Ryan Beachnau
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EmailRyan Beachnau works for the Washington Department of Natural Resources as a wildland firefighter.
In high school, I had exposure to natural resources as a career but at the time I thought it was limited to positions like wildlife biologists, park rangers, and natural resources law enforcement.
I first became interested in forestry in between my second and third year of college. Two friends, Alex Dennany and Andrew Bertels, were the ones that introduced me to forestry and showed me all of the different possibilities associated with this career field.
One thing I think that really influenced me to pursue forestry in college was my passion for the outdoors. I also think all of the classes that were offered at MSU really caught my attention, because the classes aren’t just about trees. There are classes about a lot of other topics that relate to forestry as a whole, such as wildland firefighting.
Some days we’ll start work with a plan to go for a training hike or to go do some thinning work and then we get dispatched to a fire either in our immediate protection area, or somewhere else across the state! No two days are ever the same, each day has its own challenges. Some fires will be very small, like a single tree that was struck by lightning, other fires are hundreds of thousands of acres in size. I’ve even been sent to other states to fight wildfires. So far, I’ve been sent to New Mexico, Oregon, and of course all over Washington!
My favorite part of this job is that you will never know where the day will take you. Each day is like a new adventure. I’ve been to a lot of places, met a lot of really cool people and I’ve gotten to do something that very few people have ever experienced. Although this job can be very challenging at times, it is also one of the most rewarding jobs that I’ve ever had.
My Advice
I would tell anyone that’s interested in the outdoors to consider forestry. Even if being a traditional forester isn’t your cup of tea, forestry has many career opportunities in many different areas. Someone with a forestry degree could work with wildlife, fisheries, the wood products industry, parks and recreation and so many other options!
