The ability to pace off a distance with reasonable accuracy is useful for a variety of woodland management practices and is easy to master. A tape measure should be used when exact distances are critical such as when one needs to know the radii of a plot sample or determine exact property boundaries, but pacing can be used to find boundaries easily and reliably, to create transect lines for a sample cruise, to pace off 66 feet when calculating tree height with a scale stick to check the width of buffer zones, and to estimate the sizes of compartments.

Follow these steps to determine the length of your pace.

1. Starting with one foot, count a pace every time the opposite foot is put down. With a measuring tape or length of rope, mark off 100 feet in a moderately dense forest stand.

2. Using a normal, comfortable stride, pace the 100 feet about 4 times, noting each time the number of paces it takes to cover the distance. (Note: An exaggerated pace is less standard in length and impossible to maintain through forest cover.)

3. Divide the sum of the total number of paces by the number of times you paced the distance. This figure represents the average number of paces it took to walk the 100 feet.

4. The length of your pace will be equal to 100 feet divided by the average number of paces it took to travel the 100 feet (calculated in step 3).

Example 1
A person with an average pace of 5 feet wishes to find a boundary marker 138 yards away. How many paces will it take to cover this distance?

1. First convert 138 yards to feet: 138 yd. x 3 ft. = 414 ft.

2. Then divide the distance (in feet) by the pace length: 414 ft. divided by 5 ft. = 83 paces (rounded to the nearest whole pace).

Example 2
A person with an average pace of 5.6 feet found that a rectangular compartment measured 64 paces by 97 paces. What is the area (in acres) of the compartment?

1. First convert paces to feet: 64 paces x 5.6 = 358.4 ft., and 97 paces x 5.6 = 543.2 ft.

2. Next calculate the area of the compartment in square feet: area of a rectangle = length x width, so area = 358.4 ft x 543.2 ft. = 194,682.9 sq. ft.

3. Then divide the area of the compartment by the number of square feet in an acre (43,560): thus 194,682.9 sq. ft. divided by 43,560 sq. ft. = 4.5 acres.

Goff, G., Lassoie, J., Layer, K. Timber Management for Small Woodlands, Information Bulletin 180,           Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853