Ohio governor, ODNR director announce Ohio Woodlands Job Corps program

COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland and Sean Logan, director, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, announced today the Ohio Division of Forestry is accepting applications for the first class of 132 jobs that will be available as part of the newly created Ohio Woodlands Job Corps, made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Corps members will work a total of 1,000 hours and gain work experience and woodcraft training at one of seven different state forests.

Corps members will remove invasive species on state forests, learn how to fight wildfires and receive extensive training and certification.

The Ohio Woodlands Job Corps is scheduled to start 11, six-person crews working and training at seven separate state forests beginning Sept. 14. The headquarters for these crews are Blue Rock (Muskingum County), Hocking (Hocking County), Maumee (Fulton, Henry and Lucas counties), Pike (Highland and Pike counties), Scioto Trail (Ross and Pike counties), Shawnee (Adams and Scioto counties) and Zaleski (Athens and Vinton counties) State Forests.

Both Ohio State University and Hocking College are partners in the training component of this program.

To apply for jobs through the Ohio Woodlands Job Corps visit ohiodnr.com/forestry or ohiomeansjobs.com. The deadline is Aug. 9.