Forest Ecosystem Solutions Ltd.

Pricing Area Selection Tool (PAST)

In response to the initiative of the Bill 28 Takeback, Forest Ecosystem Solutions Ltd. designed the Pricing Area Selection Tool (PAST) to help licensees select areas for takeback, which minimize the economic and logisitical impact on their licenses and meet the requirements of the MOF attribute profile.

The purpose of the selection tool is to incorporate the licensee’s interests into the selection of takeback areas that satisfy the MOF’s target profile. The tool uses heuristic algorithms to balance three objectives:

  1. Match the MOF Profile – woodsheds are selected such that the sum of their attributes is as close as possible to the MOF’s target profile.
  2. Minimize the impact on the licensee – The licensee’s preference for some woodsheds over others is incorporated into a priority rating of woodsheds that reflects the relative value of woodsheds to the licensee, including factors related to infrastructure/access, timber value, harvesting cost, and politics. Woodsheds with low value ratings are given preference for takeback.
  3. Provide spatially aggregated solutions – The tool can provide aggregated solutions for situations where licenses are required to provide spatially contiguous takeback units.

The relative weight of these objectives can be adjusted, allowing the user to create custom scenarios and refine solutions. The tool is compatible with ESRI ArcView and ArcMap, allowing the user to instantly view and adjust solutions.