Private Forest Land Map for Canadian Forest Management

A 2017 geospatial map layer identifies private lands within Canada's managed forest zones. Provincial and territorial land ownership datasets were used, with proxies applied where detailed data was unavailable, such as classifying lands south of Saskatchewan's Commercial Forest Zone as Private. The data was compiled by natural resource departments from all Canadian provinces and territories.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial distribution of private forest lands (Managed Forest Code 50) relative to public lands for policy development.
• Overlay the private land layer with other forest management data to assess land ownership patterns in commercial forestry zones.
• Use the provincial and territorial land ownership data sources to validate or augment regional land cover classifications.

Strengths

• Data sourced from official natural resource departments of all 13 Canadian provinces and territories.
• Specifically created for a national-scale 2017 Story Map of Forest Management in Canada.

Limitations

• Detailed ownership data was not available in all jurisdictions, requiring the use of proxy classification methods.
• The map includes a known classification error in Saskatchewan where some Crown lands are labeled as Private.
• The dataset is a single snapshot from 2017 and may not reflect current land ownership changes.

Provenance

Source

Alberta Agriculture and Forestry; British Columbia Ministry of Forests; Manitoba Sustainable Development; Natural Resources Canada; New Brunswick Department of Energy and Resource Development; Newfoundland & Labrador Department of Fisheries and Land Resources; Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; Prince Edward Island Department of Communities, Land & Environment; Québec Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs; Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment; Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources.

Collection Method

Compiled from provincial and territorial land ownership datasets, with proxy classifications used where necessary.

Time Range

2017

Freshness

null

Geography

Canada