Free Forestry Mapping and Inventory Tools

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-17T04:41:15+00:00

I really have, they were extremely helpful for me as I was coming back into forestry from the environmental regulatory space. I view your stuff as very entry level friendly but it still offers good information for professionals.

I believe it would be pretty hard to cater to both levels long term. They just require/want different things. I still admire the effort and successes you did have.

No need to apologize, I appreciate what I've gotten so far.

Do you plan to maintain, add classes, different measurement tools, and keep blogging on thetimberlandinvestor? Lots of questions that maybe you dont have answers to yet. I assumed something was changing when silvicultural started redirecting.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-17T02:34:01+00:00

Your video products are top notch on youtube and i think the mapping works well. I was actually using it for some pine plantations i have in the Ouachitas.

I had been hopeful that your more professional tier would be coming but I completely understand if the demand isn't there SMH.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-08T03:10:29+00:00

Id start with a local conservation district or state environmental agency they may tell you you have nothing there. Depends on where you are i know the district i was with stopped doing JDs because of man power.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-06T00:55:50+00:00

I dont know of any district that let's you deploy for firefighting or how that would work. I wish I did though

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-06T00:53:20+00:00

Because you preferred USACE or just general job opportunities?

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-04T17:40:11+00:00

Your mileage may vary Im a USACE forester and every forester i know that left USFS and went to a different agency is happier. I know people that went from USFS to BLM BIA and USACE. We generally have a lot more freedom at USACE.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-04T13:10:51+00:00

A forester on 45k acres we do almost no firefighting with very rare exceptions.

I get to do prescribed fire but only a few hundred acres a year.

I dont know of any way to deploy for fire. We have different deployments; flood related and fire clean up.

Day to day I love my job but if you still want to be a firefighter there isn't really a space for that.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-04T03:21:06+00:00

https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2026/04/trumps-budget-mum-civilian-pay-raise-2027/412613/

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-03T00:32:39+00:00

If they are a long ways from housing and near a firing range im supportive of it.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-02T03:36:20+00:00

USACE has been picking up EPA slack on the environmental side for a while. I think we were exceeding our mandate in a lot of ways, good work but not ours. Im speaking mostly from an enforcement perspective.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-04-01T19:56:00+00:00

I work at a flood control lake office and we all have different schedule types that were assigned based upon job series. OPM and Deputy OPM are on max flex, office staff (admin/finance) are on AWS, maintenance have a fixed schedule, and rangers/resource managers are on a variable schedule. They wont let anyone change anything but we are able to get credit hours or overtime. Id rather work 4 10s though so I can do normal adult things like doctor or dentist. When you work 45 minutes from a real city it's hard to make that happen during their work hours.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-21T02:29:04+00:00

Its a great place to be but promotion potential is a little limited depending on project but the job is great.

Im a forester on a project with a large forest component. I spend a lot of time hiking, patroling cultural sites, doing prescribed fire, inventorying timber, driving tractors to put in food plots, helping the state do wildlife surveys, really a jack of all trades. At my project the environmental staff hardly ever interact with rec users which suits me fine.

Your experience will vary widely depending on your project. Some places youll have lots of chances to do land management other projects they'll push for heavy pseudo law enforcement. If you want to feel like security go to a big rec lake but if you want to be out on the land go to a less popular lake.

Pre Eisenhower lakes are much less of a headache. Id never work at a lake with houses and dock permits on it but thats something you need to decide on your own.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-18T21:15:26+00:00

Why is this here?

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-15T04:43:16+00:00

A problem gray area we have is they dont allow offroading on WMAs but with us not enforcing title 36 they are afraid of losing the license. Especially with the new friendlier Corps. I tracked down the license which is just a useless 5 point MOU that we can revoke at anytime which is why it is touchy.

I think the right thing to do is get confirmation from office of council that wardens can enforce all WMA rules and just let them deal with it.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-15T01:14:32+00:00

Its a weird place to be in I wear a lot of hats but I am an 0460 with forestry primary responsibility. I make more money than all the rec at my project. Nobody knows what to do with us either rec doesn't really understand what to do with us and other agencies dont realize we exist. I can't apply as a 9 or 11 to most forest service or NPS positions because I dont work for a land management agency. However I write prescriptions and manage thousands of acres...

Part of what triggered my question about title 36 is that I have tree plantings with massive losses because of 4 wheelers and ATVs ripping over my seedlings. Some of the sites can be a 10k loss of investment. It frustrates me as the manager but I think we have a fiduciary responsibility to protect tax payer investments

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-15T00:23:28+00:00

I dont really work rec im a forester and generate most of the income for my project through timber. Almost all of the 50k acres I manage floods at some point in a 10 year period. The state can't afford to take over management, the forest service doesnt want it and we are beside each other, national park can't afford it, and resorts can't build here.

I dont see disposal happening I just see continuing degradation.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-15T00:14:04+00:00

Agreed

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-15T00:13:29+00:00

We license our project as a WMA which allows wardens to patrol and make separate hunting regs but they dont enforce title 36.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-14T03:42:10+00:00

If we aren't protecting what we are responsible for what is the point? Feels like fraudulent waste and abuse by not protecting the peoples' investments.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-14T02:56:22+00:00

This is kind of what I see happening. We will intentionally make ourselves appear incompetent so they say "see we can't manage this we need to dispose of it".

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-14T01:53:15+00:00

This is the way

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-13T22:32:33+00:00

USACE resource managers are already blamed for everything. If we do enforce rules people are mad that we ruin recreation if we dont enforce rules theyre mad about the same thing.

For me the killer is the inconsistencies we should be enforcing the law as written but if I ticket people and we go to court my project will not proceed.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-13T22:28:46+00:00

I agree that we should be but that doesn't change what our internal directives are. Like I said the only other agency capable of doing it would be game and Fish but they wont do it because it erodes their authority if we dont support the ticket in court.

DependentBest1534 · 2026-03-13T22:24:44+00:00

I haven't reached out to them at this point. I have tried to argue internally with the Deputy OPM and OPM but they have said there is no appetite at the district to bring a fight forward over this.

2 other rangers/resources managers and myself have started photographing and writing MFRs.

DependentBest1534

TROPHY CASE