What are the responsibilities and job description for the Wildlife Biologist position at National Park Service?
Summary
This position is open to Merit Promotion/Status Candidates and those with Special Hiring Authorities under announcement number AK-1537-LACL-24-12547012-ST. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.
Learn more about this agency
Help
Duties
Experience your America and build a fulfilling career by joining the National Park Service. Become a part of our mission to unite our past, our cultures, and our special places, to establish important connections to the present and build a rich and lasting legacy for future generations.
The Biologist serves as the project lead for wildlife management, research, and monitoring in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (LACL) and the Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN).
SWAN is one of 32 Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Networks nationwide that provides science for resource stewardship through long-term data collection and management in national parks. The Network encompasses approximately 9 million acres and includes five NPS units, the largest of which are Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Park and Preserve, and Kenai Fjords National Park. The position will be shared by LACL and SWAN.
Duties associated with SWAN include the following: The incumbent will implement brown bear and bald eagle monitoring protocols to track population dynamics of these species across the SWAN parks. As part of this work, the incumbent will lead all aspects of data collection within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) framework, all logistics associated with fieldwork, data management, data analyses, report writing, and manuscript preparation for scientific journals. The incumbent will work with biologists, ecologists and biometricians from these park units, other I&M networks in Alaska, and other agencies, university, and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners.
Duties associated with LACL are as follows: The incumbent will lead and manage the wildlife program and wildlife-related projects throughout the park. This position represents the NPS on wildlife management issues and serves as a technical advisor in wildlife biology for the park. The incumbent will be responsible for program and research development, and implementation of projects for wildlife resources, their habitat requirements, and sensitive species.
The position is duty-stationed in Anchorage with periodic fieldwork for up to 2 weeks at a time, totaling approximately 2-3 months in the field per year.
As the wildlife program lead for SWAN and LACL, the incumbent:
Additional information about the National Parks Service in Alaska can be found at https://www.nps.gov/locations/alaska/index.htm and information about the local area can be found at Visit Anchorage.
Government housing is not available.
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Requirements
Conditions of Employment
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/30/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.
Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the number of hours worked per week, full-time, or part-time. If you indicate part-time, you MUST indicate the number of hours worked per week so that your qualifying experience can be prorated for credit.
To qualify for this position, you must possess one of the following basic qualifications by close of the announcement:
DEGREE: A degree in biological science that included at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects such as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research courses in the field of wildlife biology; and at least 12 semester hours in zoology in such subjects as general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology, parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects (excess courses in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where appropriate); and at least 9 semester hours in botany or the related plant sciences. You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application.
OR
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), with at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects, 12 semester hours in zoology, and 9 semester hours in botany or related plant science, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application and the hours worked per week in your resume.
In addition, to qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) that is directly related to the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience include performing wildlife population studies on large mammals; conducting multi-aircraft wildlife surveys in mountainous terrain and in remote field camps; independently using computer software applications (e.g., Microsoft Access, Excel, Word, ArcGIS, R, Python, etc.) to store, retrieve, analyze and manage data, generate maps, develop data collection and data management tools, and to create reports; writing scripts or coding applications in a GIS environment and programming in R. You must include hours worked per week in your resume.
OR
EDUCATION: At least three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a directly related field. You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application and the hours worked per week in your resume.
OR
A COMBINATION OF SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of credit hours in excess of 36 semester hours (or 54 quarter hours) by 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours), or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the two percentages. They must equal at least 100% to qualify using this option. You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application and the hours worked per week in your resume.
Volunteer experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Education
To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.
Additional information
A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid if the person selected for the position is from outside the local commuting area and is otherwise eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses under the Federal Travel Regulations.
Alaska currently does not have a state income tax. Salary and COLA subject to annual review and adjustment.
The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for occasional telework or during an emergency or natural disaster with prior supervisory approval.
Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.
Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Assignments may be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, volcanoes, caves, firelines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.
A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
240 West 5th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501
US
This position is open to Merit Promotion/Status Candidates and those with Special Hiring Authorities under announcement number AK-1537-LACL-24-12547012-ST. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.
Learn more about this agency
Help
Duties
Experience your America and build a fulfilling career by joining the National Park Service. Become a part of our mission to unite our past, our cultures, and our special places, to establish important connections to the present and build a rich and lasting legacy for future generations.
The Biologist serves as the project lead for wildlife management, research, and monitoring in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (LACL) and the Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN).
SWAN is one of 32 Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Networks nationwide that provides science for resource stewardship through long-term data collection and management in national parks. The Network encompasses approximately 9 million acres and includes five NPS units, the largest of which are Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Park and Preserve, and Kenai Fjords National Park. The position will be shared by LACL and SWAN.
