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University forestry program seeks workforce manager to train students on $2M logging equipment
Summary
The Forest Utilization Research program at the University of Idaho requested funding for a workforce development manager to supervise student employees working with recently purchased advanced logging technology; director says the equipment was purchased with program proceeds and private support and the manager is needed to train students.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee received a brief presentation on the Forest Utilization Research program’s FY2026 request for a workforce development manager to train student employees on recently acquired advanced forestry equipment.
Kevin Campbell, budget and policy analyst for the Legislative Services Office, said the program is part of the University of Idaho’s College of Natural Resources and that it manages experimental forest properties, a nursery, a rangeland center and a recently created Wildland Fire Center. The program has 13.28 authorized FTEs with a half FTE vacant, Campbell said.
Dennis Becker, dean of the College of Natural Resources and director of the Forest Utilization Research program, told the committee the program recently bought approximately $2,000,000 in advanced logging technology using proceeds from logging operations and private industry assistance. Becker said the program lacks in-house capacity to train students on the new machines and is requesting a workforce development manager to supervise and train student employees in the University of Idaho experimental forest.
“This workforce development manager will be really important for helping us to train those students which we currently do not have capacity for,” Becker said, asking the committee for support for the governor’s recommendation.
Campbell said the FY2026 request reflects an ongoing need to prepare students for the forest products industry and to support new equipment purchased by the program. The committee did not take a vote and had no substantive follow-up requests recorded during the session.
Ending
The program’s director said he expected to discuss the request further with members of the committee at the college’s forestry luncheon and thanked lawmakers for their time.
