Employer: Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources,

Location: Columbia County, PA

Status: Full-time

Application deadline: March 18, 2026

Full position description and application instructions

As a Forest Program Specialist, you will serve as an Area Forest Health Specialist, responsible for the field implementation of the activities of the Division of Forest Health over an inter-county area encompassing four forest districts. These activities include forest pest suppression, forest insect and disease survey and detection, and information and education programs necessary to fulfill the Bureau of Forestry’s goals of monitoring and managing destructive insects and diseases on Pennsylvania’s public and private forest resources. You will also be responsible for planning, coordinating, monitoring, conducting, supervising, and evaluating these activities, and may serve as Field Project Leader for statewide forest health projects. Within this role, it is vital to foster effective working relationships with appropriate contacts from other PA agencies, universities, cooperative extensions, conservation districts, federal agencies (particularly the US Forest Service), and collaborative landscape-level organizations which operate within Pennsylvania.

Minimum Experience and Training Requirements:

• Two years of experience as a Forester (Commonwealth job title or equivalent Federal Government job title, as determined by the Office of Administration); or
• Two years of experience as a Forest Nursery Assistant Manager (Commonwealth job title or equivalent Federal Government job title, as determined by the Office of Administration); or
• Any equivalent combination of experience and training which affords the applicant the required knowledges, skills, and abilities.