An “Area of Concern” (AOC) is a geographic area within an area of operations which is adjacent to an identified natural resource feature, land use or value that may be affected by forest management activities. – Glossary, Forest Management Planning Manual for Ontario’s Crown Forests
Non-timber forest values are identified in the initial stages of the planning process from:
AOC prescriptions are made for individual values or groups of values to ensure that limitations and requirements are specific to different values. Prescriptions can include no harvest buffers around values, timing restrictions on when operations can be done, or both.
For instance, when an active great blue heronry – or rookery – is found, forest management is modified to minimize any potential negative impacts by maintaining the visual integrity of the area and not disrupting the birds during the nesting season. This is accomplished through:
