Service Forester

Sdsoybean; Rapid City (SD); On-site; USD 46,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance (0 premium option)

11 paid holidays

Vacation and sick leave accrual

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources seeks a Forester to manage Good Neighbor Authority projects in the Black Hills region. The role involves planning restoration work, coordinating with federal partners, contractors, and landowners, and ensuring NEPA compliance while conducting field surveys and timber-related activities.

The position requires forestry education or equivalent experience, strong communication, and familiarity with ArcGIS.

Qualifications

• Formal education or experience in forestry or related natural resource field.
• Ability to coordinate with diverse forestry interests and agencies.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Field reconnaissance and timber cruise planning and marking.
• Draft and implement timber cruise plans and conduct timber appraisals.
• Prepare and administer timber and service work contracts; ensure NEPA compliance.

Skills

Forestry knowledge

Geographic information systems

Communication skills

Education

Forestry-related education/experience

Tools

ArcGIS/ArcPro

Job description

Rapid City, SD or Hot Springs, SD | Agriculture and Natural Resources | Full-Time 40 Hours Weekly

24.40 - 24.40 US per hour

Posted 4 days ago | Apply before October 8, 2026

Description

Job ID: 37636
Agency: Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Location:Rapid City or Hot Springs, SD
Salary:$24.40/hr
Pay Grade:H
Closing Date: 10/16/2026

This position will work with DANR’s Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) projects throughout the Black Hills of South Dakota. The goal of the GNA Program is to accelerate the pace, scale, and quality of forest restoration to increase the resilience of South Dakota’s forests. The GNA Forester works with their federal counterparts to develop agreements and/or contracts that lead to completion of projects as outlined in the GNA agreements. They will be responsible for reviewing, planning and implementing forest and watershed restoration activities, through the use of service contracts and timber sale contracts. This position will work with forest contractors and purchasers to accomplish GNA work that adheres to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. The forester will consider ground-based logging feasibility and resource protection measures, such as best management practices when performing layout activities. Additional duties potentially include forest management assistance, coordinate, and administer forestry activities and programs with individual landowners, city or county governments or agencies, and conservation districts; provide technical assistance; write forest stewardship plans; provide educational information to ensure effective conservation practices related to trees, forests, tree insect and disease identification and management, and the protection of the state's resources. Day travel is frequent, and overnight trips will average about 2-3 nights per month. Normal work hours will be 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Timber Sale and Service Work Preparation and Layout

• Field reconnaissance, stream or other surveys, boundary positioning and marking, and identification of and documentation of resources present.
• Timber marking.
• Draft and implement a timber cruise plan.
• Conduct timber appraisals.
• Identify appropriate harvest operations and systems, create logging plans.
• Road layout and assessment of road condition and maintenance needs, new road construction and improvement needs including layout and marking in the field.
• Reviewing stream layers, stream buffers, stream classification, road layers and other environmental concerns in Arc GIS software.

Contract Preparation and Administration

• Prepares timber and service work contracts.
• Conduct pre-operations meetings with Purchaser to clarify expectations and review contract requirements.
• Understands and adheres to the NEPA requirements and mitigations measures when preparing timber sale contracts. Ensures contractor/operators adhere to the provisions of the timber sale contract.
• Track volumes harvest and enter required information into tracking databases to ensure billing is both timely and accurate.
• Conduct periodic checks on accomplished work to ensure the prescription and contract requirements are being adhered to.

This is a Full-Time position with the Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources. For more information on the Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources, please visit https://danr.sd.gov/ .

The Ideal Candidate Will Have:
The ideal candidate for this position will have formal education or experience in forestry or a related natural resource profession. The ideal candidate has the ability to coordinate and work with diverse forestry interests, federal agency and industry representative, public and state officials. The candidate must have the ability to adapt to ever changing work priorities and be comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people. Successful candidates will be able to explain complex forestry concepts and practices in easy to understand terms. The candidate should be a self-starter and be able work under general supervision. The ideal candidate must have a working knowledge of computers, Microsoft Office Professional software, and geographic information systems such as ArcPro. The ideal candidate will be able to operate a four-wheel drive truck safely on primitive roads or in offroad areas. The ideal candidate possesses strong verbal and written communication skills, strong forest management and silviculture background and experience, and knowledge of federal environmental protection laws and regulations.

Knowledge of:

• biology;
• biometrics and botany;
• forest ecology, mensuration;
• forest entomology and forest pathology;
• geographic information systems (ArcPro, field maps, etc.);
• horticulture, hydrology, plant physiology, and silviculture;
• range and timber management;
• National Environmental Policy Act;
• forest fire management, forest insects and diseases, tree biology, forest economics, forest planning;
• project design and management, urban forestry, agroforestry, and forest certification programs.

Skill to:

• use a variety of forestry tools and equipment;
• use clinometers, diameter tapes, prisms, increment borers, data recorders, hypsometers, global positioning systems to collect data;
• interpret these data.

Ability to:

• work productively in a remote field location with limited supervision;
• prioritize work to complete all assigned tasks correctly and on-time;
• drive a 4-wheel drive truck in a variety of weather conditions;
• use forestry tools for measuring purposes: clinometer, hypsometer, biltmore stick, measuring wheel, compass, GPS, data recorders;
• conduct literature and technical reference searches;
• use and interpret topographic maps;
• use Microsoft Office products: Word, Outlook, Access, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint;
• use digital graphic software, mapping programs, and GPS information uploading, downloading, and interpretation;
• write professional and technical reports that can be understood by both professional and lay persons;
• deal tactfully with others;
• communicate effectively both orally and in writing;
• work independently with minimal supervision, or with a group in a team setting;
• establish and maintain working relationships with co-workers and the public;
• keep records.

This position is eligible for Veterans’ Preference per ARSD 55:10:02:08.

The State of South Dakota does not sponsor work visas for new or existing employees. All persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete an Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9.The State of South Dakota as an employer will be using E-Verify to complete employment eligibility verification upon hire.

The State of South Dakota offers $0 premium employee health insurance option plus eleven paid holidays, generous vacation and sick leave accrual, dental, vision, and other insurance options, and retirement benefits. This position is a member of Class A retirement under SDRS.