New forestry program headed to Lake Tahoe Community College

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A new Forestry Education and Job Placement program is heading to Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) in South Lake Tahoe.

To get things started, the California Tahoe Conservancy Board awarded the college a $351,000 grant and $480,000 was received from CAL Fire’s Forest Health Grant Program. LTCC has hired Kim Carr as their contracted consultant on the project and she helped write the grants and secure funding for the new avenue of education in South Lake Tahoe. She is bringing 30 years of forestry and environmental experience to the college.

Public agencies that manage land in the Lake Tahoe Basin have had difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified forestry staff to thin and restore overly dense forests. The Conservancy said they awarded the grant to increase the number of qualified forestry professionals, and the LTCC program will accelerate large-scale restoration and wildfire protection for communities.

There is a growing need for forestry staff across the west with many different types of employers including land managers, nonprofits and private consultants. Jobs can include foresters, tree markers, arborists, forest health specialists, and those that evaluate the impact of fire on wildlife.

Carr said there is a big demand around the state for employees in the forestry field. She said the LTCC program will focus on areas like restoration, reducing the risk of fire, forest service and climate resiliency.

Employment opportunities will be developed in conjunction with local industry partners to provide students with the required work experience.

"This will serve as a model across the state," said Carr of the local forestry program at the college.

This year is being spent in program design, and the target is to launch initial programming next academic year (2021/22). Courses are typically capped around 35 students, but as student demands increase, LTCC said they can add additional sections.

During this design year, the LTCC plan:

- Convene California Forestry Education Summit
- Outline Key Elements of Program as per regional and statewide input
- Design Employability Skills Certificate, Certificate(s) of Achievement, and AS Degree and submit for approval through LTCC and CCCCO
- Outline Job Placement Element of the Program and Secure Employer Partner Commitments

The California Conservation Corps is the foundational student cohort and have enrolled their staff to start LTCC in January. They will be taking existing courses and working their way through the college and have an employable forestry certificate at the end.

South Tahoe High School students will also be part of the forestry program through the Lake Tahoe Unified School District's Career Technical Education (CTE) curriculum. Students will take the environmental course pathway and end up with skills they can use in the forestry job market. They can also enroll in the LTCC program after high school graduation.

The Program will offer stackable certificates (including Employable Skills Certificates and Certificate(s) of Achievement), a proposed Associate in Science (AS) degree, training for forest restoration jobs in the field, and project planning and management. The Program develops standard curriculum in coordination with other California Community Colleges and aligns curriculum to accreditation standards required for a Registered Professional Forester (RPF) license.

LTCC's will be flexible with students' schedules since they expect many will be working in the field during summer and spring, Carr said.

The college will also be working with California State University faculty to explore 4-year transfer opportunities for students in the LTCC forestry program. Other community colleges are also expected to look at the LTCC program model for possible replication across the state.

Other financial partners are California Conservation Corps (CCC) and ADVANCE. Partners committed to the project include primary employers in the local forestry industry, the USDA Forest Service – Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, California Tahoe Conservancy, California Department of Parks and Recreation, Tahoe Resource Conservation District, League to Save Lake Tahoe, and Sierra Nevada Alliance.