Silverculturist
To develop and manage forests by determining what to grow, where to grow it, how long to keep it and when to cut it.
Like their counterparts, the urban foresters, silviculturists devote
their careers to the cultivation and care of forests. While urban
foresters focus on single tree specimens, silviculturists look at
stands of trees between 10 and 30 acres and determine the volume for
commercial output taking into account the factors of disease, soil,
water, climate and different species.
Currently, opportunities for silviculturists on public forests are
scarce as budgets for agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service continue
to be cut back. Private industry, such as large companies that own
forest land, employs silviculturists to manage the land and preserve
the integrity of the forest.
Silviculturists need a minimum of a four-year degree from an approved
forestry program. Those fortunate enough to be hired by the U.S. Forest
Service also receive additional training equivalent to a Master's
Degree.
"To enjoy this career, you need to like working in the woods with maps
and compasses," said Cathy Roach, the only silviculturist working on
Sequoia National Forest. Roach spends much of her time working alone
and also works on teams with wildlife biologists, fuel specialists and
economists as they work to determine the long-term effects of different
forest projects.
Recent advances in technology and computer software development have
meant sweeping changes in the way silviculturists conduct their work.
Initially, Roach conducts sample inventories of ecosystems found in a
stand of trees being studied. That information is then compiled into a
computer data base for analysis.
Using the new GIS (Geographic Information Systems), Roach integrates
the information from several data bases to create maps that allow her
to project the different layers of the ecosystem, such as streams,
vegetation and roads, to determine how they interact with one another.
Computers also allow Roach to conduct forest modeling. Using a program
similar to the Sim City computer game, Roach is able to simulate and
project the effects of different management strategies on a particular
stand of trees in the forest.
Roach is using this approach in her work on Alta Sierra, California, a
small community in the Greenhorn Mountains situated inside Sequoia
National Forest. Located in an area that has regularly experienced
catastrophic wildfires that consume more than 25,000 acres, the
community, which has not burned since 1910, has been a focal point for
fire prevention efforts by Roach and other members of the U.S. Forest
Service.
Through her work and use of computer modeling, Roach has helped design
a prevention program to reduce the chances of tragedy in the small
community and perhaps alter the pattern of wildfires in the area.
Requires: 4 year degree plus experience and computer skills.
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