Job Title: Forestry Technician

Employer: Hemlock Restoration Initiative (HRI)

Location: Western North Carolina.

Application deadline: July 21, 2025 (This posting will remain open until filled.)

Full position description and application instructions

Job Description:

Our Forestry Technician crew is on the front-lines in our program to control HWA on forest lands in North Carolina. As a Forestry Technician, you will work fall through spring as part of a small team conducting hemlock restoration activities on national, state, and otherwise conserved forests, including parks, game lands, and private lands across Western North Carolina. These activities will consist of conducting chemical treatments for HWA, scouting and assessing the health of hemlock stands, writing and updating hemlock treatment plans for each site, installing and collecting data from impact monitoring plots, and to a lesser degree supporting other HWA control strategies, including biological and silvicultural control strategies. This work is done mostly in the field, in backcountry wooded terrains. Work days are generally 10+ hour days, spent outside. On occasion, the technician crew will work with others (such as volunteers, Job Corps, ACE, BRIDGE, other agency staff, etc.) to accomplish the above tasks. This position is an excellent opportunity to be a member of a dynamic team, play an influential role in addressing an important forest health issue, and work in ecologically special and often stunningly beautiful natural areas across Western North Carolina and the Southern Appalachians. The ideal candidate will believe in the program’s mission, embrace a positive, collegial culture, and relish being a member of a hard-working team for a transformative non-profit organization

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Perform chemical treatment of hemlock trees on state and other public lands in areas determined by the HRI Director and program partners
• Prepare for workdays, incl. acquiring maps of and directions to site, reviewing treatment plans, checking equipment, etc.
• Drive HRI program vehicle or personal vehicle to and from site and on-site, when necessary; maintain gas & mileage log
• Scout and assess potential Hemlock Conservation Areas and draft or update HTPs
• Provide on-site guidance, instruction & additional facilitation of volunteers, workshop participants, and occasionally Job Corps and BRIDGE crews.
• Work independently to conduct treatments when other crews are not available
• And more!