LiDAR: Mapping the forest
[Light Detection and Ranging]
Before LiDAR, we built forest inventories by walking sample plots of land and matching them to aerials photos. It worked and gave us estimates—but it lacked the precision needed for our modern supply chain.
Now we measure each tree.
LiDAR scans from an aircraft, sending thousands of laser pulses per second, each tied to a precise GPS coordinate. It maps terrain and forest structure across every meter. That's over 400 million data points in 20-by-20-meter grids across the lands we manage.
It's like an X-ray of the forest. Tree height, species mix, volume. Habitat features, watercourses, sensitive ground. The kind of detail that shapes long-term management plans and guides what happens on the ground each season.
A forester used to have to walk a block or fly over it to understand what was there. Now they know before they go. They can see which areas have the tree size the mill needs. They can match the right equipment to the terrain. They know where the water is, where the sensitive areas sit, what needs care.
LiDAR lets us create virtual models that predict growth and track sustainability across the entire landscape. It turned approximation into precision—and precision into better decisions.
We were among the earliest adopters of this technology for forest management in Canada.
