Service Forester

the South Dakota State Government•Rapid City, SD

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

This position will work with DANR's Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) projects throughout the Black Hills of South Dakota. The goal of the GNA Program is to accelerate the pace, scale, and quality of forest restoration to increase the resilience of South Dakota's forests. The GNA Forester works with their federal counterparts to develop agreements and/or contracts that lead to completion of projects as outlined in the GNA agreements. They will be responsible for reviewing, planning and implementing forest and watershed restoration activities, through the use of service contracts and timber sale contracts. This position will work with forest contractors and purchasers to accomplish GNA work that adheres to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. The forester will consider ground-based logging feasibility and resource protection measures, such as best management practices when performing layout activities. Additional duties potentially include forest management assistance, coordinate, and administer forestry activities and programs with individual landowners, city or county governments or agencies, and conservation districts; provide technical assistance; write forest stewardship plans; provide educational information to ensure effective conservation practices related to trees, forests, tree insect and disease identification and management, and the protection of the state's resources. Day travel is frequent, and overnight trips will average about 2-3 nights per month. Normal work hours will be 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Requirements

Formal education or experience in forestry or a related natural resource profession.
Ability to coordinate and work with diverse forestry interests, federal agency and industry representative, public and state officials.
Ability to adapt to ever changing work priorities.
Comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people.
Ability to explain complex forestry concepts and practices in easy to understand terms.
Self-starter and ability to work under general supervision.
Working knowledge of computers, Microsoft Office Professional software, and geographic information systems such as ArcPro.
Ability to operate a four-wheel drive truck safely on primitive roads or in offroad areas.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
Strong forest management and silviculture background and experience.
Knowledge of federal environmental protection laws and regulations.
Knowledge of: dendrology, arboriculture; biology; biometrics and botany; forest ecology, mensuration; forest entomology and forest pathology; geographic information systems (ArcPro, field maps, etc.); horticulture, hydrology, plant physiology, and silviculture; range and timber management; National Environmental Policy Act; forest fire management, forest insects and diseases, tree biology, forest economics, forest planning; project design and management, urban forestry, agroforestry, and forest certification programs.
Skill to use a variety of forestry tools and equipment; use clinometers, diameter tapes, prisms, increment borers, data recorders, hypsometers, global positioning systems to collect data; interpret these data.
Ability to work productively in a remote field location with limited supervision.
Ability to prioritize work to complete all assigned tasks correctly and on-time.
Ability to drive a 4-wheel drive truck in a variety of weather conditions.
Ability to use forestry tools for measuring purposes: clinometer, hypsometer, biltmore stick, measuring wheel, compass, GPS, data recorders.
Ability to conduct literature and technical reference searches.
Ability to conduct soil survey research.
Ability to use and interpret topographic maps.
Ability to use Microsoft Office products: Word, Outlook, Access, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint.
Ability to use digital graphic software, mapping programs, and GPS information uploading, downloading, and interpretation.
Ability to write professional and technical reports that can be understood by both professional and lay persons.
Ability to deal tactfully with others.
Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, or with a group in a team setting.
Ability to establish and maintain working relationships with co-workers and the public.
Ability to keep records.

Nice To Haves

Formal education or experience in forestry or a related natural resource profession.
Ability to coordinate and work with diverse forestry interests, federal agency and industry representative, public and state officials.
Ability to adapt to ever changing work priorities.
Comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people.
Ability to explain complex forestry concepts and practices in easy to understand terms.
Self-starter and ability to work under general supervision.
Working knowledge of computers, Microsoft Office Professional software, and geographic information systems such as ArcPro.
Ability to operate a four-wheel drive truck safely on primitive roads or in offroad areas.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
Strong forest management and silviculture background and experience.
Knowledge of federal environmental protection laws and regulations.
Knowledge of: dendrology, arboriculture; biology; biometrics and botany; forest ecology, mensuration; forest entomology and forest pathology; geographic information systems (ArcPro, field maps, etc.); horticulture, hydrology, plant physiology, and silviculture; range and timber management; National Environmental Policy Act; forest fire management, forest insects and diseases, tree biology, forest economics, forest planning; project design and management, urban forestry, agroforestry, and forest certification programs.
Skill to use a variety of forestry tools and equipment; use clinometers, diameter tapes, prisms, increment borers, data recorders, hypsometers, global positioning systems to collect data; interpret these data.
Ability to work productively in a remote field location with limited supervision.
Ability to prioritize work to complete all assigned tasks correctly and on-time.
Ability to drive a 4-wheel drive truck in a variety of weather conditions.
Ability to use forestry tools for measuring purposes: clinometer, hypsometer, biltmore stick, measuring wheel, compass, GPS, data recorders.
Ability to conduct literature and technical reference searches.
Ability to conduct soil survey research.
Ability to use and interpret topographic maps.
Ability to use Microsoft Office products: Word, Outlook, Access, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint.
Ability to use digital graphic software, mapping programs, and GPS information uploading, downloading, and interpretation.
Ability to write professional and technical reports that can be understood by both professional and lay persons.
Ability to deal tactfully with others.
Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, or with a group in a team setting.
Ability to establish and maintain working relationships with co-workers and the public.
Ability to keep records.

Responsibilities

Timber Sale and Service Work Preparation and Layout - Field reconnaissance, stream or other surveys, boundary positioning and marking, and identification of and documentation of resources present.
Timber marking.
Draft and implement a timber cruise plan.
Conduct timber appraisals.
Identify appropriate harvest operations and systems, create logging plans.
Road layout and assessment of road condition and maintenance needs, new road construction and improvement needs including layout and marking in the field.
Reviewing stream layers, stream buffers, stream classification, road layers and other environmental concerns in Arc GIS software.
Contract Preparation and Administration - Prepares timber and service work contracts.
Conduct pre-operations meetings with Purchaser to clarify expectations and review contract requirements.
Understand and adhere to the NEPA requirements and mitigations measures when preparing timber sale contracts.
Ensure contractor/operators adhere to the provisions of the timber sale contract.
Track volumes harvest and enter required information into tracking databases to ensure billing is both timely and accurate.
Conduct periodic checks on accomplished work to ensure the prescription and contract requirements are being adhered to.