Abstract Of all the forces that affect programs for the preparation of professional forest resources managers and scientists, perhaps none is more portentous at this time than the emergence of well-trained forest resources technicians. This paper reports on recent developments in the United States in the formal training and use of technicians for forestry and related fields, and suggests some impacts of these programs on professional preparation programs. A profound impact of the expanding training and use of forest technicians is the growing realization of the importance of these programs by faculty members responsible for professional instruction. These faculties increasingly are viewing forest technician developments as another significant and timely reason for boosting the standards of their baccalaureate and graduate programs, especially the curricula in forest (timber) management (technology).
Fletcher et al. (Sun,) studied this question.