Forestry summer job - 2023

As a West Fraser Procurement Forester, you will be managing all aspects of turning a tree standing in the woods into a sustainable forester product that people depend on every day.  Starting in the woods of the US South, the wood basket to the world, you will evaluate the timber by taking various measurements (cruising), judging log quality, determining the access and logging conditions on the site.  Using this information along with soils maps, GIS applications, and the knowledge of the mill, you will put a value on the timber and learn how to negotiate win-win deals with the logger or landowner like a pro.

After the deal is made, you will manage the logging job by working with logging contractors to ensure the contract parameters are met, BMPs are used, and principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative are followed. This will include delineating sale boundaries, streamside management zones (SMZs) and walking the sale area looking for any missed timber or environmental issues such as excessive rutting. Log quality starts in the woods and proper processing and merchandising by the logger is key.

Once the logs are on the truck you will manage the deliveries to the mill to ensure that the proper inventory of high quality logs are available for the mill to process.   Inventory management and planning is a vital aspect of the procurement forester role.  At this point the logs go into the mill to be turned into lumber or OSB.  You will work with mill personnel to constantly monitor how the quality of the logs that you buy affects the production and value of the forest product being produced. 

The job is fun and rewarding.  Every day presents new challenges and opportunities.  There is no opportunity to get bored. The job site is always changing with much of your time spent in the woods, on logging jobs, in the mill or working in the office on you sourcing plan for the next day, week, month and year.   West Fraser has mills in all Southern states from North Carolina to Texas and in communities ranging from quaint, small towns, to larger cities.  There is something for everyone at West Fraser.

A successful Intern with West Fraser will be considered for a full-time role with the Company upon graduation and is, in fact, a primary goal of the Intern program.