What Are the Different Land Manager Jobs?

Land management encompasses an incredibly broad range of activities done to protect and utilize land and natural resources. There are land manager jobs to be found in both the public and private sectors in many different countries around the world that are attempting to use their land more sustainably, and do a better job of planning for the future. Some of the most common land manager jobs include land-use planners and natural resource managers, which are still fairly broad titles. In addition, each of these titles can mean different things depending on where the position is located, such as in a rural or urban area, and what types of work needs to be done.

As a result, most people who look for land manager jobs have a very specific area of expertise that they work in. Many have bachelor's or master's degrees in environmental sciences, natural resource management, or land-use planning, to name a few. Others might specialize in forestry or other more specific types of resource management. The purpose of land management is to take a number of different factors into account when determining how to use a piece of land. This might include conservation value, such as whether the land has an especially scenic value, among other factors; likewise, important ecosystems, habitats, or threatened species found on the land are taken into consideration.

Land-use planning is one of the more common land manager jobs. This can involve everything from zoning and urban development, to developing hiking trails and recreation areas in ecologically sensitive places. A land-use planner might work with other experts in the field, such as foresters, to determine how best to manage the land to ensure least impact yet still make use of any economic benefits.

Larger scale projects may also involve land managers, such as natural gas drilling projects, or the development of solar farms and wind farms. These people might assess all possible impacts, and then determine what steps can be taken to prevent or mitigate those impacts. Land managers may also work directly with farmers, for example, to help them develop sustainable agricultural practices and attempt to protect soil and water quality that can be impacted from farming practices. There are many different types of land manager jobs around the world; some people work as private contractors, while others will work with specific branches of government or private companies.