The forest industry supplied by Algonquin Park timber is comprised of sawmills, hardwood veneer mills, a pole plant and pulp mills which are wholly or partly dependent on this vital source of raw material. The Algonquin Park forest provides approximately 44% of the volume harvested annually from Crown forests in Central and Eastern Ontario.
This wood supply supports mills in communities such as Huntsville, Whitney, Madawaska, Killaloe, Pembroke, Eganville and Palmer Rapids. There are 9 mills receiving part or most of their supply from the Park on a regular basis while another 15 – 20 mills receive periodic supplies.
There are over 285 people employed in Algonquin woods activities and over 4,000 people employed in the mills. With approximately 3 indirect jobs created for every direct job in the forest industry, over 13,000 additional jobs are created from sustainable forest management in Algonquin Provincial Park.
In 2020/2021, sales values of forest products by the Algonquin Forestry Authority were $23.3 million. Contractors engaged from communities in the region were paid $21.2 million, and the AFA had a net income of $71,206. The AFA is financially self-sufficient with no cost to the taxpayers.
Based on a 2020/2021 harvest level of 417,207 m3, the Algonquin Park Forest contributed $350 million to the Ontario economy in terms of value added.
A number of forest products are produced because of the wide variety of tree species available in the Park. These include:
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- Hardwood lumber for furniture, flooring and crating
- Softwood lumber for construction, paneling and finishing
- Utility poles
- Pulp and paper and packaging products
- Oriented strandboard
- Fuelwood
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