Will AI replace range managers?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 7h 41m (96%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 5.3% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 1 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 19m of a typical shift. For 2 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• Plan and implement revegetation of disturbed sites. (19m a shift; e.g. Mast Reforestation (DroneSeed) drone seeding, in use)

7h 41m of a typical shift, or 96%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Regulate grazing, such as by issuing permits and checking for compliance with standards, and help ranchers plan and organize grazing systems to manage, improve, protect, and maximize the use of rangelands. (1h 11m a shift)
• Measure and assess vegetation resources for biological assessment companies, environmental impact statements, and rangeland monitoring programs. (58m a shift)
• Coordinate with federal land managers and other agencies and organizations to manage and protect rangelands. (45m a shift)
• Manage forage resources through fire, herbicide use, or revegetation to maintain a sustainable yield from the land. (32m a shift)
• Offer advice to rangeland users on water management, forage production methods, and control of brush. (32m a shift)

Part of the answer is the setting, not just the tasks. Work that is in person, hands on or high stakes is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 90% talk face to face with others every day
• 84% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important
• 55% carry high or very high responsibility for other workers' safety

On Indeed, job postings in the Scientific Research & Development sector are at 84% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 19.9% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 2,100 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $73,010 a year ($35.10 an hour), 43% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $47,550 and $110,410 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 5.3% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 29,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 2,100 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 26,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.02% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 503rd largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 29,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a bachelor's degree: about 80% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 4 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: bachelor's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Negotiation, Coordination, Systems Analysis, Active Listening
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 7h 41m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Adobe Photoshop, ESRI ArcGIS software, Facebook, Linux, Microsoft Access

Yes. Occupational experts recently added these to the official task list, a sign of how the work itself is shifting. New tasks aren't rated for AI or robots yet:

• Apply herbicide to eliminate harmful plants.

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Conservation Scientists (18m touched, $73k median pay)
• Environmental Restoration Planners (0m touched, $82k median pay)
• Foresters (1h 27m touched, $76k median pay)
• Soil and Plant Scientists (1h 21m touched, $79k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 1 with robots in real deployments, 15 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.