Forestry Tech Program

Centralia College in conjunction with Grays Harbor College offers a two-year Associate in Applied Science Degree in Natural Resources-Forestry Technician.

New program begins Fall 2009

The planned primary site for Fall 2009 and Winter 2010 coursework will be Centralia College East in Morton. During the six-week, intensive Spring 2010 quarter, students will travel to multiple sites throughout the state. The program is designed with transfer-level math, English, and other coursework to enable potential transfer to a bachelor degree program.
Read the 9/16/09 News Release »

Career Opportunities

There are many career opportunities in the field of forestry. For students with the focus on forestry and natural resource sciences, career options include: biologist, botanist, hydrologist, forester, environmental protection specialist, microbiologist, naturalist, ecologist, soil scientist, pathologist/entomologist, fisheries and wildlife, limnologist, and zoologist.

For students with a focus on management and conservation, career options include: forestry technician, forester, urban forester, research forester, arborist, environmental consultant, forest resource administrator, conservation geology, fire suppression specialist, rangeland specialist, environmental protection specialist, land use planner, habitat conservation specialist, GIS cartography, GPS field technician, biometrician, biostatistician, natural resource specialist, nursery/greenhouse manager, silviculturalist, soil management, insect and disease management, and land rehabilitation specialist.

What do forestry techs do?

Forestry technicians in the Forest Service work alongside foresters and other resource specialists protecting and maintaining nearly 200 million acres of forests, lakes, mountains, and grasslands. You might work in relative isolation, maintaining trails or recording wildlife habitats in the backcountry, be in constant contact with the public in developed recreation sites such as campgrounds or work in fire suppression or fire education. Whatever type of work you do as a forestry technician, you will almost always be outdoors on all kinds of assignments–from fighting wildfires to patrolling on skis–and innumerable jobs in between.