Duties associated with SWAN include the following: The incumbent will implement brown bear and bald eagle monitoring protocols to track population dynamics of these species across the SWAN parks. As part of this work, the incumbent will lead all aspects of data collection within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) framework, all logistics associated with fieldwork, data management, data analyses, report writing, and manuscript preparation for scientific journals. The incumbent will work with biologists, ecologists and biometricians from these park units, other I&M networks in Alaska, and other agencies, university, and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners.
Duties associated with LACL are as follows: The incumbent will lead and manage the wildlife program and wildlife-related projects throughout the park. This position represents the NPS on wildlife management issues and serves as a technical advisor in wildlife biology for the park. The incumbent will be responsible for program and research development, and implementation of projects for wildlife resources, their habitat requirements, and sensitive species.
The position is duty-stationed in Anchorage with periodic fieldwork for up to 2 weeks at a time, totaling approximately 2-3 months in the field per year.
As the wildlife program lead for SWAN and LACL, the incumbent:
- Performs population studies including large mammals (mountain sheep, brown bear, etc.), as well as conducts multi-aircraft wildlife surveys, wildlife capture, and wildlife handling. These activities take place in mountainous terrain and in remote field camps. The biologist will fly in small aircraft to conduct surveys in remote mountainous terrain. The field season requires the biologist to work long days in the field, occasionally under extreme conditions, including cold weather and snow travel in the winter, and in hordes of biting insects, intense sun, rain, wind, and bear country precautions in the summer.
- Independently uses computer software applications (e.g., Microsoft Access, Excel, Word, ArcGIS, R, Python, etc.) to store, retrieve, analyze, and manage data; generate maps; develop data collection and data management tools; and create reports. Uses advanced GIS and statistical skills, including the ability to write scripts or code applications in a GIS environment and uses the R programming language. The incumbent will use tablets, iPads, GPS units and other electronics to collect and record data in the field.
- Will produce peer-reviewed journal publications and technical reports, and deliver oral presentations for scientific audiences, local communities, and the public.
- The incumbent will be expected to work well with others, develop and maintain collaborative relationships, work with little to no supervision, work efficiently at repetitive computer tasks, communicate closely with supervisors and team members on extended field expeditions, safely conduct remote fieldwork and aerial surveys, and complete all required training for the job tasks.
- Will support, lead, or assist with other wildlife projects, collect, and analyze data on environmental factors affecting a diverse suite of wildlife species, and develop educational outreach materials for projects or other wildlife monitoring programs. Outreach will also include summarizing data for various meeting formats and audiences and will include participating in meetings such as subsistence regional advisory committees.
Additional information about the National Parks Service in Alaska can be found at https://www.nps.gov/locations/alaska/index.htm and information about the local area can be found at Visit Anchorage.
Government housing is not available.
Help
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- U.S. Citizenship required.
- Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
- Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
- Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
- If you are a new employee in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
- This position is subject to drug testing based on the collateral duty requiring firearms in the back-country or other locations for non-law enforcement reasons such as protection from animals. You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
- You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
- You may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle.
- You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, and overtime.
- You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month.
- You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/30/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.
Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the number of hours worked per week, full-time, or part-time. If you indicate part-time, you MUST indicate the number of hours worked per week so that your qualifying experience can be prorated for credit.
To qualify for this position, you must possess one of the following basic qualifications by close of the announcement:
DEGREE: A degree in biological science that included at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects such as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research courses in the field of wildlife biology; and at least 12 semester hours in zoology in such subjects as general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology, parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects (excess courses in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where appropriate); and at least 9 semester hours in botany or the related plant sciences. You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application.
OR
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), with at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects, 12 semester hours in zoology, and 9 semester hours in botany or related plant science, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application and the hours worked per week in your resume.
In addition, to qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) that is directly related to the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience include performing wildlife population studies on large mammals; conducting multi-aircraft wildlife surveys in mountainous terrain and in remote field camps; independently using computer software applications (e.g., Microsoft Access, Excel, Word, ArcGIS, R, Python, etc.) to store, retrieve, analyze and manage data, generate maps, develop data collection and data management tools, and to create reports; writing scripts or coding applications in a GIS environment and programming in R. You must include hours worked per week in your resume.
OR
EDUCATION: At least three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a directly related field. You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application and the hours worked per week in your resume.
OR
A COMBINATION OF SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of credit hours in excess of 36 semester hours (or 54 quarter hours) by 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours), or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the two percentages. They must equal at least 100% to qualify using this option. You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application and the hours worked per week in your resume.
Volunteer experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Education
To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.
Additional information
A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid if the person selected for the position is from outside the local commuting area and is otherwise eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses under the Federal Travel Regulations.
Alaska currently does not have a state income tax. Salary and COLA subject to annual review and adjustment.
The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for occasional telework or during an emergency or natural disaster with prior supervisory approval.
Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.
Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Assignments may be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, volcanoes, caves, firelines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.
A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR
- 575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive. A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.
- Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
240 West 5th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501
US
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