Forest Inventory Specialist

Position summary: The successful candidate will collect tree data from Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots across the country.

Location: Candidate needs to be based within 30 minutes of one of the following cities: Omaha, Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, Des Moines, Iowa, or Trenton, New Jersey. Candidate can expect overnight travel up to 50% of the year. Clearwater Forest Analytics is currently managing FIA contracts in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, and New Jersey.

Duration: This is a permanent, full-time position. Position will begin the week of September 14, 2026, or the week of September 21, 2026.

Pay: $22/hr, commensurate with experience. Willingness to work overtime is desired. Performance incentives based on the volume of work completed are also available up to an additional $250/week.

Benefits: Paid vacation, 4 hours of leave per 2 week pay period. Candidate is eligible for health and retirement benefits after 2 years of service and a successful performance evaluation.

Minimum qualifications: Applicants must either have 1) A bachelor’s degree in forestry, natural resources, environmental science, biological science, or a related field, 2) an associate’s degree in one of the aforementioned areas, and 6 months of related experience, or 3) 2 years of experience conducting forest inventories.

FIA program description: FIA is often referred to as the nation’s tree census. FIA data tells us how much timber, wildlife habitat, and carbon is stored in our forests, and how much timber is growing and harvested every year. Tens of thousands of locations are visited annually across the country.

Position description: Clearwater Forest Analytics (CFA) is hiring 1-2 forestry technicians to assist with forest survey work across the US. This position will complete both standard FIA plots, in addition to Urban FIA plots. Standard FIA plots are located in forests throughout the US, while Urban plots are restricted to developed areas and capture the dynamics of city trees. The candidate can expect to spend time in both remote wilderness areas and highly developed urban settings.

Hiking off-trail for long distances may be required.

The successful candidate will need to develop proficiency with a variety of forestry tools, including a diameter tape, laser, clinometer, compass, GPS, aerial photographs, and portable data recorder (PDR). The successful candidate should also be proficient in basic math and be able to read/interpret charts and graphs.

Previous forestry experience, and especially experience measuring FIA plots, is valuable but not required. The most important thing is for the successful candidate to be capable of learning and applying the FIA protocol. The FIA manual is over 500 pages long. Being able to find and apply the correct passage in the manual is often more important than memorizing protocol.

Many plot locations are on privately owned land, and the successful candidate will frequently interact with members of the public. A friendly, polite attitude and professional demeanor is a necessity. Candidate will be expected to knock on doors of landowners to ask them for permission to measure trees on their property. This can be intimidating for employees who have never done this before.

The candidate will need to operate a company vehicle to access work locations.

Company description: CFA is a consulting firm based in Rapid City, South Dakota that contracts with the US Forest Service to measure FIA plots across the United States. CFA has also conducted stand exams and marked timber sales for the federal government, and has provided forest stewardship plans to private landowners.

CFA has completed projects in multiple states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and California.

Preferred qualifications:

• Prior experience that demonstrates the ability to learn quickly and follow a complex written protocol

• Experience or coursework in forest mensuration, especially conducting forest inventory work

• Experience measuring FIA plots

• General experience conducting outdoor fieldwork and data collection

• Experience working outdoors in inclement weather (rain, heat, snow, etc)

• Basic computer proficiency (Microsoft Word, Excel, etc)

• Experience interacting with the public, especially communicating scientific topics

• A clean driving record