Post job

Explore jobs

Find specific jobs

Explore careers

Explore professions

Best companies

Explore companies

OverviewJobsSalaryResume

Skills

What They DoEducationDemographicsBest CompaniesBest StatesBest CitiesJob OutlookComparePart Time jobsEntry Level jobsFull Time jobs
zippia ai icon

Automatically apply for jobs with Zippia

Upload your resume to get started.

Forestry technician skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Bridget Tracy,
Colleen Robinson
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical forestry technician skills. We ranked the top skills for forestry technicians based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 32.3% of forestry technician resumes contained harvest as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a forestry technician needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 forestry technician skills for your resume and career

1. Harvest

Here's how forestry technicians use harvest:
  • Determined inoperable areas within the harvest unit boundary and maintained detailed harvesting field maps.
  • Monitored timber sales to confirm contractor compliance with forest service harvest requirements.

2. Patrol

Here's how forestry technicians use patrol:
  • Performed wildfire suppression and control, trail maintenance, park and recreation duties, cabin restoration, and patrol.
  • Patrol OHV use areas to ensure areas are operated, used and maintained in accordance with the recreation plan.

3. Natural Resources

Natural resources are the natural elements of the environment that are useful to humans or that could be useful under conceivable technological, economic, or social circumstances or in resources derived from the earth. Resources such as food, construction and clothing materials, fertilizers, metals, water, and geothermal energy.

Here's how forestry technicians use natural resources:
  • Coordinate with the Fire Department in planning prescribed burns for the management of natural resources and wildfire suppression.
  • Gained a great deal of understanding the good and bad efforts of fire on cultural and natural resources.

4. GPS

GPS stands from Global Positioning System. It is a navigation system comprising of satellites that helps in determining the location, velocity, and synchronize time data for different modes of travel like air, sea, or land.

Here's how forestry technicians use gps:
  • Applied forestry techniques including site eradication of Dwarf Mistletoe, GPS mapping, tree identification, inventory plots and forest ecology.
  • Use GPS devices to measure distances in the field, or to get accurate area measurements in the field.

5. Data Collection

Data collection means to analyze and collect all the necessary information. It helps in carrying out research and in storing important and necessary information. The most important goal of data collection is to gather the information that is rich and accurate for statistical analysis.

Here's how forestry technicians use data collection:
  • Use GIS spatial grids, electronic orthographic and topographic quadrangles in Arc Map to create maps of data collection points.
  • Execute tree plantings at recreation facilities, regeneration plot surveys, permanent plot surveys, and photo point data collection.

6. Trail Maintenance

Here's how forestry technicians use trail maintenance:
  • Supervised non-governmental organization/ constituency groups in their volunteer efforts of Forest Service property cleanup and trail maintenance.
  • Planned and implemented the logistics of wilderness projects associated with trail maintenance and reconstruction projects!

Choose from 10+ customizable forestry technician resume templates

Build a professional forestry technician resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your forestry technician resume.

7. Rehabilitation

Here's how forestry technicians use rehabilitation:
  • Performed extensive campground maintenance, rehabilitation, and improvement.
  • Project work included rehabilitation, thinning units, prepping areas that were scheduled for prescribed burns, and tagging unit boundaries.

8. Fire Prevention

Fire prevention skills are essential to investigate buildings to review that all local, state and federal fire regulations are followed. Apart from obtaining a certification from the NFPA, you should develop skills including the ability to communicate clearly, and an understanding of how fire prevention equipment and fire alarms work.

Here's how forestry technicians use fire prevention:
  • Collaborated with Forest Public Affairs Officer creating effective public service announcements and news releases emphasizing fire prevention.
  • Analyzed regulations regarding sanitation, fire prevention, violation corrections, and related forest regulations.

9. Hand Tools

Here's how forestry technicians use hand tools:
  • Skilled use of Forest net radio equipment, taking weather readings, mop-ups, various hand tools, and IA gear.
  • Applied proper techniques during mop-up phases including the use of backpack pump, portable pumps, hand tools and cold-trailing.

