A forester is a person who practises

forest management Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, forest protection, and forest regulation. This includes man ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

, the science, art, and profession of managing

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

. Foresters manage forests to provide a variety of objectives including direct extraction of

raw material A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials/Intermediate goods that are feedstock for future finished ...

outdoor recreation Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

, conservation, hunting and aesthetics. Emerging management practices include managing forestlands for

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. It plays a crucial role in Climate change mitigation, limiting climate change by reducing the amount of Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide in the atmosphe ...

and air quality. Foresters work for the timber industry, government agencies, conservation groups, local authorities, urban parks boards, citizens' associations, and private landowners. The forestry profession includes a wide diversity of jobs, with educational requirements ranging from college bachelor's degrees to PhDs for highly specialized work. Industrial foresters plan forest regeneration starting with careful harvesting. Urban foresters manage trees in urban green spaces. Foresters work in tree nurseries growing

seedlings A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...

for woodland creation or regeneration projects. Foresters improve tree

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

. Forest engineers develop new building systems. Professional foresters measure and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

the growth of forests with tools like geographic information systems. Foresters may combat

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

infestation, disease, forest and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

, but increasingly allow these natural aspects of forest

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

to run their course when the likelihood of

epidemics An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of Host (biology), hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example ...

or risk of life or property are low. Increasingly, foresters participate in wildlife conservation planning and watershed protection. Foresters have been mainly concerned with timber management, especially

reforestation Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Three important purpose ...

, forests at prime conditions, and fire control. Many people confuse the role of the forester with that of the logger, but most foresters are concerned not only with the harvest of timber, but also with the sustainable management of forests. The forester Jack C. Westoby remarked that "forestry is concerned not with trees, but with how trees can serve people".

Career

United States

The median salary of foresters in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

was $53,750, in 2008. Beginning foresters without bachelor's degrees make considerably less. Those with master's degrees are able to command salaries closer to the average. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation considers the

Society of American Foresters The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is a professional organization representing the forestry industry in the United States. Its mission statement declares that it seeks to "advance the science, education, and practice of forestry; to enhance t ...

as the principal accreditor for academic degree programs in professional forestry, both at a

Bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

and Master's level. Usually a bachelor's degree is considered the minimum education required, but some individuals are able to secure a job without a college education based on their experience. Some states have a licensing requirement for foresters, and most of those require at least a four-year degree. Foresters are often employed by private industry, federal and state

land management Land management is the process of managing the land use, use and development of land resources. Those resources are used for a variety of purposes for example agriculture, forestry, water resource management, Human settlement, human settlements an ...

agencies, or private consulting firms.

Medieval foresters

Forester was a title used widely during

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

times. The forester usually held a position equal to a sheriff or local law enforcer, and he could act as a barrister or arbiter. He was often based in a forester's lodge, and was responsible for patrolling the woodlands on a lord or noble's property, hence the synonymous term 'woodward'. His duties included negotiating sales of lumber and timber and stopping poachers from illegally hunting. Frequently outlaws would take refuge in heavily wooded regions. When this occurred it was the duty of the forester to organize armed posses to capture or disperse the criminals and during war time foresters were used as scouts to spy on enemy troop movement. The pay and status of foresters was usually above average, reflecting the responsibility of their role in a medieval environment and economy.

Notable foresters

Margaret Stoughton Abell Margaret Stoughton Abell (June 25, 1908 – February 22, 2004) was an American forester. Early life On June 25, 1908, Abell was born as Margaret Stoughton in Osage, Iowa. Abell's father was Herbert Leonard Stoughton. Abell's mother was ...

(1908–2004) - First American research forester in US Forest Service. * Dietrich Brandis (1824–1907) * Ralph E. Brock (1881–1959), first Black forester in the United States * John Ednie Brown (1848–1899) * Aimo Cajander (1879–1943) - Professor of forestry and Director-General of Forest and Park Service in Finland. * Carl von Carlowitz (1645–1714) - Father of sustainable yield forestry *

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

(1343–1400) * Hugh Francis Cleghorn (1820–1895) * Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683) *

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...

(1620–1706) * Bernhard Fernow (1851–1923) * Douglas Hamilton (1820–1895) * Georg Ludwig Hartig (1764–1837) * Ralph Hosmer (1874–1963) * Jens Hvass * Norman Jolly (1882–1954) * Charles Lane Poole (1885–1970) *

Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American writer, Philosophy, philosopher, Natural history, naturalist, scientist, Ecology, ecologist, forester, Conservation biology, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a profes ...

(1887–1948) *

Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the the essay ...

(1533–1592) Man of essays and wood"*

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...

(1838–1914) Father of National Parks"* Herman von Nördlinger (1818–1897) *

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsyl ...

(1865–1946) * Christian Ditlev Frederik Reventlow (1748–1827) * Roy Robinson, 1st Baron Robinson (1883–1952) * Viktor Schauberger (1885–1958) * Carl A. Schenck (1868–1955) * Sir William P.D. Schlich (1840–1925) * F.X. Schumacher (1892–1967) * Richard St. Barbe Baker (1889–1982) Global Forester/Environmentalist * Israel af Ström (1778–1856) * Michael Taylor (b. 1966) - American Forester who discovered Hyperion (tree) and many tall redwood trees. * T. B. Walker (1840–1928) * Jack C. Westoby (1913–1988)Leslie, Alf. 1989. "Obituary: Jack C. Westoby, C.M.G., 1913-1988," ''New Zealand Forestry'', August, p.28.
Accessed: May 7, 2012. * Peter Wohlleben - German forester. * Raphael Zon (1874–1956) * Frank H. Wadsworth (1915–2022)

References

External links

SAF Accredited Professional Forestry Degree ProgramsSAF Recognized Forest Technology Degree ProgramsCenter for International Forestry ResearchInternational Union of Forest Research OrganizationsFAO Forestry Department

The National Forest (England)Forestry Commission (Great Britain)
{{Authority control Foresters History of forestry