A coalition of First Nations, environmentalists and businesses has proposed making half of Canada’s northern forest exempt from logging and other industrial development.
The group, which incorporates lumber companies Domtar and Tembec, has agreed that an area of about one million square miles in the boreal forest should remain ecologically intact. The forest is home to bears, wolves and caribou.
The plan would need to be approved by the national and local governments, as 90% of the land is publicly-owned.
