Forestry relies more on H-2B guest workers to get management done: 11 year trends

I’ve been writing this month about the important role of the H-2B guest worker program in forestry. Spring planting season has wrapped up here in the northern US states, and much of those tree planting efforts can be attributed to these H-2B workers.

The importance of the H-2B guest worker program can’t be understated. Like many sectors, we have a workforce problem in forestry. Eric Kingsley and others have written about this from an employer perspective. Forestry’s workforce issues are found at all levels. For example, the number of forest scientists is declining and loggers are getting older (and using outdated machinery and equipment, too).???

Guest workers plant trees, clear brush, conduct vegetation management, and assist in tree nursery production. Without completing these tasks, healthy forests would not be available for foresters and loggers to manage them and scientists and researchers to study them.??

The number of H-2B guest workers in forestry-related occupations has increased substantially since 2011. Using the most recent available data from the US Department of Labor, H-2B guest workers in forestry have increased by 89% since 2011. The number of guest workers in forestry increased from 8,527 in 2011 to 16,137 in 2022:

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Guest workers in forestry include forestry and conservation workers, tree trimmers and pruners, farm workers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse workers, and recreation workers (134). All occupations of forestry workers have increased since 2011:

The forest industry has increasingly relied on the H-2B program to complete core forest management tasks. What would our forests look like in absence of these guest workers, if forests weren’t reforested or managed?

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I recently completed a full analysis of the 2022 data on H-2B guest workers in forestry. Read here to learn more.