Ontario's Wood Measurement System

In Ontario, no person can remove harvested Crown forest resources (trees) from the place of harvest unless they have been measured. The Wood Measurement program is responsible for directing and controlling the measurement of Crown forest resources in the province of Ontario. These responsibilities are carried out under the authority of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA) and include: setting the standards and conducting audits for the movement and measurement of Crown forest resources (scaling), training and certification of government and forest industry personnel on scaling, auditing, and utilization standards, the determination of volumes/values for harvested Crown forest resources, and the management of this information.

There are several methods of scaling which are approved for use in Ontario. The Scaling Manual provides direction for the measurement of Crown forest resources in Ontario and sets out each method that can be used depending on factors such as the type of wood, its size, whether it is measured prior to harvesting, has been felled, skidded and piled, or whether it is in its final product stage.

Scalers must measure Crown forest resources according to the instructions and standards described in this Manual. Certified scalers must be able to identify tree species, recognize defects, identify deductions for various types of defects and provide accurate measurement information according to the Manual. All scalers are required to be certified before they can measure Crown forest resources. All training, testing and certification of scalers is carried out by the Wood Measurement Program.

A Provincial Scaling Course and a Scaling Refresher Course are presented annually.