State forester licensing / registration

USA · State boards of registration for foresters (about a third of states, mainly in the South and Northeast, plus California) · licensing · unverified source

75practice questions written to this syllabus
6subjects

Format

Unverified; varies by state. Typically a forestry degree (often SAF-accredited) plus supervised experience; some states set their own exam, some accept the SAF CF exam, some register without an exam.

Sections

Over the years

Unverified: no state board page was opened. Check the board in the state where you will practise.

Official source: https://www.eforester.org/

Subjects this exam draws on

Principles of Silviculture14 questionsForest Mensuration14 questionsForest Management & Yield Regulation15 questionsForest Economics & Valuation16 questionsForest Policy, Law & Governance9 questionsProfessional Forestry Practice, Ethics & Registration7 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. Why is a harvest in a silvicultural system planned together with regeneration?

  1. Because harvests are legally required to precede any planting by exactly one year
  2. Because timber buyers insist that regeneration is completed before they pay
  3. The way and time of felling decide whether and how the next stand establishes
  4. Because regeneration is unaffected by felling and so can be scheduled at any time
Answer and working

C. The way and time of felling decide whether and how the next stand establishes

In a silvicultural system the felling pattern (clear, shelterwood, selection) creates the light, seedbed and seed-source conditions for the next crop. Treating harvest and regeneration separately is a common cause of regeneration failure.

Principles of Silviculture · Definition, objects and scope of silviculture

2. Under the US convention, breast height for dbh is:

  1. 4.5 ft (1.37 m), uphill side
  2. 4.0 ft (1.22 m) above ground on the downhill side
  3. 1.3 m above the root collar on the downhill side
  4. 5.0 ft (1.52 m) above ground on the uphill side
Answer and working

A. 4.5 ft (1.37 m), uphill side

The USA measures dbh at 4.5 ft, which is 1.37 m, from the uphill side. The 1.3 m height belongs to the metric convention used in most other countries.

Forest Mensuration · Diameter and girth measurement: breast height conventions, calipers, tapes

3. Which task belongs to forest management rather than to silviculture?

  1. Choosing the thinning method for a particular young stand
  2. Deciding the planting spacing within a single plantation
  3. Selecting the seed source for a nursery sowing this season
  4. Setting the annual allowable cut for a working circle
Answer and working

D. Setting the annual allowable cut for a working circle

Determining the allowable cut for the forest is yield regulation, the core of management. The others are stand-level silvicultural decisions.

Forest Management & Yield Regulation · Objectives and principles of forest management

4. In economic terms, keeping a mature stand standing for another year is worthwhile only if:

  1. Its value grows faster than the alternative rate of return
  2. Its volume is larger than that of any neighbouring stand in the forest
  3. Its age is less than the physical rotation for the species
  4. The owner has no other forests left to harvest
Answer and working

A. Its value grows faster than the alternative rate of return

Holding the stand reinvests its value at its rate of value growth; if that falls below what money earns elsewhere, cutting is better.

Forest Economics & Valuation · Economic characteristics of forestry: long production periods, joint products

5. Forest certification and labelling are examples of which kind of policy instrument?

  1. Direct provision by the state
  2. Regulatory prohibitions backed by criminal penalties
  3. Taxes collected at harvest
  4. Informational or voluntary market-based instruments
Answer and working

D. Informational or voluntary market-based instruments

Certification informs buyers and rewards good practice without legal compulsion.

Forest Policy, Law & Governance · Forest policy: concepts and process

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