Fred's Forest Fred's Forest, an offspring of SYLVER , is an interactive forest management game and training tool. Players manage a woodlot for profit, selecting method of regeneration, initial density, spacing, pruning, and harvest age. Each treatment, and the subsequent development of the stand, is displayed with 3-dimensional graphics, followed by a score (net discounted profit). Fred's Forest is billed as a game, but its real purpose is to show the public, and kids in particular, that trees really grow and can be managed for their benefit. Fred's Forest sets the stage for in-depth training, and the use of FAN$Y. Overview of Fred's Forest Who is Fred? Fred is an enterprising and conscientious chap who grew up in the city, attended agricultural school and purchased a rural farm which he and his family operate. They love the natural lifestyle of managing the farm. You and Fred shared a room and good times while you studied forestry. Fred has just been granted a woodlot licence, and has asked you to help him manage it. The woodlot is next to Fred's farm, where he grows corn and keeps a pasture for his cows and a few sheep. The size of the woodlot is 40 hectares (about 100 acres). It is on public land on the coast of British Columbia. Half of the woodlot land is picturesque -- a small lake and hilly terrain where Fred has decided he will manage for wildlife and recreation interests. The other half was logged just before the woodlot licence was awarded. It is comprised of three areas which are of different productivity, fairly flat and well-suited to growing trees for lumber. One area is a little rocky, but still is quite suitable for growing trees. The second area is better, with no rocks. The third area is near the lake. The land is fertile there and trees will grow quickly. Fred wants to plant a new crop of trees on each area, but is not sure how many. He also wonders how to make sure that they grow big and healthy over the next 40 years or more. Some day, Fred's family will want to harvest the trees and make a profit when they are sold. Objective The objective of this game is to help Fred manage a portion of his woodlot for growing trees. You think you know how to help him (and his kids) make as much money as possible. You have to advise Fred: - how many trees to plant, or if he should allow natural seed-in, - how to look after the trees (Should he thin out trees? Should he prune the trees?), and - at what age he should harvest the trees. When the trees are harvested, they will be bucked into logs and sent to a nearby sawmill to be sawn into lumber. The lumber will be sold, hopefully paying for the costs of planting, managing and harvesting. If you give Fred good advice, he will make a worthwhile profit. If you spend too much on managing the forest, he will suffer a loss. Being a good friend, you want him to make a profit! Good luck!! Background Fred's Forest was developed using SYLVER , a stand-level system that simulates the impact of Silviculture on Yield, Lumber Value and Economic Return. Sample images. Fred's Forest v3.10 is distributed via CD-ROM, which can optionally be loaded on to a local or network hard drive. It operates under Microsoft Windows or Apple's MacOS. Bug Alert A script error has been found when running Fred's Forest V 3.1 using Windows NT 4.0 or greater. To solve this problem please re-install Fred's Forest following the on-screen instructions and select the installation for "Personal - Win3.1 (5Kb)" option.

Last Modified: 2000 JUL 17. Ministry contact: Mario Di Lucca. Webmaster: For.Prodres@gov.bc.ca