Foresters

What Does a Foresters Do?

Manage public and private forested lands for economic, recreational, and conservation purposes. May inventory the type, amount, and location of standing timber, appraise the timber's worth, negotiate the purchase, and draw up contracts for procurement. May determine how to conserve wildlife habitats, creek beds, water quality, and soil stability, and how best to comply with environmental regulations. May devise plans for planting and growing new trees, monitor trees for healthy growth, and determine optimal harvesting schedules.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• 1Monitor contract compliance and results of forestry activities to assure adherence to government regulations.
• 2Negotiate terms and conditions of agreements and contracts for forest harvesting, forest management and leasing of forest lands.
• 3Plan and implement projects for conservation of wildlife habitats and soil and water quality.
• 4Establish short- and long-term plans for management of forest lands and forest resources.
• 5Plan cutting programs and manage timber sales from harvested areas, assisting companies to achieve production goals.
• 6Determine methods of cutting and removing timber with minimum waste and environmental damage.
• 7Perform inspections of forests or forest nurseries.
• 8Map forest area soils and vegetation to estimate the amount of standing timber and future value and growth.

Required Skills

• Active Listening
• Reading Comprehension
• Speaking
• Critical Thinking
• Writing
• Monitoring
• ESRI ArcGIS software
• ESRI ArcView
• Forest Metrix
• Forest vegetation simulators
• Forest yield software
• Fountains Forestry TwoDog
• Geographic information system GIS software
• Geographic information system GIS systems
• Global positioning system GPS software
• IBM Notes

Foresters Salary