Committee backs scholarship program to grow Arkansas forester pipeline
HB 1389 would fund scholarships through the State Forestry Fund to recruit and train future professional foresters, aiming to address a current shortage of bachelor-level foresters; the committee approved the proposal after hearing the State Forester describe open positions.
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Senator Charles Beckham presented House Bill 1389, which creates the Arkansas Foresters for the Future Scholarship in coordination with the University of Arkansas at Monticello and funds the program through the State Forestry Fund. State Forester Joe Fox told the committee the industry faces a labor shortage: "We have 6 openings today," Fox said, and the scholarship aims to build a multi-year pipeline by funding one student per year initially and scaling up.
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