Professional Foresters
Do you need the assistance of a professional
forester? If so you can contact a consulting forester or many
forest industries have a landowner assistance
program.
In Alabama any person who calls themselves a
"forester" and works for hire on land that he does not own (state, federal and
corporate lands excepted) must be registered by the Alabama Board of Registration for
Foresters. You can examine the Code of Alabama that
defines a registered forester, the Professional Rules
of Conduct subscribed to by registered foresters, and approved Forms
of Certification used by registered foresters.
Alabama
State Board of Registration for Foresters
Types of Foresters
- Acquisition Forester
A forester whose primary responsibility is to locate
forestland that can be purchased by the company or organization he represents.
County Forester
A forester of the
Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) who provides
assistance and education to landowners within a one or two county area.
Consulting Forester
A self-employed forester, who, for a fee, assists private
landowners with forest management practices.
According to the Society of American
Foresters, a consultant is a professional forester whose services are available to the
general public on a contract or fee basis--with the fee paid by the client. A
consultant performs all work in compliance with legal requirements for the practice of
forestry, such as registration and licensing. A consultant remains free from
conflicts of interest (for instance, wood procurement) to serve the best and sole interest
of clients or charges.
Some consultants provide general assistance;
others specialize. Consulting foresters are listed under Services by County. If you would like to learn more about consulting
foresters see
"Managing Your Forest With the Help of a Consulting Forester".
Extension Forester
A forester who works for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System
that develops and provides technical information for state forestry interests. Their
primary responsibility is group education, including preparing materials for local and
regional educational activities, working through local Extension and other agency and
organization personnel.
Forest Ranger
A U.S. Forest
Service forester in charge of part of a national forest referred to as a district.
Forest rangers, or district rangers, supervise the management activities on their
districts, including fire control, tree planting, recreational activities, and thinning
and harvesting. District rangers do not provide assistance to private landowners.
Forest Supervisor
A U.S. Forest
Service employee who coordinates all activities in a particular national forest but
primarily supervises personnel and administers programs in the forest.
Industrial Forester
A forester employed by a forest-based industry. This
individual may manage company-owned woodlands to produce forest products, may work with
private landowners to purchase forest products for the company, or may do both. Some
industrial foresters work with individual landowners to provide advice and assistance in
promoting approved forest management practices (see Landowner Assistance Program
Forester).
Landowner Assistance Program (LAP) Forester
An industrial forester that provides certain forest-related
services to landowners. Depending on the company or organization, the LAP forester may
provide management planning, assistance with practices such as site preparation, planting
and harvesting. Some companies require the right of first refusal to the landowners'
timber at harvest (at market price) for these services. Go to LAP
Forestry Programs for a listing of services in Alabama.
Procurement Forester
An industrial forester who buys timber from private and public
landowners. Some timber buyers and procurement personnel are not professional foresters.
Professional Forester
In the usual context, this term refers to a person who has
graduated from a professionally accepted, 4-year, college forestry curriculum.
Registered Forester
Any person who has been registered and licensed by the Alabama
Board of Registration for Foresters. Registration requires a combination of education,
practical experience and successful passage of a registration examination. You can review
the State of Alabama Code, and Rules of
Professional Conduct for registered foresters. In Alabama, a person must be registered
to use the term "forester" and provide management services on land they do not
own (there are exceptions, such as industrial foresters working on company land)
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