[3] Land development, led by the growth of the Golden Horseshoe, has had a major negative impact on forests in Southern Ontario.
At the time, the Ontario government was proposing changes to legislation including the Trees Act[5] and wetland policy.
[6] In 1996, the province established the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program due in part to OWSOA's lobbying.
After the ice storm of 1998 left forests in Eastern Ontario devastated, the OWA worked on behalf of landowners to get assistance with cleanup and restoration.
[7] The OWA was commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada to produce a report on firewood production in Southern Ontario.