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Forestry, B.S. | Class of
Dillon Sheedy
Fire, Fuels, and Forestry program director
Employer: Watershed Research and Training Center (WRTC)
Job description: I currently work as the Fire, Fuels, and Forestry program director for the Watershed Research and Training Center (WRTC) in Hayfork, CA. The WRTC is a nonprofit organization with many different programs that work at the community and national levels to implement and influence natural resource management. My program focuses specifically on working with public and private landowners in Trinity County to accomplish forestry projects and hazardous fuel reduction activities. Our fuel treatments aim to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire events and the threat it poses to life and property by reducing accumulations of fuels in strategic locations. My program includes five forestry technicians, four wildlife technicians, a licensed timber operator (LTO), 12 sawyers and a four-person piling crew. Fuel treatments that the WRTC implements on public and private lands include prescribed burning, pile/jackpot burning, mastication, hand thinning, and chipping.
About Dillon
What would you say to prospective students who are thinking about applying to this program?
My advice to prospective forestry students: All throughout the country, especially in California, there is a great need for more foresters with good educational backgrounds. Many foresters are retiring in the next five years and the opportunities are bountiful! If you are interested in a rewarding career working outside in beautiful areas, forestry is for you. In my opinion, there is no better place to attend forestry school than at Humboldt State University. I cannot speak enough to the high quality of the professors there, and the quality of education that I received. I felt more than prepared for a professional forestry career upon graduation. The amount of experiential learning is unmatched, you are literally attending school in the most diverse region in California and get to learn by doing. If you decide to go to forestry school, give it everything you have and take it seriously. The forest will thank you.