A forester is a person who practises

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

, the science, art, and profession of managing

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including

ecological restoration Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...

and management of

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

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

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 or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. Carbon dioxide () is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. These changes can be accelerated through changes in lan ...

and air quality. 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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 and

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

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 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 late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

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 A forester's lodge, forester's house or forester's hut is the residence of a forester, usually one who is in charge of a forest district. History Woodcutters' huts are as old as forestry itself. To begin with, temporary accommodation was usually ...

, 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

posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

s 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 (1908–2004) - First American research forester in US Forest Service. * Dietrich Brandis (1824–1907) * John Ednie Brown (1848–1899) *

Aimo Cajander Aimo Kaarlo Cajander (4 April 1879 – 21 January 1943) was the Prime Minister of Finland up to the Winter War. Cajander was born in Uusikaupunki, and became a botanist, a professor of forestry 1911–34; director-general for Finland's F ...

(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 (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 diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or ...

(1620–1706) *

Bernhard Fernow Bernhard Eduard Fernow ( ; January 7, 1851 – February 6, 1923) was the third chief of the USDA's Division of Forestry of the United States from 1886 to 1898, preceding Gifford Pinchot in that position, and laying much of the groundwork for the e ...

(1851–1923) * Douglas Hamilton (1820–1895) *

Georg Ludwig Hartig Georg Ludwig Hartig (September 2, 1764 – February 2, 1837) was a German forester. Education Hartig was born at Gladenbach, in present-day Hesse. After obtaining a practical knowledge of forestry from his uncle at Harzburg, he studied from 17 ...

(1764–1837) *

Ralph Hosmer Ralph Sheldon Hosmer (March 4, 1874 - July 20, 1963) was Hawaii's first territorial forester, a contemporary of Gifford Pinchot who was among the group of educated American foresters that organized what is now the United States Forest Service. Hos ...

(1874–1963) *

Jens Hvass Jens Hvass (8. April 1898 - 23. February 1996) served as the Camp Chief of the 2nd World Scout Jamboree, held from August 9 to 17, 1924 at Ermelunden, Denmark, and was later a state forester and Divisional Scout Commissioner in Rold Skov, North ...

Norman Jolly Norman William Jolly (5 August 1882 – 18 May 1954) was a first-class cricketer and forester. He was South Australia's first Rhodes Scholar. Early life Norman William Jolly was born on 5 August 1882 in Mintaro, South Australia, the son of ...

(1882–1954) * Charles Lane Poole (1885–1970) * Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) * Michel de Montaigne (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 Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...

(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 Pennsy ...

(1865–1946) * Christian Ditlev Frederik Reventlow (1748–1827) *

Roy Robinson, 1st Baron Robinson Roy Lister Robinson, Baron Robinson, (8 March 1883 – 5 September 1952), known as Sir Roy Robinson between 1931 and 1947, was a British forester and public servant. Background and education Robinson was born in Macclesfield, South Australia, ...

(1883–1952) *

Viktor Schauberger Viktor Schauberger (30 June 1885 – 25 September 1958) was an Austrian forest caretaker, naturalist, philosopher, inventor and biomimicry experimenter. Schauberger developed his own ideas based on what he observed in nature. In ''Implosion'' ma ...

(1885–1958) *

Carl A. Schenck Carl Alwin Schenck (March 25, 1868 – May 17, 1955) was a German forester and pioneering forestry educator. He founded the Biltmore Forest School, the first forestry school in North America on George W. Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate. His teachin ...

(1868–1955) * Sir William P.D. Schlich (1840–1925) *

F.X. Schumacher F.X. Schumacher (March 14, 1892 – June 3, 1967) was a prominent forester, forest biometrician. He served on the forestry faculty at University of California, Berkeley, The University of California before being called to work as chief of the sect ...

(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) Hyperion is a coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') in California that is considered the world's tallest known living tree, measuring 115.92 m (380.3 ft). Hyperion was discovered on August 25, 2006, by naturalists Chris Atki ...

and many tall redwood trees. *

T. B. Walker Thomas Barlow Walker (February 1, 1840 – July 28, 1928) was an American business magnate who acquired lumber in Minnesota and California and became an collection (artwork), art collector. Walker founded the Minneapolis Public Library. He was amon ...

(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 Peter Wohlleben (born 1964) is a German forester and author who writes on ecological themes in popular language and has controversially argued for plant sentience. He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller ''The Hidden Life of Trees: Wha ...

- German forester. *

Raphael Zon Raphael Zon (December 1, 1874 - October 27, 1956) was a prominent U.S. Forest Service researcher. Early life Raphael Zon was born in Simbirsk in the Russian Empire in 1874, to parents Gabriel Zon and Eugenia Berliner. A schoolmate of Lenin's ...

(1874–1956) *

Frank H. Wadsworth Frank Howard Wadsworth (November 26, 1915 – January 5, 2022) was an American forester, conservationist and researcher. He made important scientific contributions to forestry, through his work in Puerto Rico where he lived from 1942. Life an ...

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