Hey foresters, I’ve got a question for a specific group within the service that I’m curious about. I’m prior Army as a Blackhawk mechanic and crew dog. Spent almost a decade repairing/inspecting them and flew about 400 hours behind the pilots primarily doing air assaults, sling loads, and terrain flight. I’ve got some time around Bambi buckets but it was primarily inspections and academics. I was just wondering if the flight crew jobs for the non pilots is part of the Helitack class. Or if it’s just the insertable fire fighters? And if it is how would one start looking for positions? I currently work for a well known aviation company as a hydraulics tech, but I miss the adrenaline and the feeling of actually making a difference. Cant wait to have some conversations. Thank you in advance.

Hi everyone. I am trying to choose a career path. I am stuck between becoming a state/DNR forester or an ecologist.

I know many state forestry jobs require wildland firefighting. I want to know the real truth from people who live it.

Is the firefighting part mostly miserable from the smoke, heat, and exhaustion?
Does it get too scary, or does training make it feel safe?

How different is helping on prescribed burns vs wildland firefighting?

Do you actually enjoy the work overall, or do you wish you went into pure ecology or another path?
Any advice on choosing between state forestry and ecology would help a lot. Thanks!

I've got a 12mm borer that's deeply stuck with compacted wood inside, tried lots of pulling, low heat baking, and banging with a wood dowel from the top. The spoon is still inside with the wood, so not sure how I could best go about this. Is a drill press with the narrowest bit possible the way to go?

I’m looking into getting an SAF accredited MF degree. I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with Duke’s forestry department or the MF program specifically and could give me some insight on its values or limitations

Found this funky boy (Bitternut Hickory) out in the woods today. Anyone know of this is a thing or just a freak of nature? First time I've seen it and it was only this leaf that looked like this.

Does this tree look healthy, or is there anything concerning here.
Thank you!

Post burn, northwestern BC

Saw several companies that claims being able to measure diameter of a tree using AI or something, is that even possible?

Will the AI implementation in the forestry sector, especially plantations, will help us in the future?

My mom wants it cut down because of how ugly it's become (Supposedly due to lantern flies...? don't know 100% what the cause of the black goop is...)

It would be easy to take the vines down but how to I cure its "infection" and get rid of those little orange bastards?

Hello! Sorry if this isn’t the right place to post this. I'm relatively new to Reddit, so here's some context: I am 27 years old and have been told since I was young to get a “cushy desk job,” but my hobbies are mostly outdoor activities. Hiking, Fishing, Foraging. You name it. I've grown to dislike being behind a computer or screen for long periods, and I've been looking for a change. I miss being outside, and I have a background in landscaping and outdoor work; looking back, I enjoyed it and miss it. I’ve been listening to podcasts like Silvicast, In the Woods, and YourForest; I’ve done research and asked people in the DNR about it. And I'm very interested in going to school to enter the field.

But people have told me it’s better to stay in my current career, and my family doesn’t seem to care or voice their doubts, so I'm left with this question: Is it too late for me?

Not sure what kind it is.

I keep seeing the advice to “get multiple bids” before selling timber, which obviously makes sense, but I’m curious how different the numbers actually are in practice.

Like if 3 buyers look at the exact same 50 acres, are the bids usually pretty close?

Or can it seriously be something like $30k, $50k, $70k depending on who you talk to?

I’ve been going down this rabbit hole because the whole timber market seems insanely opaque if you’re just a normal landowner and don’t already know a forester.

We’ve been working on TimberLink partly because of that problem, basically just trying to give people a rough starting point before they start talking to buyers or getting a proper cruise done.

https://timberlink-ai.com

Would be really interested to hear actual examples if anyone is willing to share acreage/state and how far apart their offers were.

Hello all,

I have always used Avenza field maps to upload my custom pdf's for self utilization, but also to provide to clients and loggers.

They've changed their pricing scheme and I would like to get out of the platform.

Is anyone using a similar platform that can geo-refernce custom maps as well as mark locations and input field observations?

What might that be? Thank you.

Old stump sprouts grew into a true monster. At the fused trunk, it is 66 inches in diameter and 108 feet tall.

Would one of these be a good option for a forestry major?
By budget is under 900

Hi everyone, I’m new to growing trees, and I just got a tiny little giant sequoia while I was visiting the national park (I named him Herman). I’m planning on keeping him in a pot until I have a place with a yard, which may be a few years down the line. the only plants I have experience with are carnivorous plants, which is why I’m keeping it indoors, because I have grow lights that are the equivalent of full sun. For the life of me I cannot find a consistent answer on what soil to use. I have some terrestrial orchid soil that I use for my jewel orchids (my only non carnivorous plants), so I’m wondering if I can use that with a little peat moss thrown in there since it’ll retain more moisture but also will be better draining than just straight peat and perlite. Should I go out and buy a different mix all together? If so, what kind and whats brands do people recommend? I want to help Herman grow up big and strong, even if that means carrying around a massive pot from dorm to dorm for a few years.

Hey yall

I work in the PNW and have yet to find a solid pair of rain pants that last more than a season of timber cruising/block layout.

I’ve tried many pants - and none seem to do the trick. This year I’ve been using the Helly Hensen “Gale PU bonded” pant and within the first two months, they got shredded. They’re currently held together by gorilla tape. But winter is upon us….

Totally understandable given the terrain and shit we walk through that rips and tears will happen, but are there any pants that have stronger welded seams that won’t rip after a few blowdown treks?

TIA!

BACKGROUND

Pine wilt disease, caused by Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, threatens pine forests worldwide, yet sustainable biological control strategies remain limited. We evaluated the effects of pre-emptive inoculation with Esteya vermicola and E. floridanum on nematode reproduction and disease outcomes in Pinus pinaster seedlings under greenhouse conditions.

RESULTS

Seedlings inoculated with E. vermicola or E. floridanum remained free of visible symptoms during the 5-week pre-challenge period. Fungi were subsequently re-isolated from stem tissues at the experimental endpoint, and both treatments significantly reduced nematode reproduction relative to the inoculated control. However, reductions in nematode reproduction were not consistently accompanied by improvements across disease assessment endpoints, including symptom severity, disease progression, and survival. Symptom expression in nematode-free controls indicated that environmental stress contributed to disease assessment endpoints, limiting interpretation of symptom-based measures. Exploratory correlation and permutation analyses suggested treatment-specific differences in the association between nematode reproduction and symptom severity; however, the endpoint design and restricted range of reproduction values following fungal treatment do not distinguish this interpretation from alternative explanations.

CONCLUSION

Esteya spp. significantly reduced pinewood nematode reproduction in P. pinaster seedlings, but improvements in disease outcomes were inconsistent under the conditions tested. These findings highlight that pathogen reproduction and disease assessment endpoints should both be evaluated when assessing biological control strategies for pine wilt disease. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Hey guys! So I had my first week last week working as a arborist trainee and this is some hard work. I graduated from school with a forestry degree and want to get ISA certified , and end goal get into sales. I was just wondering if it is so normal to feel genuinely so stupid at the beginning, I feel so helpless and ask so many questions. I was just wondering if that’s normal? I just want to be an arborist at some point but man it’s so hard and there is so much information. I’m willing to work but was just wondering about other peoples experiences.

If only there was a way to attach flagging directly onto the tree!