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Part of Forestry

Forest harvest operations

Alberta supports sustainable forest management through controlled timber harvesting and efficient harvesting techniques.

Overview

Forests, one of Alberta's most important resources, provide many benefits to society. Alberta's government is committed to ensuring that Alberta has strong, healthy forests for future generations to enjoy. Alberta supports a policy of sustainable forest management designed to provide ecological, economic, social and cultural opportunities for the benefit of present and future generations. This means that the amount of timber harvesting is controlled to ensure that it does not exceed the sustainable level represented by the approved Annual Allowable Cut (AAC).

The AAC is the volume of timber perpetually available for harvest. It is the current best estimate of the annual timber growth occurring in the forest. The AAC is monitored by periodically analyzing data on the state of the forest area and its growth rate.

Alberta has demonstrated commitment to the principles of sustainable forest management and responsible stewardship. Alberta is continually monitoring research results and seeking improved information.

As well, new practices and technology allow Alberta's forest product companies to use virtually all the wood harvested, operate more efficiently and generate fewer emissions.

Scaling Standards of Alberta

The Alberta Timber Scaling Manual provides the standards of measurement used to determine the quantity and quality of timber harvested in Alberta.

In addition, the manual provides information about compiling and reporting harvest data and describes non-standard scale methods used to estimate volumes of decked and stacked timber.

This manual is authorized under Section 99 of the Timber Management Regulation, pursuant to Section 5 of the Forests Act. For details, search for "Forests Act" and "Timber Management Regulation" on the Alberta King's Printer website at:

Related Links

Timber Scaling Forms

See Forestry forms – Timber Scaling Forms for downloadable macros.

Micro Logscale System

In order to meet timber scaling standards, mills within Alberta are required to scale using the Smalian log scale method and to submit the data to the government in an approved format.

A Windows-based Micro Logscale System program (Mscale Version 1.1.0.0) was developed to help mills calculate log volumes using Smalian in an approved format. This information is submitted to the Timber Production and Revenue System (TPRS), a government computer system.

Copyright and Licence Agreement

All proprietary rights, including copyright in the software, its documentation and data, are owned by and shall remain the property of the Government of Alberta (the "Crown"). All rights reserved.

The Crown makes no warranty or representations of any kind with respect to the software, its use, suitability or application for any purpose. The Crown, its officials, Ministers, employees and contractors shall have no liability or responsibility for any loss or damage whatsoever arising from or as a result of the use of this software.

To run the self-install Micro Logscale System Program:

  1. Choose one of the 3 Micro Logscale Programs below. Click on the link to save the zipped setup file to your hard drive.
  2. To unzip the program file, double-click the zipped file where you saved it.
  3. To install the program, double-click the unzipped .exe file and follow the instructions.
  4. Accept all defaults. Wait for each step to finish completely.
  5. Restart your computer.

Download the Micro Logscale System (Mscale) Programs

By downloading the following program files, you have agreed to the terms and conditions of the License Agreement for the Micro Logscale software.

For answers to technical questions regarding Micro Logscale, contact: Glenn Dobransky, Timber Scaling Supervisor