10. Fire Behavior

Here's how forestry technicians use fire behavior:
  • Determine the safest and most efficient method for implementing saw line and hand line based on topography fire behavior and fuels.
  • Gathered data and recorded information on fuel types, weather conditions, fire behaviors, and work accomplished.

11. BLM

BLM, an acronym for Black Lives Matter is an international decentralized activist and social movement, originating in the African-American community that protests against violence, discrimination and inequality of mental health, the LGBT community and voting rights, police brutality, and systemic racism toward black people.

Here's how forestry technicians use blm:
  • Maintain working relationships with BLM, U.S. Forest Service, and National Park Service to collaborate on resource orders/training sessions.
  • Worked under BLM Baker Field Office's forester implementing fire prescriptions to multiple and diverse forest stands.

12. Nepa

Here's how forestry technicians use nepa:
  • Served as editor for several NEPA documents including Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements.
  • Gained knowledge preparing NEPA documentation and other environmental documents.

13. Steep Terrain

Here's how forestry technicians use steep terrain:
  • Worked in thick vegetation on steep terrain in cold and rainy weather in groups of 2-3 technicians, often without supervision.
  • Operated a dirt bike on steep terrain in order to complete trail work.

14. Firefighting

Here's how forestry technicians use firefighting:
  • Supervised one seasonal firefighter and served as squad boss on several other firefighting assignments.
  • Maintained knowledge of current firefighting practices by participating in drills and attending seminars.

15. Law Enforcement

Law enforcement is the task of certain members of the community who work together to uphold the law by identifying, preventing, rehabilitating, or prosecuting others who break society's laws and norms. The phrase refers to the police, the judiciary, and the correctional system.

Here's how forestry technicians use law enforcement:
  • Protect the scene of any incidents and relinquishes control to police or law enforcement officials or other emergency management agency.
  • Perform Forest Protection Officer Duties and Law Enforcement issuing warnings or violation citations if needed.
top-skills

What skills help Forestry Technicians find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on forestry technician resumes?

Bridget TracyBridget Tracy LinkedIn profile

Earth Sciences Instructor, Feather River College

I think the most important thing on a resume is a professional layout with no typos and grammatical errors. So, proofread! Beyond that, I always recommend that students include a section about skills they possess as well as a section about course work. That way, even if they don't have much paid work in these areas, they can showcase the skills they have learned in courses. They might list tools they have used, like DBH tapes, Biltmore sticks, GPS units, ArcGIS etc.

What type of skills will young forestry technicians need?

Colleen RobinsonColleen Robinson LinkedIn profile

Communications Coordinator, The Forest Stewards Guild

Some Forest Stewards Guild Professional Members have shared with current students in forestry that communicating clearly, and the ability to relate with and partner with landowners and land managers is an essential skill that is often times overlooked in our field. That may be even more important this year, as communicating has become more difficult and restricted.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about forestry technician

List of forestry technician skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a forestry technician resume and required skills for a forestry technician to have include:

  • Harvest
  • Patrol
  • Natural Resources
  • GPS
  • Data Collection
  • Trail Maintenance
  • Rehabilitation
  • Fire Prevention
  • Hand Tools
  • Fire Behavior
  • BLM
  • Nepa
  • Steep Terrain
  • Firefighting
  • Law Enforcement
  • Fuel Types
  • Fisheries
  • Topographic Maps
  • Portable Pumps
  • Tree Species
  • Fire Operations
  • FFT1
  • Firefighter Type
  • GIS
  • Aerial Photos
  • Torches
  • Wildland Fire Suppression
  • Forests
  • Physical Fitness
  • Fire Weather
  • Wildland Fire Engine
  • Recreation Sites
  • Fire Season
  • Wildfire Suppression
  • Fuel Reduction
  • CPR
  • Commander Type
  • Timber Sale
  • ATV
  • Hot Spots
  • Invasive Species
  • Government Vehicles
  • Shovels

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs