Online Conservation Courses - Forestry Programs

Turn your love of "the great outdoors" into a rewarding career with the Penn Foster Wildlife/Forestry Conservation Program. Train quickly and conveniently with our proven distance learning method. Earn your Career Diploma in Wildlife/Forestry Conservation in as little as six months! You'll learn all about:

• Wildlife law enforcement and population management.
• Forest ecology and protection.
• Park and recreational facility operation.
• Field equipment and safety.

And you'll learn it all at home - no classroom needed! Start a satisfying, new career. Why train for a career in Wildlife/Forestry Conservation? With the right credentials, you can:

• Earn great pay in a healthy environment.
• Work for the government or a national park.
• Make a difference by preserving our precious natural resources.

There is an increasing global emphasis on issues such as environmental protection and responsible land management. That means an opportunity for you in a field you love!

We'll send you FREE information with absolutely no obligation! Find out more about our distance learning program in Wildlife/Forestry Conservation that includes:

• All the books, lessons, equipment, and learning aids you need.
• High-powered binoculars - yours to keep and use in your new career.
• Toll-free instructional support.
• Access to student services by website, phone, and mail.

Get more information today and in as little as six months from enrollment, you can be on your way to a career in Wildlife/Forestry Conservation!

* Growth figures represent a ten-year period ending 2012. Source: "National Industry-Occupation Employment Matrix," a publication of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Conservation
This Ashworth University home study course will provide you with an understanding of the relationships between organisms and their environment and the principles of ecology. You’ll study the two laws of energy; food chains of various organisms; the biomes: forests, grasslands, tundra, and deserts.

You’ll also learn about principles of wildlife management; types of wildlife habitats; animal movement explained (dispersal of young, mass emigration, and migration); organic and non-organic poisoning; why deer and waterfowl die; national wildlife refuges; protecting and controlling wildlife; and duties of a wildlife manager. 

Jobs in this field include:
Park Ranger Assistant - Help rangers in educating visitors; maintain and improve shelters, displays, and hiking trails; patrol wildlife habitats.
Visitor Center Specialist - Help educate tourists who visit natural history centers, hiking trails, campgrounds, historical sites, and national forests.
Biologist or Wildlife Assistant - Assist in field research, sample collecting, and monitoring of fish, plant, or wildlife.
Wildlife Handler - Aid in the care, control, capture, and transportation of animals at a wildlife preserve or zoo.
Nature Park Specialist - Assist with environmental programs for youth and adult groups; help maintain facilities.

Types of Forestry Jobs

Forest and conservation workers perform a variety of tasks to reforest and conserve timberlands, and to maintain forest facilities, such as roads and campsites. Some forest workers, called tree planters, use digging and planting tools called “dibble bars” and “hoedads” to plant seedlings to reforest timberland areas. Forest workers also remove diseased or undesirable trees with power saws or handsaws, spray trees with insecticides and fungicides to kill insects and to protect against disease, and apply herbicides on undesirable brush and trees to reduce competing vegetation. Forest workers in private industry, usually working under the direction of professional foresters, paint boundary lines, assist with prescribed burning, aid in marking and measuring trees, and keep tallies of those trees examined and counted. Forest workers who work for State and local governments or who are under contract to the Federal Government also clear away brush and debris from camp trails, roadsides, and camping areas. Some of these workers clean kitchens and rest rooms at recreational facilities and campgrounds.

Other forest and conservation workers work in forest nurseries, sorting out tree seedlings and discarding those not meeting prescribed standards of root formation, stem development, and condition of foliage.

Some forest workers are employed on tree farms, where they plant, cultivate, and harvest many different kinds of trees. Their duties vary with the type of farm. Those who work on specialty farms, such as farms growing Christmas or ornamental trees for nurseries, are responsible for shearing treetops and limbs to control the growth of the trees under their care, to increase the density of limbs, and to improve the shapes of the trees. In addition, these workers’ duties include planting the seedlings, spraying to control surrounding weed growth and insects, and harvesting the trees.

Other forest workers gather, by hand or with the use of hand tools, products from the woodlands, such as decorative greens, tree cones and barks, moss, and other wild plant life. Still others tap trees for sap to make syrup or to produce chemicals.