Land use planning in Canada: An overview of the forestry aspects

Forested land occupies 44% of Canada. Forestry activities contribute more to the balance of payments than the combined total trade of farm products, food, beverages, metals and the auto industries. Despite the significance of forestry in the federal and provincial economies of Canada, forest and land use planning strategies have not played a major role until very recently. Traditionally, Canada's forests were regarded as limitless, requiring no skills other than to manage logging and roadbuilding operations. Today land use planning strategies have recognized the need for reliable data about the forest, and forest land tenures in Canada are being (or have recently been) revised in most provinces.