the forests of ontario are a vast resource owned by the crown that has been subjected to many methods of forest management since the beginning of ontario as a province. the forest resource was thought of as inexhaustible at first and was exploited greatly. it was soon realized that there was a need for sustainable forest management. the progression of aerial photography and the advancement of both airplane and camera technology have greatly advanced forestry in ontario. enhanced forest resource inventory (efri) and growth and yield (g&y) programs were set up to collect data for various methods of forest modelling. with the advancement of technology also came light detection and ranging (lidar) technology that can take various measurements via laser pulses creating multispectral data layers with accurate measurements helpful to forest managers when in planning phases. advancing with the times also includes the updating of policies and legislation for the forests in ontario to better guide forest management when creating operational plans. there is a brief description and comparison on the current status of forest operations and the status of the efri programs in finland that have taken place for nearly a century and where they are placing their focus today for the best outcomes in g&y in the future.