Foresters
Manage public and private forested lands for economic, recreational, and conservation purposes. May inventory the type, amount, and location of standing timber, appraise the timber's worth, negotiate the purchase, and draw up contracts for procurement. May determine how to conserve wildlife habitats, creek beds, water quality, and soil stability, and how best to comply with environmental regulations. May devise plans for planting and growing new trees, monitor trees for healthy growth, and determine optimal harvesting schedules.
10,430 people do this job in the US. $76,400 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 55%
- 13%
- 32%
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: 1%.
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 . 25 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Develop techniques for measuring and identifying trees.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 15% | 3.3 work days6.7 h to 2.1 work weeks | 0%Half by Oct 2028 | |
| Study different tree species' classification, life history, light and soil requirements, adaptation to new environmental conditions and resistance to disease and insects.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 15% | 1.3 work weeks1.7 work days to 4.2 work weeks | 0%Half by Apr 2029 | |
| Plan and direct forest surveys and related studies and prepare reports and recommendations.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 8% | 1 work week1.7 work days to 2.5 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Establish short- and long-term plans for management of forest lands and forest resources.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.3 work weeks | 0%Half by Apr 2029 | |
| Plan and supervise forestry projects, such as determining the type, number and placement of trees to be planted, managing tree nurseries, thinning forest and monitoring growth of new seedlings.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 7% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.3 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Plan and implement projects for conservation of wildlife habitats and soil and water quality.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 2.5 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Plan cutting programs and manage timber sales from harvested areas, assisting companies to achieve production goals.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | 1%Half by Sep 2028 | |
| Supervise activities of other forestry workers.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Map forest area soils and vegetation to estimate the amount of standing timber and future value and growth.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Analyze effect of forest conditions on tree growth rates and tree species prevalence and the yield, duration, seed production, growth viability, and germination of different species.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 4.2 work days1.3 work days to 2.5 work weeks | 0%Half by Nov 2028 | |
| Determine methods of cutting and removing timber with minimum waste and environmental damage.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 4%Half by Dec 2027 | |
| Plan and direct construction and maintenance of recreation facilities, fire towers, trails, roads and bridges, ensuring that they comply with guidelines and regulations set for forested public lands.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.3 work weeks | 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.
- Forest and Conservation Technicians2% now, 7% by 2028
- Range Managers1% now, 23% by 2028
- Conservation Scientists19% now, 70% by 2028
- Forest and Conservation Workers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Environmental Restoration Planners3% now, 55% by 2028
- Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health4% now, 57% 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).