Location and management of "wildlife fields

One of the objectives of the MF management plan is "To maintain healthy populations of wildlife and to provide opportunities for hunting, trapping, viewing and nature study."

"A number of abandoned pastures in the forest have been reserved for use as grassy meadows to provide deer with much needed green feed early in the spring. Of these, 17 fields, totaling 65 hectares, are actively managed to provide quality forage and prevent the reinvasion of trees. Management activity may include periodic prescribed burning, brush cutting, or ploughing, discing, and reseeding. The planting of wildlife shrubs may occur along the borders of both abandoned and managed wildlife fields" (page 57 of the plan).

The following information is taken from the management plan, Table 6 in Appendix A: Schedule of operations by activity (1990–1995). It shows the designated "wildlife fields" listed by lot number. The operation is to clear the field by cutting or burning and the intention seems to be to do this in a 5-year cycle working on 2 to 4 fields each year. As the plan points out "Wildlife management involving patch clear-cutting, although it takes up a large part of the text of this plan, is scheduled for less than one percent of the land base over a five-year period."

Currently, the city maintains all but 4 of these fields by mowing every year. This promotes the growth of grasses.

Wildlife fields: prescribed burn or mow to rejuvenate grass and eliminate brush and weeds in "wildlife fields" (1990-95) and current operations

Location (lot and concession)	Area (ha)	Area by year (ha)					Current operations (mow annually)
		90-91	91-92	92-93	93-94	94-95
28-2a	3	3					Yes
28-2e	2	2					Yes
28-2i	1	1					Yes
28-2j	7	7					Yes
23-2l	2		2				Yes
21-2j	7		7				Yes
21-3c	2		2				No (now overgrown)
20-3g	1		1				No (now overgrown)
22-4i	2			2			Yes
21-4t	5			5			Yes
20-4f	6				6		Yes
19-4e	11				11		Yes
19-4c	6				6		Yes
17-5g	2					2	Yes
18-6e	2					2	No (now overgrown)
21-6c	1					1	No (now overgrown)
20-7h	5					5	Yes
Total	65	13	12	7	23	10	Yes

Approximate distribution of wildlife fields (see individual lot maps linked from table above for details)