Working with companies in the forestry industry as well as with owners of private woodlots in Quebec's Lanaudiere region, Benoît, 35, surveys the forests that are slated to be harvested.

He analyzes the quality and volume of wood that needs to be cut, and checks the type and height of trees and their density, and the types of trees growing, among other things. He uses computer software called the Geographical Information System (GIS) to calculate the size of the area that will be worked on and helps the forestry engineer to decide which parts of the forest are to be cut.

Benoît also handles harvest identification by making a mark on the trunks of trees to be cut down and supervising the work crews who do the actual harvesting. He also selects the best place to build a path so that the workers and their machinery can get into the forest and the wood can be shipped out.

He also performs some forestry management tasks such as supervising silviculture -treeplanting - and forest regeneration operations. After the work crews have completed their job, Benoît returns to check that the work has been done properly, and to ensure that the results are as predicted. Then he writes up a final report.

Benoît also ensures that forestry company operations in the woods meet government regulations. Once the wood is in the lumberyard, a forestry harvesting technologist can also be called upon to measure the volume of trees that have been cut down for a sawmill or paper mill. He measures such things as the diameter of trees and checks for flaws on trunks.

"In a lumberyard you could have 5,000 cubic feet of trees, for example," Benoît says. "The wood is piled up on the ground and I measure the diameters and calculate how much wood is there. This will help the mill to determine how much it needs, to ensure that each sawmill is supplied with the precise amount." Then a Quebec government official checks to see that the measurements are correct.