ecology

In 2009, Whitesand First Nation created the Community Sustainability Initiative (CSI). This forward-thinking approach aims to improve the livelihoods of community members through sustainable use of the local forest including new management practices, capacity building, innovation and green energy production. The CSI goals include:

Raising prosperity through inclusion into Ontario’s and Canada’s economy
Addressing climate change directly at the community level
Meeting core recommendations of Truth and Reconciliation Action Plan

Promoting and preserving Cultural Knowledge within the other Pillars of Sustainability

Forest Description

The Wabadowgang Noopming Forest is situated in the Boreal Forest Region. The dominant species is black spruce, with black spruce-dominated stands covering about 50% of the forested area. Other common conifer species include jack pine, balsam fir and white spruce. Conifer species typically occur as pure stands, or in mixedwood associations with hardwoods. Red pine, white pine and cedar are found infrequently on the forest. Hardwood species such as white birch and poplar are common occur in pure stands or mixed associations.

The Wabadowgang Noopming Forest is a typical example of the boreal forest fire-driven ecosystem. A period of extensive wildfires occurred between 1900 and 1940. Following the 1940s, an uptake in fire suppression activities in the area was accompanied by relatively little logging or other natural disturbances. Because of this, the current age class distribution of the managed forest area is skewed towards older age classes, with much of the forest in mature to over-mature stages.

Natural stand-replacing events such as forest fires, windthrow and lethal insect infestations are important elements of forest dynamics. Both managed and natural fire cycles were estimated during the development of the 2011 Forest Management Plan. It was determined that natural fire cycles range from 90 years for upland flammable conifers to 160 years for wet lowland sited. The Forest Management Plan aims to move the forest towards a more natural disturbance regime, and to shift the current forest species and composition to better reflect the state the forest would be in were it left to its natural, fire-driven boreal forest ecosystem.

Forestry History

The Wabadowgang Noopming Forest has a long history of logging. In the 1930s and 40s, portable sawmills were operational in the forest, mainly producing railway ties. In 1975, Domtar was logging in the area, with wood slash transported by rail to the Red Rock mill, sawlog material to Thunder Bay, and utility poles to Domtar’s Quebec facility. Between 1977 and 1990, sawlog material was harvested mainly along the Obonga Road. Starting in 2005, wood from the Wabadowgang Noopming Forest supplied wood to Great West Timber Thunder Bay sawmills, and consequently Norampac’s Red Rock mill. The 2008 economic downturn had a severe impact on Ontario’s forest sector and consequently harvesting in the Wabadowgang Noopming Forest, as most consuming facilities closed down and harvesting activities slowed. In recent years, Whitesand’s Sagatay in partnership with Resolute Forest Products has been active in forestry road building. The community relies on forest also to supply firewood.

In 1992, Whitesand First Nation and Armstrong submitted a community forest proposal, which introduced creation of a biomass cogeneration facility. Unfortunately, their proposal was rejected, and the idea was put on a shelf for almost two decades. It wasn’t until 2009, when Whitesand First Nation introduced the Community Sustainability Initiative (CSI), that their vision of replacing diesel generated electricity with a renewable energy source regained forward momentum. A proposal and business plan for a biomass cogeneration facility and wood pellet mill was developed and presented to the Ontario Power Authority.

Whitesand First Nation’s commitment to this innovative and environmentally responsible industrial development project is finally paying off. Under the CSI, Whitesand First Nation has completed a series of significant steps towards managing and utilising forest resources. Whitesand was issued a Renewable Energy Agreement by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in 2015, and a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement in 2017. This guarantees revenue stream and sustainability of the industrial park project, known as the Bio-Energy Centre. Once completed, the community will own and operate a 5.5 MWe cogeneration facility fueled by woody biomass. In addition to heat and energy production, a wood pellet plant will produce 90,000 metric tons per year of residential grade pellets. These developments will attract new businesses and provide meaningful year-round employment opportunities for community members and those in surrounding far northern communities. In 2023, Whitesand received $35 million in funding to support the development of a combined heat and power facility using locally-sourced wood waste. Construction on the facility is planned to begin shortly.

The community is also actively engaged in building capacity for forest management and operations by forming strategic partnerships with key forestry players in the region. In partnership with Resolute Forest Products, wood merchandising solutions are analysed for efficient utilisation and distribution harvested timber to meet the community’s needs for biomass and pellet production and industry’s requirements for veneer, saw logs and other types of forest products. In 2019, the community formed a partnership with NorthWinds Environmental Services to build capacity for community led forest management and operations. The partnership has since evolved into Wabadowgang Noopming Management, and is now the licence holder for the WN Forest. The new 2023-2033 Wabadowgang Noopming Forest Management Plan includes significant community input and review of management objectives and planned operations, and training and employment of community members, including high school youth and college students in forestry and environmental programs.

Indigenous Communities

First Nation and Métis communities in or adjacent to the WN Forest whose interests or traditional uses may be affected by forest management activities include Whitesand First Nation, Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (KZA; Gull Bay), Red Sky Métis Independent Nation and the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) - Lakehead/Nipigon/Michipicoten asserted Traditional Territory. Direct social and economic impacts occur primarily in the community of Whitesand First Nation.