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Location: MA/ME (the way life should not be / the way it should be)
1,266 posts, read 1,390,905 times
Reputation: 735
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Yes i am back, and this time with a much more specific question related to Northern and Central Idahos economy, a question from which i do not plan to deviate much. I have done some research, and notice on a few websites Idaho is listed as having a bustling forestry/forest products economy, which is good as i would most preferably prefer to get involved in either Forestry, or as mentioned before Computer Science (would most likely be GIS related, as having knowledge in GIS will help land a forestry job a lot).
I am wondering if you Idahoans feel it is a big industry apart from fire control, as for various reasons i would not wish to get involved in wildland fire control. By forestry i mostly mean as in a professional/consulting forester.
Forgiveness if i have posted something like this in Idaho's forum before, i have searched my post history, and found much more vague posts regarding the economy as a whole, but none on this industry. I have posted a similar question in other states (including Montana), but due to laws, taxes, ect, the industry can change heavily state to state, as if it is cheaper to run your business in Idaho, then you will run it in Idaho.
I have a friend who worked in forestry for his entire career. He has an advanced degree in forest genetics. He's retired now, and living in the Yaak in Montana. In general, he has a very pessimistic view of the current state of the industry in the northwest.
That said, it's hard to drive on Rt 95 for any distance without seeing one or more trucks full of logs, so there is definitely still logging going on in NID.
If you look on the Bonner County website under the Tax Assesor's office you can find a list of foresters here in Bonner county that do forest management plans for landowners. You might give one of them a call as I suspect they would have a much more informed opinion about your question.
Location: MA/ME (the way life should not be / the way it should be)
1,266 posts, read 1,390,905 times
Reputation: 735
What i have noticed cynrat, is it is that way in most places, although if idaho is similar to other areas, its not that it is disapearing, just changing. I know in the Northeast, it is becoming less resourxe extracting in lumber terms,, but more forest management for recreation/fish and game/ and maple tapping, which create many new jobs, but destroy some older ones. Thank you both for the replys so far, another thing i have gathered is that in the west (anything west of MI, and including parts of MI), forestry tends to take a more govermental stance, as instead of working for a company managing lands, now you are with the feds (which i hear is great once you get a full time job but the kicker is it is near impossible i hear) doing the same exact thing, but i assume there is alot more public interaction in that sector.
I notice alot of GIS jobs in southern idaho, and a few further north, although not many.
That tracks with my forestry friends opinions, and also with his career trajectory. In terms of his career, he spent the first part of his career working for a variety of commercial forestry companies (he held jobs in Maine, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ontario Canada, and Washington), but his last job before retiring was at the Oregon Dept. of Forestry.
As far as what's happening in the industry, his belief is our forests are being mismanaged in a big way. There is much more potential for responsible extraction that would also lead to healthier forests and reduce the risk of wildfire. Anyway, those changes do mean there are fewer of the traditional jobs, and probably more in the way of management as you suggest.
Here's a link to the list of consulting foresters in Bonner County: Consulting Foresters in Bonner County Area. Among other things these guys do is develop forest management plans for landowners. One of them might be able to provide you more insight about opportunities in north ID.
Like most of the west, the large private ownerships are now held by insurance companies and REITs like the big W. Boise Cascade, Potlatch, and some other former owners of forest land all went to the REIT or Insurance company purchases.
Private consultants can obtain jobs such as Stewardship planning and implementation and small ownership harvesting plans. But there is no licensing of Foresters in ID, not is there as much of a harvesting plan requirements as in OR, WA, or CA.
The forestlands in ID and the Rocky Mountains are mostly, multiple conifer species, quasi-Xeric forests, with lower Site Indicies than anything west of the Cascades. Thus, all age and selective cutting tends to be predominant over clear cutting, except for total stand replacement cuts.
Hope this helps a bit. I am a retired PhD forest consultant and former Univ. Professor in Forest Operations. I did several of the first forest sustainability studies on PNW forest ownerships.
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