Cultural Heritage Assessments

In many cases, land development in Ontario requires that a heritage assessment be conducted to ensure that cultural heritage resources will not be impacted by that development. Woodland Heritage Services will conduct the applicable Stage 1 through Stage 4 assessments to ensure compliance with The Ontario Heritage Act and also to ensure your responsibility towards cultural heritage resources as part of your overall development plans.

Cultural heritage resources are defined by the Ontario Government as including both known resources (recorded/registered locations and locations reported by First Nations) and high potential resources (as determined by archaeological predictive models). We will work closely with you or your clients (forest industry, transportation industry, mining industry, First Nations communities) and the Ontario Ministry of Culture to (1) identify the location of cultural heritage resources , and then (2) determine the most appropriate management strategy for ensuring the protection of that resources. We have developed innovative techniques to ensure the protection of cultural resources while concurrently striving to minimize the impact to the development in question. 

Woodland Heritage Services has many years of experience working with forest management planning teams in Northern Ontario. We have worked with major transportation development project along Hwy 69, Hwy 17, Hwy 11 and innumerable smaller highways across the north.  

Woodland Heritage Services has conducted cultural heritage assessments for wind farm developments, new hydro-electric projects, and existing hydro-electric project upgrades and improvements. 

Woodland Heritage Services has conducted numerous cultural heritage assessments for mining projects across northern Ontario - both large and small.

Additionally, we are internationally-recognized leaders in developing and applying models of archaeological site potential. We have also been involved in the development of cultural heritage policy for the OMNR and also in the revision of the Forest Management Guidelines for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Resources.