Colville National Forest
Outreach for Soil Crew Positions
GS-0404-5 – Biological Science Technician (Soils)
Application period – November 15th, 2016 to November 21th, 2016
Apply through USAjobs - up to 4 positions being hired
Employment would be from May to October 2017
The position is a field position on the Soil Crew. You would be working four 10 hour days, Monday through Thursday. After training and getting you oriented, you will be sent out in teams of two to survey potential timber units in our large scale restoration projects. You will be conducting the Forest Service National Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol surveys to determine the existing condition of the soils in these potential treatment units. Work involves carrying a heavy shovel around the woods, crashing brush, up and down steep and rough terrain collecting information that will be used to write our soil NEPA documents and to inform our treatment prescriptions. The work involves long days walking in rough conditions collecting data using GPS and other applications. Work gets done in all weather, last year crews experienced rain, snow, ice, bugs, fire, and hot weather (we work into November).
The Soil Crew also conducts wildlife surveys ranging from moth sampling to vegetation (habitat) surveys as well as monitoring post wildfire and post prescribed fire conductions using standard protocols. Additionally, the Soil Crew conducts wetland surveys and other data collection when needed. The Soil Crew also organizes, enters, and manages all the data collected. Microsoft Office and other computer skills are appreciated. There will also be opportunities to write monitoring reports, assist with technical documents, and create ArcGIS projects.
For interested people who can pass the arduous pack test and complete guard school, or folks with current red card qualifications, there are opportunities to work locally responding to wildland fires. We also spend time with chainsaw qualifications and skills in support of our and other resource projects.
The Colville National Forest is located two hours north of Spokane in the northeast corner of Washington State. The Forest is over 1 million acres with very active timber and fire programs. It is a place with moose, grizzly bears, and wolves, with a diverse range of vegetation from dry ponderosa pine to cold and wet cedar stands. Opportunities for hunting and fishing abound. The Colville National Forest is a beautiful place to live and work.
Kettle Falls, despite only having a population of 1,600 people, has a natural food store (Meyers Falls Market), a brewery (Northern Ales), and several restaurant choices. The town of Colville is 10 miles away and is the county seat having larger stores and services as well as a twice a week farmer’s markets, drive in movie theater, and
We do not currently have a USAjobs announcement number, please look for the position using search terms “Soil” or “Kettle Falls, WA” as a duty station. Any issues during the application process please contact me; applying for Forest Service jobs can be challenging and we want folks to be successful. Additional questions or looking for more information, please contact: Jason Jimenez, jjimenez@fs.fed.us
