Recruitment: 1638-12; Position: Biologist 1 position; Duration: March 19, 2012 to October 15, 2012
Salary: $2583.00 to $3355.00 monthly; Duty Station Location: Skagit River, Rockport, Washington, Skagit County.
Non-permanent Biologist 1 position with the Fish Program, Science Division located on the Skagit River, Rockport, Washington, Skagit County.
Job Summary: This position reports to supervisory project biologist located in Olympia, WA. This non-permanent Biologist 1 is responsible for working as part of a team operating fish traps on the Skagit River tributary locations. Primary responsibility of this position will be field lead on data collection, management and PIT-tagging. Biologist 1 will be responsible for maintaining database of PIT-tag codes of marked and recaptured steelhead smolts and other associated biological data. Upon conclusion of trapping season Biologist 1 will assist supervising biologist with data summarization, analysis and reporting. Biologist one may also be asked to briefly help out with other trap projects and assignments.
Responsibilities:
Biologist 1 will work with scientific technicians and be responsible for checking each juvenile trap (3 total), enumerating, sampling and tagging catch on a daily basis. Sampling includes collection of scale and genetic samples, recording size and mark or tag presence. Steelhead smolts will also be PIT-tagged prior to being released upstream of traps for potential recapture. All data will be entered into field computer, error checked, summarized, backed up and reported to supervisory biologist. Trapping gear will be maintained and monitored in times of heavy debris and high stream flows. At conclusion of trapping season, Biologist 1 will assist in data summarization, analysis and reporting.
Working Conditions:
Work schedule for this position is 40 hours per week including work on weekends and holidays. During scheduled work days employee must live in a provided travel trailer or other housing or within thirty miles of the work site. Trapping season runs from mid-march through mid-July. Project biologist will stay on past the end of the trapping season to assist with data organization and analysis. Roughly 75% of work will be conducted in the field. Biologist will travel in state vehicle between each trap site daily during the trapping season. Trap checks, fish enumeration, sampling and tagging will be conducted outside. Data checking, entry and summarization will make up roughly 25% of the position’s work load. This will be conducted in state vehicles, office trailer or at agreed upon location in Laconner, Bellingham, Mount Vernon or Olympia. Work at fish trapping locations will occasionally occur at night and during periods of inclement weather and high river flows. Use of chain saws and other tools might be required to maintain trap operation during periods of high water. Trap operation requires the ability to stand, kneel, and bend for long periods of time, lift and carry 40lb buckets of water and fish for distances of 300 yards. Duties require driving long distance in state-owned vehicles. Acute vision and good hand and eye coordination is important for proper juvenile salmon identification and handing. Valid driver’s license required.
Minimum Qualifications:
A Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, fisheries or natural resources field is preferred. Twelve semesters or eighteen quarter hours of specific course work is required for certain positions.
Preferred experience:
Must have previous experience conducting fisheries related field research or monitoring activities. Experience using Microsoft Excel, Word and Access for data entry is mandatory.
Ability to communicate clearly and work well with others as field team leader for Skagit tributary trapping project.
Ability to identify adult and juvenile salmonids and knowledge of Salmonid life histories.
Experience handling and PIT-tagging juvenile salmon and working with fish anesthetics.
Knowledge of salmonid populations in the Skagit Basin.
Prior experience smolt trapping and boat operation;
How to apply:
Go to our homepage to download the state application at http://wdfw.wa.gov/employment/.
Fill out the state application thoroughly, listing all relevant employment and explaining the duties performed. The information you provide on this application will be used to determine whether you meet the qualifications for the position.
Send these materials to wdfwjobs@dfw.wa.gov. If you have questions about this recruitment, you may contact Margaret Gordon, Recruitment Specialist at 360 902-2209.