Forester

This position is a Forester, GS- 0460-12 working in Seney OR East Lansing, Michigan for the R3-Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Science Applications and the refuge are jointly supporting this role to address both broad and local conservation priorities of northern forests.

This position is also open to the public under announcement R3-21-11231492-BL-DE. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

Qualifications:

Only experience and education obtained by 10/01/2021 will be considered.

In order to qualify for this position you must possess both the Basic Requirement and Minimum Qualification.

Basic Requirement:

1. Degree: forestry; or a related subject-matter field that included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours of course work were in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently diversified to include courses in each of the following areas:
   • Management of Renewable Resources -- study of the science and art of managing renewable resources to attain desired results. Examples of creditable courses in this area include silviculture, forest management operations, timber management, wildland fire science or fire management, utilization of forest resources, forest regulation, recreational land management, watershed management, and wildlife or range habitat management.
   • Forest Biology -- study of the classification, distribution, characteristics, and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of living organisms to the forest environment. Examples of creditable courses in this area include dendrology, forest ecology, silvics, forest genetics, wood structure and properties, forest soils, forest entomology, and forest pathology.
   • Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory -- sampling, inventory, measurement, and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources. Examples of creditable courses include forest biometrics, forest mensuration, forest valuation, statistical analysis of forest resource data, renewable natural resources inventories and analysis, and photogrammetry or remote sensing. OR
2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in forestry, or at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours in forestry are the same as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

NOTE: The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation.

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.

Time In Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet both eligibility and qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the JOA. Specifically,
i. Area of Consideration.
ii. Time-in-grade (TIG) requirements as specified in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
iii. Time after competitive appointment as specified in 5 CFR 330.502.
iv. Qualification requirements outlined in OPM's Qualifications Standards for General Schedule Positions or for Federal Wage System (FWS), wage grade positions, applicants are evaluated using the OPM Job Qualification System for Trades and Labor Occupations and the job element examining method
Your SF-50 will be used to confirm you meet all requirements

Physical Demands/Work Environment:
The work requires both office and outdoor work. Requires walking several miles during work period in any type of weather, over wet, rough, and muddy surfaces requiring agility and dexterity. Work often requires long periods of heavy physical effort in arduous and hazardous environments with extreme temperatures and humidity. Work also requires driving to project locations to conduct field visits.

Responsibilities:

As a Forester your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

• Preparing short- and long-range forest management plans by applying knowledge of ecosystem processes, forest ecology, and wildlife ecology, to develop habitat management actions that meet wildlife management objectives.
• Planning and carrying out systematic forest resource surveys and inventories including the utilization of a plot system or similar method to obtain data on volume, growth rate, age class, species, distribution, reproduction, and ground cover.
• Applying knowledge of forest and fire ecology to restore a habitat
• Communicating technical and non-technical written information to diverse audiences.
• Maintaining beneficial relationships with partners and others within the conservation community.
• Plan, organize and coordinate habitat restoration activities ensuring they are in compliance with NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and other applicable laws..
• Plan and carry out systematic forest resource surveys and inventories including the utilization of a plot system or similar method to obtain data on volume, growth rate, age class, species, distribution, reproduction, and ground cover.

Salary : $0