Herbicide Alternative Program 2.0

What is HAP?

The Herbicide Alternatives Program (HAP) was established in 2010 by Indigenous representatives and Tembec (now Rayonier Advanced Materials- RYAM) to identify and apply alternatives to the use of herbicides on company Sustainable Forest Licenses (SFLs) in northeastern Ontario. With a priority focus on the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve and the Gordon Cosens, Romeo Malette and Martel Forests, significant reductions in herbicide use were targeted. Begun as a collaboration coordinated by Mushkegowuk Environmental Research Centre (MERC), Wahkohtowin Development GP. brings new energy and capacity, aiding RYAM in moving from strategy to action in a phase of the program referred to as HAP 2.0.

HAP 2.0 includes the sharing of indigenous knowledge, modification of existing silvicultural techniques and application of LIDAR as examples of new approaches from Forest Management Plan development through to free-to-grow. In 2019, Natural Resources Canada joined Wahkohtowin and RYAM to expand the reach and capacity of the initiative.

Click on the images below to watch the HAP webinar recordings on YouTube!

Resources

Laying Roots, Growing Prosperous: An Aboriginal Entrepreneur's Guide to HAP

Recent changes to forest tenure licensing agreements in Ontario, combined with a growing, skilled Aboriginal labour force and increasing community involvement in forest management activities have created an ideal environment for Aboriginal forest-based entrepreneurship.

Understanding First Nations rights and perspectives
on the use of herbicides in forestry:
A case study from northeastern Ontario (Forest Chronicle Article, March/April 2015)

This article provides forestry professionals with an improved understanding of why First Nations are opposed to the use of chemical herbicides for silvicultural purposes on their traditional lands, based on a case study in northeastern Ontario.

Moose Browsing Tends Spruce Plantations More Efficiently Than a Single Mechanical Release (Forests Article October 2020)

This study was carried out in the Matane Wildlife Reserve in the Gaspésie peninsula in Quebec.

HAP Gathering August 2019 Summary

The 2019 workshop promoted thorough discussion amongst the participants, looking into different herbicide alternative strategies. Some ideas brought up over the course of the two days were: the usefulness of identifying sites that will not require treatment prior to harvest, the need for mechanical brush saws without harmful emissions, the intensity of site preparation, increasing public awareness and understanding, and the implications of climate change.

Enhanced Forest Sustainability Workshop October 2018 Summary

The goal of the workshop was to encourage discussion around the topic of regeneration method alternatives to the use of chemical spray. This was accomplished over the course of the workshop, and next steps were identified.