Overview

Lake City Community College (LCCC) celebrates 58 years of Workforce and Community Education excellence in 2005.  LCCC began in 1947 as a Forest Ranger School and is now one of the 28 comprehensive, public community colleges in the State of Florida. Since its inception, the forestry program at LCCC has grown progressively changing from the Columbia School of Forestry, the Forest Ranger School, Forest Technology, Forest Operations, to the current Forest Operations.

This college certificate program is 1 year in length.  The objective of the Forest Operations program is to produce a motivated, knowledgeable, skilled Forest Technician who meets the employment needs of the forest industry.  Emphasis is placed on providing students with a sound, practical, background of field and classroom experiences in forestry.  Instruction by experienced professional foresters and industry friends of the school give students the preparation necessary to meet the demands of this challenging outdoor career.

Students of this program, become skilled in subjects such as tree identification, harvesting, soils, hydrology, forest mapping, fire science, insects, disease, reforestation, silviculture, aerial photogrammetry, timber inventory and procurement cruising. These skills are honed and seasoned through actual field, hands-on laboratory exercises that accompany most classroom objectives.  These skills are tested and refined to a professional level during the student’s final summer semester experience of procurement forestry.

The current job demand is for graduates who work with industrial forest companies, private consultant foresters and various federal and state forestry concerns.  The program faculty stays in constant contact with changes in industry through their program support, professional meetings, and through the Forest Operations Management Advisory Board which meets at least once a year on campus to review the program.  Pursuant to these contacts, specific training is upgraded and adjusted periodically to meet the changing needs of the forest community.

Admission to the Forest Operations program is open to persons who are at least 16 years of age and have a high school diploma or GED.  A sound background in Mathematics and English is desirable.  Each applicant must provide required test scores (SAT, ACT, or CPT). The CPT may be taken at LCCC before registering for classes.  Students not achieving the minimum score will be required by LCCC to complete remedial classes before advancing to the college level class.  Remedial work can be completed while the student is concurrently enrolled in forestry classes.

Graduates of LCCC’s Forest Operations program are prepared to seek employment in the many diversified opportunities within the forest industry.  Some graduates choose to further their education by pursuing additional education.  Department instructors offer career advisement and assist graduates in gaining challenging positions in the Forestry Industry.