Forest and Conservation Technicians
Provide technical assistance regarding the conservation of soil, water, forests, or related natural resources. May compile data pertaining to size, content, condition, and other characteristics of forest tracts under the direction of foresters, or train and lead forest workers in forest propagation and fire prevention and suppression. May assist conservation scientists in managing, improving, and protecting rangelands and wildlife habitats.
30,410 people do this job in the US. $54,560 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 7%
- 0%
- 93%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 1%. Today's estimate: 2%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 20 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manage forest protection activities, including fire control, fire crew training, and coordination of fire detection and public education programs.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 19% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 3.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Thin and space trees and control weeds and undergrowth, using manual tools and chemicals, or supervise workers performing these tasks.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 16% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Perform reforestation or forest renewal, including nursery and silviculture operations, site preparation, seeding and tree planting programs, cone collection, and tree improvement.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 10% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Train and lead forest and conservation workers in seasonal activities, such as planting tree seedlings, putting out forest fires, and maintaining recreational facilities.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 9% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Patrol park or forest areas to protect resources and prevent damage.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Provide technical support to forestry research programs in areas such as tree improvement, seed orchard operations, insect and disease surveys, or experimental forestry and forest engineering research.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Conduct laboratory or field experiments with plants, animals, insects, diseases, and soils.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 5% | 1 work day3.3 h to 3.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Select and mark trees for thinning or logging, drawing detailed plans that include access roads.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Plan and supervise construction of access routes and forest roads.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 1 work week | Stays with people | |
| Survey, measure, and map access roads and forest areas such as burns, cut-over areas, experimental plots, and timber sales sections.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 1 work day3.3 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Map forest tract data using digital mapping systems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 5 h2.5 h to 1 work day | 23%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Inspect trees and collect samples of plants, seeds, foliage, bark, and roots to locate insect and disease damage.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Foresters1% now, 30% by 2028
- Range Managers1% now, 23% by 2028
- Forest and Conservation Workers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Conservation Scientists19% now, 70% by 2028
- Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists15% now, 16% by 2028
- First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers16% now, 24% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).