Forestry Manager

The Forestry Manager is responsible for overseeing the management and protection of forests in assigned counties or multi-county areas. This role involves supervising staff, examining landowner properties, and preparing timber management plans to enhance timber production, soil conservation, and disease control.

Key Responsibilities:

• Supervise a team of forestry workers, including interviewing, training, and evaluating their performance.
• Examine landowner properties and prepare timber management plans to meet their objectives.
• Approve invoices and expenditures within assigned areas and maintain a multi-county budget.
• Maintain forestry accomplishment data required for federal reimbursement.
• Provide technical assistance to landowners enrolled in state or federal forestry cost-share and grant programs.
• Ensure silviculture practices are completed in compliance with program standards and scientific forestry practices.
• Plan and supervise forestry projects, including determining tree species, planting, thinning, and monitoring growth.
• Analyze the effects of forest conditions on tree growth rates and species prevalence.
• Direct or perform mapping, measuring, and marking timber, and compute volume for harvest.
• Direct fire suppression efforts, assign fire crews, and coordinate with other organizations and agency personnel.
• Prepare scientific burn plans and work as burn boss on prescribed fires.
• Coordinate fire prevention and suppression efforts with volunteer fire departments and attend fire association meetings or training classes as required.
• Make presentations and supply information to schools, civic organizations, landowners, and others regarding services available through the Forestry Division and other state and federal organizations.

Requirements:

• Knowledge of forest management practices and techniques.
• Knowledge of fire prevention and suppression theories and methods.
• Knowledge of laws and regulations affecting fire control and forest management.
• Knowledge of supervisory practices and procedures.
• Knowledge of federal and state forestry programs available for forest landowners, communities, and fire departments.
• Ability to plan and coordinate work activities and monitor performance of subordinates.
• Ability to prepare and make public presentations and conduct forestry training.
• Ability to collect data, analyze needs assessments, and prepare written forest management recommendations for private and public forest landowners.
• Ability to operate computer programs such as Windows 365 and basic mapping and GPS skills.
• Proficient in written and oral communications.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Frequent twenty-four (24) hour on-call duty and frequent exposure to hazardous conditions while fighting fires and marking timber.
• Forestry Division Residency policy: Forest Rangers and Foresters must reside within the county of their work station/counties of responsibility, or reside within a distance that will allow for the employees to arrive at the work station and be in route to the emergency within a thirty-minute time period.
• Possess a valid Arkansas CDL drivers license or the ability to procure one.