On any given day in her Hay River office, Lisa will be directing field crews as they report in from field sampling programs, and talking with contractors as they carry out very specialized field and mapping projects. She also talks with and advises regional foresters, First Nations representatives and community members about forest inventory in their area. Lisa's work requires strong organizational skills and the ability to co-ordinate several projects at the same time. Most of all, the work requires dedication to carrying out the goals of the forest inventory program which one day will result in complete and comprehensive inventory for the whole of the forested area of the NWT.

In the most simple terms, forest inventory is a survey of a forest area to determine such data as area, condition, timber, tree volumes ( how much wood is in a tree) and species (what type of tree) for a specific purpose, such as planning, purchasing, evaluating, managing or harvesting. Lisa's work involves co-ordinating and managing people who map the forest; where it occurs and its full extent, examining forest growth patterns, and its productivity. Lisa develops plans and provides advice to other resource managers and forest users on how sustainable proposed forest management and development projects are.

Inventory work is very complex and requires superior knowledge of math, sciences, forestry, geography and strong analytical skills. Lisa uses a wide array of tools and technology to do this, including computer systems, field sampling equipment, geographic information systems, and complex wood supply formulas and analysis models.

Lisa has an eye for detail and knows the NWT very well as a result of her travels for work and also as a result of seeing the North through detailed maps and satellite images.
She also knows the North because she has lived nearly all of her life in Hay River except for time away in the south studying for a degree at University.

The more information we have about our northern forests the better we can manage them so that our children and grandchildren will have healthy forests in their future. We can thank people like Lisa Smith who help us to learn more about them.