Position Summary:
This position is located in a National Park Service (NPS) Unit. The purpose of the position is to perform a wide variety of interrelated or nonstandard biological science technical support assignments in one, or more, of the following program areas: wildlife, fisheries, or plants.
Key Responsibilities:
Incumbent assists the Wildlife Biologist in the implementation wildlife population monitoring and species recovery projects. Work is performed under a variety of weather conditions including extreme hot and cold temperatures, high winds, rain, snow, and mud during day and night. Access to wilderness areas are on foot over rough terrain carrying packs weighing up to 50 pounds for 2 to15 miles round trip so the incumbent must by physically capable of daily hiking for 2 to 15 miles in hot and cold weather. Will be required to operate a government vehicle and must possess a valid driver’s license. Incumbent is expected to work both independently and as a member of a team/field crew. Utilizes a variety of computer programs to compile, store, retrieve, analyze and report data including GIS.
Incumbent assists the Wildlife Biologist in the implementation wildlife population monitoring and species recovery projects. Work is performed under a variety of weather conditions including extreme hot and cold temperatures, high winds, rain, snow, and mud during day and night. Access to wilderness areas will be on foot over rough terrain carrying packs weighing up to 50 pounds for 2 to15 miles round trip so the incumbent must by physically capable of daily hiking for 2 to 15 miles. Will be required to operate a government vehicle and must possess a valid driver’s license. Assisting with the assessment of habitat quality/quantity through GPS field mapping and wildlife population estimation techniques. Monitoring of black-footed ferret survival, behavior, dispersal, mortality and reproduction through a combination of spotlight surveys, mark-recapture, and snow track surveys. Assisting with the coordination and implementation of prairie dog trapping as well as preparation and camera trap sites. Conducting disease surveys through live trapping, field anesthesia and collecting blood samples from the local carnivore guild. The live trapping, handling, and translocation of prairie dogs. Dusting prairie dogs’ burrows to prevent/reduce spread of plague. Assisting with wildlife population monitoring utilizing radio tracking equipment. Providing communication and data exchange among field crew personnel. The collection and recording of biological data and preparing summary reports. Providing technical assistance, on a limited basis, to other programs within the Resource Management Division including bison and bighorn sheep surveys, weed management, prescribed fire, and paleontology monitoring. In addition will be required to obtain a South Dakota Chemical applicators license and preform duties associated with such. This can be accomplished after starting the job.
Incumbent (s) will assist biologist with the management and monitoring of wildlife species at the park. Work is performed under a variety of weather conditions including extreme hot and cold temperatures, high winds, rain, snow, and mud during day and night. Field work may involve hiking in rough terrain carrying packs weighing up to 50 pounds for 2 to10 miles. Will be required to operate a government vehicle and must possess a valid driver’s license. Duties will involve radio telemetry for bats and elk, mapping prairie dog towns, assisting with the coordination and implementation of prairie dog trapping, field anesthesia, and collecting flea samples, and conducting wildlife surveys for elk, bison, birds, and antelope, and night surveys for black-footed ferret. Incumbent will also be responsible for maintaining GIS and tabular wildlife databases and providing summary report. Hours of work vary from sunrise to late evenings, and nighttime schedules.
Required Education & Experience:
- Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
- Have (twelve) 12 months of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level in the federal service. Specialized experience for Bio-Tech (Wildlife) GS-05 is that experience which demonstrates that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include assisting and conducting wildlife censuses and surveys and assembling the information such as habitat use, sex age, and movement. Follow standardized procedures to collect data on condition of range, forage, or wildlife. Use statistical methods and procedures to perform testing of field data collected. Assists in control of wildlife, participates in capture, applies visual and radio tags, prepares graphs, charts, and illustrations for reports and technical publications relating to wildlife management activities. You must include hours per week worked.
- Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
- U.S. Citizenship required.