>>1788016I only really know about california, but
>Weyerhauser>Green Diamond Resource Company>Sierra Pacific Industries>Humboldt Redwood Company>Mendocino Redwood Company>United States Forest Service>CALFIRE>Bureau of Land Managementall own land and hire foresters. there are also contract groups that hire foresters, but don't own land. the land owners hire them to fill in work on the property
>what do you actually doforestry in california has a licensing procedure that takes 7 years, culminating in a test. if you pass the test, you are a "Registered Professional Forester" (RPF), and can write "Timber Harvest Plans" (THPs). THPs include everything about the plan to harvest timber, such as:
>wildlife considerations>water quality>soil mitigation>replanting>cutting>trucking>roads>endangered species>did you fill the form out correctly>did you mail it in correctly>maps>does this make logical sense to do>notifying adjacent landowners>etc.it's a document several hundred pages long that details every minute aspect of the plan
Until you are a THP, you are either a forest tech, or a forester. you will be doing the grunt work on THPs, such as:
>hanging flagging in the forest around waterways>spraypainting trees to get cut>spraypainting trees to not get cut>looking for endangered species>looking for oldgrowth trees>doing inventory plots, or "cruising">making maps>random other bullshit that needs to be donePre RPF = manual labour field job, ~$50-60k/yr
RPF = half field, half desk job, ~$90k+
you need 7 years of experience or education to take the exam, which is incredibly difficult and has a low passrate of ~25%. after you pass, generally you will work under a more experienced RPF to write THPs, as they are complex and a legal document that can get you sued if you fuck up.
being a forester/tech is fun though, I enjoy it, and want to become an RPF some day
if you have any other questions i am more than welcome to answer them the best I can
