Who Looks After Forests?

What Exactly Is a Forester?

A forester someone that is specially trained to oversee the natural resources found in forests. They have various job responsibilities, such as creating Timber Harvest Plans or THPs for short in areas that are going to be logged, to organizing and protecting parks and reserves. For people that like working outdoors, forestry is an excellent career. As foresters spend a great deal of their time working in the woods to preserve the valuable resources in their area so future generations can enjoy them.

The forestry profession is ancient. Early foresters used to work during the medieval era, and guarded the royal forests and organized harvest plans to collect trees in a sustainable way. Medieval foresters protected land also against poachers, organized hunts, and kept track of game in the forests they supervised. Most of these duties are still used today, although the profession is not so much about law enforcement, as it is about resource protection.

Foresters work in various positions, some work for timber companies, where they will assess forests that are either owned or controlled by a timber company. Foresters in the timber industry are the ones who decide whether or not it will be safe to harvest trees, and will look at the ecological impact of harvesting in order to determine whether or not a THP will be approved. They will then mark trees to harvest, and keeps track of yields that are on timber company land.

Conservation foresters will focus more on the ecosystem and watershed preservation that are in forested regions. These foresters will perform surveys on regional plants and animals, and then look at what the impact of human activity has on these forests.

Conservation foresters will usually support timber harvesting when it is done in a sustainable way, however, will work to create protected areas so people can carry on enjoying nature.

So now you know what a forester does. If you would like information about Bravo Fence and Construction, give us a call today at (334) 409-2008. We are situated in the Wetumpka, AL region.

Review Us