Profession forestry technician

Forestry technicians assist and support the forest manager and implement their decisions. They supervise a team of forestry equipment operators and support and supervise forestry and environmental protection through research and data collection. They also manage resource conservation and harvesting plans.

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Personality Type

• Realistic / Enterprising

Knowledge

• Logging

  The process of felling, cutting trees and transforming them into timber, including mechanical felling and processing.

• Forest ecology

  The ecosystems existing in a forest, starting from bacteria to trees and soil types.

• Fire-fighting systems

  The devices and systems used to extinguish fires; the classes and chemistry of fire.

• Environmental policy

  Local, national and international policies dealing with the promotion of environmental sustainability and the development of projects which reduce negative environmental impact and improve the state of the environment.

Skills

• Vegetation control

  Spray vegetation by the sides of roads to control its encroachment on forest roads.

• Provide first aid

  Administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation or first aid in order to provide help to a sick or injured person until they receive more complete medical treatment.

• Supervise forestry workers

  Supervise and coordinate the staff that works in the forestry areas.

• Apply forest legislation

  Ability to efficiently apply forest legislation and principles.

• Perform tree thinning

  Remove some trees from a stand in order to improve tree health, timber value and production.

• Maintain forest roads

  Inspect the forest roads in order to spot malfunctions, such as fallen trees, and organise repair processes.

• Manage forest fires

  Protect life, property and resources by preventing forest fires. Detect, control, restrict and suppress fires when they occur. Integrate knowledge of fire regimes, the effects of fire and the values at risk, the required level of forest protection, and costs of fire-related activities.

• Apply prescribed herbicides

  Carry out, under supervision and as authorised, the spraying of prescribed herbicides in accordance with training and skills acquired, using manufacturers’ application rates, in accordance with materials safety data sheets and any formal procedure and practice in place, and for which clearance has been issued.

• Monitor work site

  Regularly ensure that working conditions on site meet health and safety requirements; ensure that the proposed work will not pose a threat to the physical integrity of others.

• Conduct reforestation surveys

  Determine the maintenance and distribution of seedling . Identify disease and damage done by animals. Prepare and submit notifications, written plans and budgets for reforestation.

• Operate forestry equipment

  Operate various forest instruments such as skidders, bulldozers to pull scarification or site preparation equipment over forest areas to be regenerated.

• Monitor logging operations

  Ensure that logging operation follow the contractually agreed terms and specified procedures. Strive to solve any problems that arise during the operation. Improve on existing methods and ensure compliance with safety, company, and government regulations.

• Maintain forestry equipment

  Check forestry equipment to make sure that it is in working order.

• Plant green plants

  Plant seeds manually or by using ground equipment.

• Coordinate timber sales

  Efficiently coordinate timber selling in a profitable way. Assist companies in reaching timber production goals by managing timber sales. Takes lead role in timber sale layout and road location activities including clearing and posting timber sale boundaries, cruising timber to determine volumes and grade and marking trees to be removed in commercial thinning operations.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB