The Task Exposure Indexv2026.Q3
Occupation · SOC 19-2041.02 · Job Zone 5

AI exposure: Environmental Restoration Planners

Collaborate with field and biology staff to oversee the implementation of restoration projects and to develop new products. Process and synthesize complex scientific data into practical strategies for restoration, monitoring or management.

Reading this score

computed

41.5% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Environmental Restoration Planners at the 74th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.8 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.

What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 23 tasks it averages 1.93 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.

The most exposed thing this job does is Create diagrams to communicate environmental remediation planning, at 86.7%. The least is Conduct site assessments to certify a habitat or to ascertain environmental damage or..., at 8.3%. A gap of 78.3% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.

Within life, physical and social science occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 60 roles in the group is 35.8%, and only 19 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.

What would move this score. Of 23 tasks, 20 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 2 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.

Task by task

23 tasks, O*NET 31.0
TaskExposedAssistedUntouchedImportanceBand
Create diagrams to communicate environmental remediation planning, using geographic information systems (GIS), computer-aided design (CAD), or other mapping or diagramming software.86.7%13.3%0.0%3.22exposed
Identify environmental mitigation alternatives, ensuring compliance with applicable standards, laws, or regulations.73.3%26.7%0.0%3.90exposed
Write grants to obtain funding for restoration projects.73.3%26.7%0.0%3.74exposed
Communicate findings of environmental studies or proposals for environmental remediation to other restoration professionals.66.7%33.3%0.0%4.14exposed
Apply for permits required for the implementation of environmental remediation projects.66.7%33.3%0.0%4.00exposed
Create environmental models or simulations, using geographic information system (GIS) data and knowledge of particular ecosystems or ecological regions.50.0%25.0%25.0%3.38exposed
Provide technical direction on environmental planning to energy engineers, biologists, geologists, or other professionals working to develop restoration plans or strategies.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.41exposed
Identify short- and long-term impacts of environmental remediation activities.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.80exposed
Review existing environmental remediation designs.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.71exposed
Develop and communicate recommendations for landowners to maintain or restore environmental conditions.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.68exposed
Conduct feasibility and cost-benefit studies for environmental remediation projects.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.65exposed
Conduct environmental impact studies to examine the ecological effects of pollutants, disease, human activities, nature, and climate change.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.48exposed
Notify regulatory or permitting agencies of deviations from implemented remediation plans.40.0%35.0%25.0%3.74exposed
Collect and analyze data to determine environmental conditions and restoration needs.37.5%25.0%37.5%4.27exposed
Inspect active remediation sites to ensure compliance with environmental or safety policies, standards, or regulations.35.0%40.0%25.0%4.00assisted
Plan or supervise environmental studies to achieve compliance with environmental regulations in construction, modification, operation, acquisition, or divestiture of facilities such as power plants.33.3%29.2%37.5%3.74exposed
Develop environmental restoration project schedules and budgets.26.7%23.3%50.0%4.45exposed
Create habitat management or restoration plans, such as native tree restoration and weed control.26.7%23.3%50.0%4.36exposed
Plan environmental restoration projects, using biological databases, environmental strategies, and planning software.26.7%23.3%50.0%4.18exposed
Develop natural resource management plans, using knowledge of environmental planning or state and federal environmental regulatory requirements.26.7%23.3%50.0%4.00exposed
Develop environmental management or restoration plans for sites with power transmission lines, natural gas pipelines, fuel refineries, geothermal plants, wind farms, or solar farms.26.7%23.3%50.0%3.00exposed
Supervise and provide technical guidance, training, or assistance to employees working in the field to restore habitats.10.0%15.0%75.0%4.18untouched
Conduct site assessments to certify a habitat or to ascertain environmental damage or restoration needs.8.3%16.7%75.0%4.36untouched

Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.

Where the score comes from

judged

Every task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.

DimensionMeanScale
Capability2.780-4
Embodiment0.670-3
Presence0.480-3
Accountability1.350-3
Context1.930-3
Verification cost1.780-3

What this means in practice

Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.

Occupations either side of this one

The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.

Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.