The Forest Service is replanting Southeast landscapes ravaged two years ago by Hurricane Helene. But it’s the nonprofit group American Forests — not the agency — that’s hiring for the mission.
American Forests, an organization perhaps best known for planting trees in cities and towns around the country, recently advertised job openings for orchard managers and a reforestation technician to focus on national forests in the Southeast, part of a five-year stewardship agreement with the Forest Service.
Those are positions that before the Trump administration might have been considered government jobs, although the Forest Service said they don’t replace agency positions. Still, a combination of last year’s heavy workforce reductions at the forest agency, great demand created by storm damage and funding made available by the Biden administration five years ago have combined to lay the groundwork for the hiring push.
“I believe right now the conditions are calling for an all-hands approach,” said American Forests President and CEO Hilary Franz, adding that the jobs in the Southeast are just part of the organization’s nationwide work on reforestation on both federal and nonfederal land. “This isn’t new that the Forest Service is relying on partners to help.”
