Careers in Forestry 



Prepared by the Forest Service 



FORESTRY AS A PROFESSION 



The man who chooses a career in forestry has the opportunity to 

 serve his fellowmen in a vitally important field. Forestry deals with the 

 development of forests in such a way as to perpetuate their many services 

 and benefits to mankind. The forests provide wood and other products for 

 man's use; they prevent erosion of the soil and regulate streamflow and 

 water supply for irrigation, for hydroelectric power, and for domestic use; 

 they harbor wildlife, and give abundant opportunity for outdoor recreation. 



When forestry is practiced, timber becomes a crop produced under scien- 

 tific methods. American forestry has developed various techniques, ap- 

 plicable to different forest types and regions, in timber growing and 

 harvesting; protection from fire, disease, and insects; watershed protection; 

 and wildlife and recreation management. Range management is also in 

 the field of forestry, because in the western United States large areas of 

 rangeland are intermingled with forest and must be handled coordinately. 



Foresters are today charged with the solution of one of our Nation's major 

 economic problems, that of putting to the best use for human welfare the 

 624 million acres of land most suitable for forest purposes. Complete and 

 thorough training is fundamental to a career in the profession. 



When the need for the practice of forestry was first recognized in this 

 country in the 1870's, there were no schools of forestry on this side of the 

 Atlantic. This situation prevailed until 1897 when Dr. C. A. Schenck, a 

 German forester, started giving private instruction in connection with his 

 work on the Vanderbilt estate at Biltmore. N. C. The following year Cor- 

 nell University established a professional school of forestry. Then in 1900 

 the Yale Forest School was started, and, in the years that followed, other 

 universities and colleges added forestry to their curriculums. 



It is estimated that by 1912 there were approximately 500 men in the 

 United States with some technical training in forestry. These were in addi- 

 tion to early-day forest rangers who began without a technical background, 

 but through their own experience in Federal and State work had acquired 

 considerable practical knowledge of certain phases of the subject. The 

 pioneer foresters were zealous crusaders in the cause of conservation. 

 Although the idea of conservation is more widely accepted today, the 

 practice of conservation is still far from being generally applied. A crusad- 

 ing spirit in the public interest still is strong in the forestry profession; it 

 must continue so. 



Need for Technical Training 



The importance of proper training now and in the future for a career 

 in forestry cannot be overestimated. As the number of foresters steadily 

 increases and competition becomes keener, thorough education will become 

 more and more necessary. The technical forester should have an education 

 comparable to that of the lawyer, civil engineer, or other well-trained pro- 



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