State of Washington Classified Job Specification
FOREST NURSERY LEAD - WPEA
Definition
Leads two or more forest nursery laborers and participates in the work of caring for seedlings, equipment and facilities at a forest nursery.
Typical Work
Directs and participates in a variety of general nursery labor involving use of established repetitive procedures;
Instructs new employees in the process of sorting and culling seedlings and counting and tying them in bundles; checks bundles for accuracy of count and sort; time checks nursery laborers for maintenance of production standards; oversees activities in the greenhouse operations such as filling blocks, sowing, fertilizing, and watering;
Makes work assignments to nursery laborers, including counting seedling trees and inventory plots, hoeing and hand weeding seedling beds, feeding seedlings into mechanical planters; hand thinning seedlings, fertilizing, watering, and sowing;
Uses hand, farm and garden tools; operates light trucks and buses to transport laborer crews to work sites; may operate other light farm equipment;
Must be physically capable of performing all of the duties and responsibilities of the position, some of which involve lifting fertilizer bags, irrigation pipe, seedling bins, etc., weighing up to 50 pounds, and standing, bending, kneeling, stooping or working in cramped quarters over long periods of time;
Performs other work as required.
Instructs new employees in the process of sorting and culling seedlings and counting and tying them in bundles; checks bundles for accuracy of count and sort; time checks nursery laborers for maintenance of production standards; oversees activities in the greenhouse operations such as filling blocks, sowing, fertilizing, and watering;
Makes work assignments to nursery laborers, including counting seedling trees and inventory plots, hoeing and hand weeding seedling beds, feeding seedlings into mechanical planters; hand thinning seedlings, fertilizing, watering, and sowing;
Uses hand, farm and garden tools; operates light trucks and buses to transport laborer crews to work sites; may operate other light farm equipment;
Must be physically capable of performing all of the duties and responsibilities of the position, some of which involve lifting fertilizer bags, irrigation pipe, seedling bins, etc., weighing up to 50 pounds, and standing, bending, kneeling, stooping or working in cramped quarters over long periods of time;
Performs other work as required.
Knowledge and Abilities
Ability to: instruct subordinates and maintain effective working relationships while encouraging maintenance of production standards; perform close, tedious work requiring good manual dexterity.
Legal Requirement(s)
There may be instances where individual positions must have additional licenses or certification. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate licenses/certifications are obtained for each position.
Persons legally authorized to work in the U.S. under federal law, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, are eligible for employment unless prohibited by other state or federal law.
Persons legally authorized to work in the U.S. under federal law, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, are eligible for employment unless prohibited by other state or federal law.
Desirable Qualifications
Six months or 1,040 hours of experience in a plant nursery, or in row crop farming.
Equivalent education/experience.
Possession of a valid driver's license may be required.
Class Specification History
Shadow class adopted June 23, 2025; effective July 1, 2025.
Revised desirable qualifications; effective July 27, 2025, due to adopted legislative action.
Revised desirable qualifications; effective July 27, 2025, due to adopted legislative action.
