Wildlife Technician (Sequoia NF, Kern Ranger District)

Position Description Summary:

Ranger District: Kern River Ranger District; Kernville, CA

USFS, California

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the National Park Service, is recruiting (2) Wildlife Field Technicians to support conservation, management and restoration of natural resources/ecosystems in and around Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP (SEKI) to help promote stewardship of public lands during a period of landscape change. The Wildlife Field Technician will use a variety of field techniques to survey for birds and to some extent assist with forest carnivore surveys and amphibian/reptile surveys on US Forest Service lands.

A Temporary Special Assignment (TSA) employee is one who is hired for a specific temporary assignment external from the institute’s administrative operations with one of GBI’s partners for 52 weeks or greater or less than 52 weeks and may work full-time (30 or more hours per week) or part-time (less than 30 hours per week).

Essential Job Functions may include the following:

Specifically, the Technician will work cooperatively with the GBI wildlife crew and agency staff to:

• Follow established protocols to conduct non-invasive surveys for forest wildlife. Specifically, we will conduct surveys for three focal groups: owls (primarily California spotted owl and great gray owl), forest carnivores (focus on fishers), and amphibians/reptiles (frogs and turtles). Methods will vary by group. For California spotted owls, we will coordinate with USFS researchers to conduct surveys and search for nests near fire footprints and treatment areas. We may also begin using ARUs in some areas. For forest carnivores, we will primarily deploy remote cameras to detect fishers and other species, but may also assist with ongoing telemetry where objectives overlap. For amphibian/reptiles, we will conduct visual encounter surveys and potentially eDNA sampling to detect foothill yellow-legged frog and western pond turtle USFS lands.
• Collect and compile location and sample data from various species according to established protocols. This may include document basic information at survey sites (e.g., vegetation type, fuels, condition pre- or post-fire); organize photos for species verification and long-term storage; enter detection and other data from survey sites into a database; and maintain datasheets.
• Work collaboratively with other federal partners and researchers to develop additional post-fire and/or pre-treatment survey and monitoring efforts for wildlife to determine occurrence and habitat use post-fire in forest with different burn severity, in green forest adjacent to burned areas, along roadsides where hazard trees may be removed, and/or in areas where fuels reduction is planned (including sequoia groves).
• Be willing to support field efforts to monitor multiple species in a setting where flexibility will be needed to ensure success of survey efforts.

In addition to providing professional experience in natural resource management, this position provides opportunities to support stewardship of public lands and to contribute to the conservation, management and restoration of natural ecosystems and native wildlife in the southern Sierra Nevada.

A Temporary Special Assignment (TSA) employee is one who is hired for a specific temporary assignment external from the institute’s administrative operations with one of GBI’s partners for 52 weeks or greater or less than 52 weeks and may work full-time (30 or more hours per week) or part-time (less than 30 hours per week).

Essential Job Functions may include the following:

1. Lead field crews in conducting species-specific wildlife surveys and habitat assessments (e.g., California Spotted-Owl, Northern Goshawk, Pacific Fisher, Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog).
2. Manage crew safety, coordinate daily tasks, and ensure data collection adheres to USFS management protocols.
3. Perform species monitoring, habitat assessments, and maintain field survey stations (e.g., acoustics, baited camera stations).
4. Collaborate with USFS and GBI staff to support vegetation management and environmental compliance measures.
5. Administrative duties such as meeting with GBI staff, leading report writing, receipt management, managing crew members and team dynamics.
6. Additional tasks may include survey equipment setup, data quality assurance, and training.

LOCATION

The incumbents will be based out of the Kernville Ranger District (Kernville, CA) of the Sequoia National Forest (SNF), which is one of 19 National Forests in California and takes its name from the giant sequoia, the world's largest tree. The SNF's landscape includes soaring granite monoliths, glacier-carved canyons, roaring whitewater, and more than 30 groves of sequoia trees in the forest's lower elevation slopes. Elevations range from 1,000 feet in the foothill region to peaks over 12,000 feet in the rugged high country, providing visitors with some of the most spectacular views of mountainous landscape in the entire west.

WORK SCHEDULE

This position will begin in mid-May and end as late as mid-November. Season start and end dates are project and weather dependent and may change slightly.

Forestry Crew positions follow 10 hour days, 4 days a week schedule.

Temporary Special Assignment employees are eligible to receive holiday pay, if partner approved. TSAs working four (4) ten (10) hour days per workweek will be paid ten (10) hours for all holidays. Same with other approved/allowable workweek configurations; these can be accommodated accordingly with Banked Holiday(s).

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Wage: $21/hour with overtime at 1.5x hourly rate. Full time, average 40 hours per week

In addition to a competitive base salary, this full-time, onsite position includes company-paid comprehensive medical, dental (with option to upgrade in coverage), and vision insurance, as well as $25,000 Life/AD&D policy. Voluntary short-term and long-term disability policies are available, and voluntary Life/AD&D policies for family members. Mental health support resources are employer provided, competitive PTO accrual, and paid holidays. This exciting role contributes to GBI’s significant positive impacts within the fields of environmental research, education, and conservation.

TSA employees who serve a term under 52 weeks in duration, and have a thirty (30) day or less break between terms, and then sign a second term that (cumulatively) becomes greater than 52 weeks of employment, will be eligible for the >1-year TSA benefits (equivalent to Regular full-time employees).

Requirements/Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, employees must be able to satisfactorily carry out each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Experience in conducting wildlife surveys; preferred experience with California Spotted-Owl, Northern Goshawk, Pacific Fisher, or Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog
• Experience in standard field methods for wildlife surveys, status assessments, and habitat characterization
• Ability to understand, implement and adhere to established data collection, inventory, assessment, and monitoring protocols;
• Willingness to work a variable schedule in response to project needs, possibly including some weekends, nights, holidays
• Skills in GPS navigation and map reading
• Physical ability for fieldwork in remote areas, including overnight camping if necessary
• Effective communication skills for coordination with multidisciplinary teams
• Possess a clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license with the ability to safely operate and maintain a 4WD vehicle on and off paved roads
• Experience leading crews in the field preferred

1. Education: Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Ecology, Natural Resource Management, or related field, with fieldwork experience OR three years of wildlife fieldwork experience.

TO APPLY

Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview. For questions regarding this position, please contact

kmckinnon@gbinstitute.org

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands, stand, walk, bend, and have specific vision abilities to include close and distance vision, and ability to adjust focus working with computer business equipment and other job/industry specific equipment. The noise level in the work environment is usually low.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the organization's ongoing needs.

Disclaimer: Although the organization has attempted to accurately and thoroughly describe this position, GBI reserves the right to change the same, including to change, add to or subtract from the duties outlined, within the sole discretion of the organization, at any time, with or without advance notice.