A truckload of lumber is ready for transport. (CBC)

The Saskatchewan government has signed agreements allowing several private companies, communities and First Nations groups to log two million cubic metres of wood on Crown land in the province's north.

The Prince Albert Forest Management Agreement applies to 10 companies and First Nations groups and covers 3.3 million hectares, an area more than half the size of the province of Nova Scotia.

Before Thursday's announcement, logging rights in that area were managed by Domtar and held in the name of Weyerhaeuser.

Weyerhaeuser is the forest industry giant that once ran a pulp and paper mill in Prince Albert. It closed the mill in 2006, putting 700 people out of work.

The new entities that have been allocated in logging rights in the area are:

• Agency Chiefs Tribal Council
• C & C Wood Products (Carrot River)
• Carrier Lumber Ltd. (Prince Albert)
• Independent Forest Operators
• L & M Wood Products (L&M) (Glaslyn)
• Meadow Lake Mechanical Pulp
• Meadow Lake OSB
• Montreal Lake Cree Nation
• NorSask Forest Products Inc. (Meadow Lake)
• Northern Village of Green Lake

However, some operations that were once active in the industry were left out. The Big River sawmill did not receive any wood allocation at all. A potential buyer has said it will move the mill out of the province if it does not receive logging rights.

The province said the wood allocations will become official once consultations are concluded with the area's First Nations.