Growth Model Users Group
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Position Opening for:  Timber Cruising Forester

POSITION PURPOSE

  1. Plan and implement all field aspects of timber cruising for the purpose of land/timber acquisition/disposition, pre-harvest/forest inventory evaluation and check cruising..

  2. Assess and provide land and timber appraisal support.

  3. Maintain, support and enhancement of NW Timberlands cruise program software and cruising manual.

  4. Provide operational backup support for log flow projections and customer allocation, contract timber cruiser administration and timber taxes. This position has opportunity for growth in forest inventory, timber appraisal, harvest planning and GIS which would lend itself to a tiered/progressive position. As the incumbent develops technical, managerial and operational skills and experience, adjustment in grade should be a consideration.

 ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

  1. Position must be a self-starter, able to work independently and alone in the field, establish own agenda and require little supervision. Incumbent must be able to traverse steep rugged ground and work outside during inclement weather.  Incumbent must have a good judgment of safety to eliminate risk when working in the field and operating a motor vehicle.

  2. Position is responsible for assessing and cruising 3,500 acres per year of land/timber acquisitions/dispositions, pre-harvest and forest inventory cruising.    Position must provide a high level of volume estimates on a consistent basis and qualitative information derived from cruised stands related to logging, roads and future forest management considerations. Position will also be responsible for check cruising pre-harvest and acquisition type cruises at no less than 15% of the annual acres cruised.

  3. Position must maintain and support NW Timberlands cruise and handheld software and handheld hardware working with IT and other departments who maintain and use the cruise program and handhelds.  Position will identify and document improvements to cruising software and handheld for its consideration to be implemented.

  4.  Position will use basic GIS knowledge to generate maps and manage data related directly to their cruising.

  5. Position will need to establish a basic understanding of the log flow and customer allocation principles and contract cruiser administration so as to provide backup and support.

  6. Position will need to perform basic timber and immature timber/bare land appraisals.

  7. Position will need to establish a basic understanding of timber excise taxes (forest tax) so as to provide backup and support.

  8. Position will participate in a minimum of 30 days per year of cross training per GDRCo cross training guidelines and provide support with logging, harvest unit and road layout, harvest permitting, GIS, inventory planning, silvicultural activities and HCP activities.

  9. Position must be operationally familiar with and comply with all regulations pertaining to all facets associated with the harvesting of timber to identify probable leave areas, mark them and/or communicate these with logging or harvest planning operations.  Position must also be operationally familiar with logging engineer principals in relation to road and landing locations, pit development and logging systems.

 DECISIONS, ANALYSIS OR KEY PROBLEMS SOLVED

  1. Position must be able to think and work multi-dimensionally to combine cruising with needs of logging, harvest planning, regulatory (Forest and Fish) and Habitat Conservation Plan requirements, customer log sorts and timber appraisal. Position must understand log markets and GDRCo’s customer base so as to apply this knowledge to maximize value potential of timber when cruising.

  2. Position must be able to analyze and quantify cruise and appraisal results.  This entails application of judgment acquired through experience to assess and adjust quantitative results for their accuracy.

  3. Position must be able to fully understand GDRCo’s cruise and handheld software and recommend appropriate updates.  Position must understand databases so as to be able to query raw cruise data and forest inventory information for special applications and daily routines.

  4. Position must acquire a basic understanding and application of log flow and customer allocation and timber taxes so as to provide backup and support.

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS OR WORKING CONDITIONS

This position requires travel throughout western Washington; performing fieldwork in varying weather conditions on steep and uneven terrain. 

QUALIFICATIONS

WORK EXPERIENCE – REQUIRED (Technical):

  1. At least 3 years of experience in operational forest management, with emphasis on timber cruising inclusive of variable radius and fixed plot, and percent sampling application.

  2. At least 3 years of experience with timber cruising software, handhelds and GPS

  3. Working knowledge of ArcGIS, version 9.1 and higher

  4. Operationally capable of querying ACCESS or SQL databases and user interface skills

  5. Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, with competing priorities

  6. Operational understanding statistics for the purpose of cruise design and sampling methods

WORK EXPERIENCE - DESIRED:

  1. Working knowledge or experience of Bureau Scaling and Grading standards for western Washington

  2. Experience with timber appraisal and acquisition

  3. Experience with forest bare land and immature timber appraisal and acquisition

  4. Experience with harvest unit layout, logging systems and forest roads

  5. Experience with aerial photo interpretation and forest stand delineation with the ability to transcribe field to photo, or photo to field derived information

  6. Working knowledge of relational databases such as Access, SQL Server, or Oracle

  7. Experience with all aspects of industrial forest management and forest practices regulations in Washington

  8. Experience with administration of cruising contracts and cruising quality control methods

  9. Experience with forest growth models and establishment/measurement of permanent plots

EDUCATION AND FORMAL TRAINING - REQUIRED:

Bachelor’s Degree in Forestry or AA Degree with equivalent experience

EDUCATION AND FORMAL TRAINING - DESIRED:

Statistics, Database design, various types of PC/mobile software and hardware

 How to Apply

Work Location: Shelton, WA. Benefits include: Bonus, Medical, 401k, Vacation and Holiday and Sick pay.  Qualified individuals can request an application packet by emailing thenderson@greendiamond.com.  Applications will also be available at Mason County WorkSource, 2505 Olympic Hwy - Suite 420, Shelton, WA   98584.  Closing is February 3, 2012.  Anticipated start date early March 5, 2012. Equal Opportunity Employer.  DRUG FREE WORKPLACE. We participate in the E-Verify Program.

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