Domtar’s Windsor Mill is launching Mirador, a new online tool for viewing the forestry activities scheduled for its forestlands in Southern Quebec. Domtar, which is marking its 10th anniversary as a Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified company for its private lands, launched this new platform at the annual forestry convention and show of the Association forestière du sud du Québec (southern Quebec forestry association).
The FSC® standard is based on the balanced environmental, social and economic use of managed forestlands. It promotes communication among the different forest stakeholders to ensure mutual understanding of the issues involved in forest management.
For 10 years, Domtar has posted a summary of its forest management plan, with maps showing where it plans to carry out its yearly forest projects, on its website. “Forestry operations coexist with other uses of the land and we were looking for a more interactive way to provide this information,” says Patrick Cartier, Forestry and Inventory Coordinator at Domtar. To do so, the company drew inspiration from two virtual visits it had created with Terraspec, a young local company (terraspec.ca).
On the Mirador website (mirador.domtar.com), visitors can view information about the forest management projects on the 160,000 hectares of Domtar’s private forestlands in south-eastern Quebec. There is a map that shows municipal and forest roads, as well as the projects scheduled for 2015 or 2016 for a given sector. Short videos explain other useful features, such as geolocation.
“While the information was initially aimed at hunters and fishers, Domtar sees Mirador as an opportunity to communicate with other users of the land, such as hikers, ornithologists, municipal employees and neighbouring owners. We have presented the platform to our hunting and fishing clubs and the reaction has been very positive,” says Patrick Cartier.