OTTAWA VALLEY
About The Section
Ottawa Valley Section
The Ottawa Valley Section (OVS) members are forest practitioners from Eastern Ontario and Western Québec. There are also members from New York State.
Our Objectives
- We encourage a wider understanding and appreciation of the forests of Canada and the practice of forestry among the general public, with particular emphasis on local issues;
- We advance our Members in their knowledge of the science and practice of forestry and to promote communications and camaraderie within the profession; and
- We promote respect for the ecological, economic and cultural importance of our forests.
What We Do
We deliver on our 3 objectives through events, field trips, AGM exchanges among members and monthly meetings of the OVS Council.
In partnership with CIF National, the OVS co-hosted the 2017 National AGM to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial 2017 Annual General Meeting and Conference. The Section was recognized for their efforts by awarding the Co-chairs (George Bruemmer and Jim Farrell) Outstanding Volunteer Awards in 2018.
OVS AGM
Click here to read about our 2026 AGM that took place on June 19, 2026.
Where We Are
The Ottawa Valley Section is in an area of great significance for indigenous peoples partly due to it being situated at the confluences of the Ottawa, Gatineau and Rideau Rivers. This includes the unceded territories of the Algonquin people (including nine separate communities in Québec) and to the east and south, the Mohawks, (including the communities of Akwasasne and Tyendinaga in Ontario) part of the Six Nation Confederacy.
In Ontario: The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville; Lanark County, The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry; The United Counties of Prescott & Russell; County of Frontenac; the southern portion of the County of Renfrew and the City of Ottawa.
In Québec: The Outaouais Administrative Region, the Regional County Municipality of Argenteuil and the City of Gatineau and, as revised from time to time by the National Board of Directors of the Institute. Neighbouring Sections include Southern Ontario and Central Ontario to the west and Algonquin Section and Orléans Section to the north and east.
Council Members
| POSITION | NAME |
| Chair | Ken Farr (kenfarr54@icloud.com) |
| Director | Roxanne Comeau |
| Vice Chair | |
| Treasurer | Kathryn Buchanan |
| Secretary | Joseph Anawati |
| Councillors | George Bruemmer |
| Mike Rosen | |
| Victor Brunette | |
| Alison Bijman | |
| Louis Campeau |
NEWS FEED
Keep Up With Section News
Past Section Events
Recent events include:
- Annual General Meeting – June 19, 2026
- December Forest Seminar – December 3, 2025
- Annual General Meeting – June 20, 2025
- Silver Ring Ceremony – April 2025
- Annual General Meeting – July 6, 2024
- OVS 2023 Annual General Meeting hosted at the Dominion Arboretum
- 2021 December Forestry Seminar, hosted jointly by the Eastern Ontario Model Forest / Ontario Woodlot Association, and the Canadian Institute of Forestry (Ottawa Valley Section). Wednesday December 8th, 2021, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Watch the recording here!
- Ring Ceremony, La Cité, Ottawa, 2019
- CIF AGM Ottawa, Forest History Tour, 2017
- Looking at thinning operations, CIF AGM, La Pêche, QC, 2016
- AGM 2015, Mill St. Brewery (site of former Thompson Perkins & Bronson Pulp Mill) With La Cité graduating class, 2015
- AGM 2014, Vanier Sugar Bush
Section Contact
Connect With Us
Follow us on social media to stay up to date with everything forestry related in this Section. If you have any questions or inquires, please feel free to contact our Section Director or Chair directly.
Jim Farrell
Ken Farr
