Supervisory Forester (Forest Inventory and Analysis)

Position summary: The successful candidate will supervise and mentor both permanent and 
seasonal staff collecting tree data from Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots across the 
country.

FIA program description: FIA is often referred to as the nation’s tree census. FIA data tells us how 
much timber, wildlife habitat, and carbon is stored in our forests, and how much timber is growing 
and harvested every year. Tens of thousands of locations are visited annually across the country. 

At each location, a variety of measurements are taken on every tree located within the permanent 
plot radius, including: diameter, height, timber merchantability, damages (insects, diseases, 
physical defects, etc), crown position, and others.

Position description: This position is supervisory. The successful candidate will be responsible for training new FIA crewpeople and also managing entire FIA projects, which can span entire states.
The candidate needs to be located near an area where CFA is currently operating. These locations have been listed above under “Location”. It is expected that much of the candidate’s schedule will involve work local to their duty station. This local work may consist of 30-70% of the total workload, depending on the duty station. Although some of the local workload may be completed solo, much will be in conjunction with new staff. The candidate will be expected to train and mentor new staff in the FIA protocol. The rest of their workload will involve travel throughout the US to various projects, either working solo or in a team to complete FIA projects.

Additionally, much of the employee’s time will be spent in their home office, 1) conducting post-fieldwork data processing and submission, 2) gaining permission to access FIA plots on private property using phone, email, and mailed letters, and 3) supervising field employees remotely. This position is roughly 70% field, 30% office.

This position covers both standard FIA plots, in addition to Urban FIA plots. Standard FIA plots are located in forests throughout the US, while Urban plots are restricted to developed areas and capture the dynamics of city trees. The candidate can expect to spend time in both remote wilderness areas and highly developed urban settings. Hiking off-trail through heavy brush is often required.

The successful candidate should be proficient with a variety of forestry tools, including a diameter tape, laser, clinometer, compass, GPS, aerial photographs, and portable data recorder (PDR).

Previous experience measuring FIA plots is strongly desired. However, in lieu of this, a background collecting ecological or natural resource data in the field, paired with strong leadership experience (ie, supervising a field crew, hiring staff, planning work schedules, managing a budget, etc) may be considered.

Many plot locations are on privately owned land, and the successful candidate will frequently 
interact with members of the public. A friendly, polite attitude and professional demeanor is a 
necessity.

The candidate will need to operate a company vehicle to access work locations. Company will 
cover travel expenses