Forest and Conservation Workers

Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations
O*NET-SOC code
45-4011.00

Under supervision, perform manual labor necessary to develop, maintain, or protect areas such as forests, forested areas, woodlands, wetlands, and rangelands through such activities as raising and transporting seedlings; combating insects, pests, and diseases harmful to plant life; and building structures to control water, erosion, and leaching of soil. Includes forester aides, seedling pullers, tree planters, and gatherers of nontimber forestry products such as pine straw.

  • Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08

    Low· relative

    LowFour relative bandsVery high

    Group-level value

    Scale, basis and source

    Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)

    831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band

    Source dataset (XLSX download)

  • Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03

    0.000

    0.000Range of values carried here0.745
    Scale, basis and source

    Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published

    Mapped onto O*NET tasks

    Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value

    Source dataset (CSV download)

  • Data source: ILOPublished: 2025

    0.09–0.12· 2 ISCO-08 groups

    Scale, basis and source

    Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published

    Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published

    Source dataset (PDF download)

What kind of figure this source publishes

The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.

ILO value for each linked ISCO-08 group
  • ISCO-08 6210Forestry and Related Workers0.12
  • ISCO-08 9215Forestry Labourers0.09

Task-level exposure

Show 20 hidden tasks

21 rated tasks · 1 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (4.8%)

β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.

  • Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
  • 4 rated tasks are not in the O*NET 31.0 task list; their scores are kept as published for O*NET 27.2.
Source
OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
Release
gh-main-0471612
License
MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI

Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime.

Task (O*NET 27.2)βE1 + 0.5 × E2
Maintain tallies of trees examined and counted during tree marking or measuring efforts.

O*NET Task ID 7035

1.0

β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.

Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page

All O*NET 31.0 task statements (17)

All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.

Task (O*NET 31.0)Type
Check equipment to ensure that it is operating properly.Core
Confer with other workers to discuss issues, such as safety, cutting heights, or work needs.Core
Fight forest fires or perform prescribed burning tasks under the direction of fire suppression officers or forestry technicians.Core
Perform fire protection or suppression duties, such as constructing fire breaks or disposing of brush.Core
Select or cut trees according to markings or sizes, types, or grades.Supplemental
Identify diseased or undesirable trees and remove them, using power saws or hand saws.Supplemental
Spray or inject vegetation with insecticides to kill insects or to protect against disease or with herbicides to reduce competing vegetation.Supplemental
Thin or space trees, using power thinning saws.Supplemental
Maintain tallies of trees examined and counted during tree marking or measuring efforts.Supplemental
Erect signs or fences, using posthole diggers, shovels, or other hand tools.Supplemental
Prune or shear tree tops or limbs to control growth, increase density, or improve shape.Supplemental
Select tree seedlings, prepare the ground, or plant the trees in reforestation areas, using manual planting tools.Supplemental
Provide assistance to forest survey crews by clearing site-lines, holding measuring tools, or setting stakes.Supplemental
Explain or enforce regulations regarding camping, vehicle use, fires, use of buildings, or sanitation.Supplemental
Operate skidders, bulldozers, or other prime movers to pull a variety of scarification or site preparation equipment over areas to be regenerated.Supplemental
Maintain campsites or recreational areas, replenishing firewood or other supplies and cleaning kitchens or restrooms.Supplemental
Sort tree seedlings, discarding substandard seedlings, according to standard charts or verbal instructions.Supplemental

Occupation information

Employment outlook (BLS)

Employment, 2025
15K
Projected employment, 2035
15K
Change (2025–35)
-1.5%
Median annual wage, 2025
$43,680
Typical education needed for entry
High school diploma or equivalent
lowest $30,890median wage across 825 detailed occupations, BLS EP 2025–35highest $559,030

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35 — Employment by detailed occupation, 2025 and projected 2035

Korea classification links (KSCO)

Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.

KSCO codeKSCO titleRelationStatus
62011조림원 및 산림 경영인This occupation is broaderconfirmed
62091임산물 채취원This occupation is broaderconfirmed
62099그 외 임업 관련 종사원This occupation is broaderconfirmed
99129그 외 임업 관련 단순 종사원This occupation is broaderconfirmed

Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)

ILO occupational description

AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.

  • ISCO-08 6210Forestry and Related Workers
  • ISCO-08 9215Forestry Labourers

Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits

ESCO occupational vocabulary

Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.

  • forest workerESCO 9215.1Same scope

    Forest workers carry out a variety of jobs to care for and manage trees, woodland areas and forests. Their activities include include planting, trimming, thinning and felling trees and protecting them from pests, diseases and damage.

  • forest rangerESCO 6210.1Overlapping, not the same

    Forest rangers are responsible for the protection and conservation of natural resources, particularly in regards to forests and woodlands.

  • forestry equipment operatorESCO 8341.1Overlapping, not the same

    Forestry equipment operators carry out operations with specialised equipment in the forest to maintain, harvest, extract and forward wood for the manufacturing of consumer goods and industrial products.

Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)

License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)

View original

ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.

France classification links (ROME)

AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.

ROME codeROME title (French)Relation
A1210Ouvrier forestier / Ouvrière forestièreThis occupation is broaderprovisional
A1202Ouvrier / Ouvrière d'entretien des espaces naturelsOverlapping, not the sameprovisional
A1204Garde natureRelated, not a matchprovisional

Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.

ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.

(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)

Spain classification links (CNO-11)

AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.

CNO-11 codeCNO-11 title (Spanish)Relation
9543Peones forestales y de la cazaThis occupation is narrower
6410Trabajadores cualificados en actividades forestales y del medio naturalRelated, not a match

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.

(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)

Germany classification links (KldB)

AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.

KldB codeKldB title (German)Relation
11711Berufe in der Forstwirtschaft - Helfer-/AnlerntätigkeitenOverlapping, not the sameprovisional
11712Berufe in der Forstwirtschaft - fachlich ausgerichtete TätigkeitenOverlapping, not the sameprovisional
11722Berufe in der Natur- und Landschaftspflege - fachlich ausgerichtete TätigkeitenRelated, not a matchprovisional

Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.

(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)

Japan classification links (JSCO)

AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.

JSCO codeJSCO title (Japanese)Relation
471育林従事者Same scope
472伐木・造材・集材従事者Related, not a match
479その他の林業従事者Related, not a match

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.

(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)

Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources