About the BC Forest Service In 1912, the Forests Branch was created to protect and manage British Columbia's vast and diverse forests. Now known as the Ministry of Forests and Range or the B.C. Forest Service, we continue to protect the public's interest and provide leadership in the protection, management and use of the province's forest and range lands.

The B.C. Forest Service is the main agency responsible for the stewardship of 47 million hectares of provincial forestland - the second largest public forest on earth. We manage the timber, range and recreation resources. We also provide fire protection services for 84 million hectares.

With about 95 per cent of the land base in B.C. publicly owned, the government has significant influence in determining how and where harvesting takes place. If you are interested in helping to protect and manage our province's greatest natural resource, consider a career in forestry with the B.C. Forest Service.

Our Staff

We employ about 3,000 people in 49 locations across the province, making us the single largest employer of forest professionals in B.C. We also enter into contracts with many others for specialized or shorter-term services.

The Forest Service headquarters are in Victoria, where staff advise the Minister of Forests and the provincial cabinet on all matters relating to forest and range policy-making. The head office also supports and guides the work of regional and district offices throughout the province.

The majority of staff work at regional and district offices throughout the province. For purposes of administration, the province is divided into three regions. The Northern Interior Forest Region is headquartered in Prince George, the Southern Interior Forest Region in Kamloops, and the Coast Forest Region in Nanaimo. Staff at these regional offices provide direction to and monitor activities of the district offices.

Each region is divided into forest districts, with 29 district offices and about 10 other field offices in all. The district office is the front-line operation of the Forest Service and employs the majority of the ministry's staff. Led by their District Managers, these staff carry out field work needed to implement and administer forest and range legislation. They also monitor field activities to ensure compliance with government rules in place to conserve forest values. They manage forest and range lands, plan forest recreation, establish new forests, protect a full range of forest resources, plan forest roads and much more.

• View a map of Forest Service locations

B.C. Forest Service Careers

The B.C. Forest Service requires the services of people in a wide range of specializations. The key areas include silviculture, forest engineering, timber management, range management, research, strategic planning, forest recreation, forest protection and compliance and enforcement.

These forest professionals require the support of a wide variety of other staff members, for example, in administrative services, human resources and financial management.

The Forest Service regularly has openings in entry-level positions all the way up to executive postings.

• View current openings
• View BCFS Firefighting information

As employees of the provincial government, Ministry of Forests and Range staff are members of the B.C. public service and enjoy competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits.

• Learn more about benefits for public service employees

Qualifications

For most Forest Service careers, qualifications include the knowledge, skills and abilities generally associated with:

• graduation from a college or institute of technology in a forestry or forestry-related technology program (two-year diploma program); or,
• university graduation in a forestry or forestry-related program (four-year degree programs).

In certain circumstances, these skills, abilities and knowledge can be gained through a combination of training and experience.

You may be employed as a Scientific/Technical Officer (S/TO) with a diploma, or the equivalent combination of training and experience. Your level of classification (there are seven S/TO levels) and your salary will depend on your work and your experience. For example, an engineering technician or forestry technician is classified at the S/TO3 level. A forest protection technician or a fire management planning technician is classified at the S/TO4 level.

With a university degree, you may be eligible for Licensed Science Officer (LSO) positions. Your level of classification (there are five LSO levels) and your salary will depend on your work and your experience. To qualify for an LSO position you must have a degree in forestry, agriculture, geoscience or engineering and be eligible for registration in a related, recognized licensed professional organization. Examples of LSO positions include engineering officers, forest health officers, planning officers, timber officers and compliance and enforcement practices foresters.

Salaries

For Scientific/Technical Officer positions (S/TO1 to S/TO7), salaries range from $40,000 to $71,000 per year.

For Licensed Science Officer positions (LSO1 to LSO5), salaries range from $39,000 to $79,000 per year.

For management positions—Applied, Strategic or Business, qualifications vary and salaries range from $40,000 to $92,000, depending on the complexity and responsibility of the position. Examples of management positions include regional managers, district managers, branch directors, operations managers and program managers.

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Forestry Facts — Did You Know?

• B.C.’s parks and protected areas are almost four times the size of Vancouver Island.
• B.C. has had an average of 1,782 wildfires a year since 1998.
• People cause half of all forest fires, while lightning starts the other half.
• B.C. spruce was used to build British Mosquito fighter bombers during the Second World War.
• The masts and booms of the famous Bluenose schooner, pictured on the dime, were made from B.C. Douglas fir.

• Every year, about half of all B.C. exports are forest products.