Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Science and research / 19-2041.02

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.

US jobs
89,250 (SOC 19-2041 group, "Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health")
Median wage
$82,220 a year
Job family
Science and research

Can agents do the work of environmental restoration planners?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Science and research:

  • Task levelPartialThin evidence. CORE-Bench asks agents to reproduce the results of published papers in computer science, social science, and medicine from the authors' code and data. Princeton's HAL team declared it solved in December 2025: Claude Code with Claude Opus 4.5 scored 95.5% after manual regrading. No benchmark in our collection tests new experiments or lab work.
  • Project levelNot yetThin evidence. On PaperBench, where agents replicate machine learning papers from scratch, the best official result is 26.0% (o1, April 2025). On a small subset, ML PhDs scored 41.4% against o1's 26.6%. No newer official results exist, and no benchmark tests research projects in other sciences.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in science and research, not always this occupation's tasks.

  • CORE-Benchby Princeton UniversityTask level · CORE-Bench-Hard accuracy (public test set)
    95.5%Claude Code + Claude Opus 4.5 (after manual regrading) · 3 Dec 2025
    Solved
  • PaperBenchby OpenAIProject level · Average replication score
    26%IterativeAgent o1-high (36h limit) · 2 Apr 2025
    Emerging

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Develop environmental restoration project schedules and budgets.
  • Provide technical direction on environmental planning to energy engineers, biologists, geologists, or other professionals working to develop restoration plans or strategies.
  • Create habitat management or restoration plans, such as native tree restoration and weed control.
  • Conduct site assessments to certify a habitat or to ascertain environmental damage or restoration needs.
  • Collect and analyze data to determine environmental conditions and restoration needs.
  • Supervise and provide technical guidance, training, or assistance to employees working in the field to restore habitats.
  • Plan environmental restoration projects, using biological databases, environmental strategies, and planning software.
  • Communicate findings of environmental studies or proposals for environmental remediation to other restoration professionals.
  • Apply for permits required for the implementation of environmental remediation projects.
  • Inspect active remediation sites to ensure compliance with environmental or safety policies, standards, or regulations.
  • Develop natural resource management plans, using knowledge of environmental planning or state and federal environmental regulatory requirements.
  • Identify environmental mitigation alternatives, ensuring compliance with applicable standards, laws, or regulations.
Other job titles for this occupation (12)

Coastal and Estuary Specialist · Fisheries Habitat Restoration Specialist · Habitat Restoration Specialist · Marine Habitat Resources Specialist · Restoration Ecologist · Restoration Specialist · Watershed Coordinator · Conservation Planner · Environmental Planner · Environmental Planning Engineer · Environmental Restoration Planner · Habitat Conservation Planner