LOGAN, Utah — It is beautiful out in the Cache National Forest, so who wouldn’t want to work there? That’s a question the Forest Service is trying to answer.
There’s the obvious work of fighting forest fires, and the work of preventing fires by managing forests. The Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University is struggling to fill both.
"We could place more forestry graduates in jobs than we have," explained forestry professor Jim Lutz.
They already have serious students.
"I’m really interested in forest pathology and like what is killing trees and potentially how to like help the trees survive," said ecology student Lea Laslow.
And the program has government support.
"There’s an influx of federal and money, state money," said the school's Lael Gilbert. "Leaders are recognizing the big need that we have for healthier forests."
While the money is there, the job applicants are in shorter supply.
The Forest Service says they have problems filling positions because their needs are always changing. They might need help with drought management, a bug infestation, or selling off excess timber. The other problem is a lot of their jobs are out of cellphone range.
Yes, some applicants say they need to stay connected with social media more than nature. But that's not a problem for current students.
"It’s promising knowing that I have a lot of security in getting a job when I graduate," said Laslow.
"It’ll be nice that when I’m finished with college," shared freshman Jakob Florence, "[to] be able to get out there and start working,"
