The Forest Management Technology curriculum is designed to train individuals in technical forest management skills and help them develop competence in performing various woodland operations. Successful graduates are able to carry out woodland activities prescribed by landowners, consulting foresters, and/or forest industries.
The forestry laboratory utilizes a variety of equipment including: hand-held timber measuring devices; water and soil testing kits; surveying equipment; microscopes; and global positioning/geographical information systems as well as computers with software that will simulate, map and calculate the information gathered with these devices. The program has heavy equipment to simulate a small logging operation, including chainsaws, brush cutters, a skidder, a knuckle boom loader and a D- 4 bulldozer. The program also has a firefighting brush truck used in wildland fire suppression training.
The campus forest comprises approximately 134 acres of timber land, divided into a variety of forest types, managed in sections to provide students with a broad spectrum of learning experiences.
Some areas of study in the Forest Management Technology program include the following: dendrology; fire management; forest botany; forest ecology; forest entomology; forest equipment operation; forest measurements; forest pathology; forest pesticides; forest recreation; forest surveying; GPS/GIS; logging and marketing; remote sensing; silviculture; soils and hydrology; timber cruising; wildlife and environmental studies.
Potential employers of MCC’s Forest Management Technology graduates include: North Carolina State Forest Service, United States Forest Service, logging companies, land surveyors, consulting foresters, private forestry industry, forest product manufacturers, private landowner services companies, state park services, urban tree services or self-employment.
The Forestry Club is a voluntary campus organization comprised of students, faculty and staff at MCC. The club works to provide students with opportunities to promote their profession in the community, to participate in fundraisers and outreach activities, and to learn about people and agencies that play a vital role in the forest management field. The club attends two woodsman’s competitions each year, testing their extreme sports prowess in lumberjack & lumberjill activities.
See MCC’s Woodsmen’s Team prepare for the Mid-Atlantic Woodsman’s Meet on the Buckley Report.
| PROGRAM OPTIONS | REQUIRED HOURS | Program Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Associate in Applied Science Degree | 70-76 semester hours | Costs |
| Geographic Information Systems Certificate | 12 semester hours | Costs |
| Recreation Certificate | 13 semester hours | Costs |
