The shock announcement came during a public meeting organised by MP Russell Brown at the McMillan Hall in Newton Stewart where around 150 people turned out to fire questions at the MP, Galloway's Forestry Commission conservancy officer John Dougan and a trade union official.
A sea of concerned faces listened as Forestry Trade Union representative Robert Beaney revealed the horrifying figure.
To gasps of shock and anger, he said: "Just before leaving for this meeting, I did receive a phone call telling me the figure being talked about for the leasing out of Galloway Forest Park is 40 per cent.
"It will also add up to one third of all forestry production in Scotland."
Mr Beaney added that final numbers and sites would be whittled down throughout this week.
MP Mr Brown told the audience: "I will hold my hands up and say that I do believe this will signal job losses. I do believe that outside companies will march in here and make as much profit as possible off the backs of others and this will mean a degree of pain for us."
He added: "As a lifelong trade unionist, I have no problem offering my support for the objectors to these plans and I'm sorry if that offends some, but I do hope that those who are in support of these plans will speak up just as much as those who are not."
The MP had been criticised at the start of the meeting via a statement from Environment Minister Mike Russell, who was unable to attend, which claimed that Mr Brown had deliberately arranged the meeting for a time when he knew the political diary wouldn't allow his attendance.
Mr Brown refuted such claims and said that he had hoped the minister would be able to attend to give the people some answers, but that a change of date would have caused inconvenience for members of the public who wouldn't have had time to be informed.
The scathing statement, read out by one of Mr Russell's representatives who left after the final paragraph, added that the climate change proposals had been misinterpreted in the press by Mr Brown and the Lib Dems (see full text on page 10).
Upon hearing this, a member of the public stood up and announced his disgust that such a statement should be read aloud.
He said: "I think it's very inappropriate for that to have been read out in Mike Russell's absence. If he wants to say those things then he should be here to say them."
Following a round of applause, Mr Brown said: "I know this town has an exceedingly good community council so if they wish to invite Mr Russell here to talk to us, perhaps he might accept."
Another disgruntled voice called out: "Without Mr Russell or a representative being here, how can we convey to him what we're saying?" Mr Dougan said that he would "endeavour to pass on the feeling".
Cree Valley Community Council member Jo Chambers said: "I think that to get our voice across, we need every single person here to be writing letters as part of the consultation process or we'll be ignored.
"I also feel the government are using climate change as a way of selling off the family silver and we have to ask how this will affect out children and our grandchildren. We are yet to hear how this will enhance our climate - all we know is what is being taken away."
Mr Beaney agreed and said: "We are being given guarantees from Mr Russell that there will be no job losses. We are being guaranteed there will be limited loss of recreation areas. But what we are not being guaranteed is how these things will be protected.
"We would like to make it clear that we have no problem with the climate change bill as a whole - what we are concerned about is the leasing out of forestry land and Mr Russell has not gone into detail of how that will work."
A vote was taken at the close of the meeting on those for and those against the proposals and a massive 104 people voted against, with the rest choosing not to vote. No one voted in support of the plans.
Mr Dougan again said he would be happy to pass on the feelings of the people in attendance to Mr Russell and added that the consultation is still ongoing.
If you have any queries about the consultation, contact Liz Kirk at Forestry Commission Scotland on liz.kirk@forestry.gsi.gov.uk or call 0131 334 0303.
* WE would like to point out that, at last week's Cree Valley Community Council meeting, Andrew Shankland referred to areas of the Galloway Forest Park being "alienated" for decades, and not as reported.