Assistant Province Ecologist GS-0408 9/11 PERMANENT FULL-TIME
The Klamath National Forest is currently seeking a candidate for a permanent full-time Assistant Province Ecologist, GS-408 9/11 position located at the Supervisor’s Office in Yreka, California. The purpose of this Outreach Notice is to inform prospective applicants of this upcoming opportunity. To express interest in this position, please complete the attached voluntary Outreach Interest Form and return to Dan Blessing at dbless...@fs.fed.us by close of business on 6/7/2016 DUTIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS POSITION (Full Performance, GS-11): The Northern California Assistant Province Ecologist is an expert in vegetation and fire ecology, and is professionally involved in addressing a wide range of ecological issues across the Klamath, Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity, and Six Rivers National Forests. Major duties will include: · Coordinates with the Regional Ecologist, Northern California Province Ecologist, and the Forests comprising the Province with respect to all facets of the Assistant Province Ecologist’s program of work · Provides ecological expertise and technical assistance for Forest Service projects and planning efforts. Incorporates ecological principles into decision making. · Assists with the development and implementation of ecological monitoring programs to collect, analyze, and interpret data to help guide Forest Service activities through an adaptive management framework · Assists with the assessment of the impacts of global change, including climate change, invasive species, and increasing human populations, on Province Forests and ecosystems · Evaluates the effect of forest management practices including grazing, prescribed burning, and silvicultural treatments on a diverse range of ecosystems · Integrates information from separate disciplines such as botany, hydrology, geology, soils, and wildlife, including historic and legacy data, for use in assessing current conditions, detecting trends, developing reference conditions, and developing desired future conditions for use in planning and implementing forest projects · Conducts fire monitoring and modeling, including evaluations of fire behavior, fuel loading, fire effects, and patterns of fire severity. Provides ecological input into fuels treatment planning · Conducts classification, modeling, and mapping of vegetation types, fire regimes, and potential natural vegetation · Uses statistically sound sampling and modern analytical methods, including multivariate techniques, modeling approaches and geospatial analyses, to evaluate complex environmental and biological patterns across large landscapes · Coordinates with district, forest, province, and regional staff to conduct integrated ecological monitoring and reporting programs. Develops field guides, brochures, GIS products, presentations, workshops, and other materials to facilitate the transfer of ecological knowledge. Where appropriate, publishes findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals · Provides technical assistance with NEPA planning and implementation · Is active in raising funds to support the Ecology Program program of work, from internal and external partners and granting agencies · Assists with the supervision of one or more field crews For additional information, please contact: Dan Blessing at 530-841-4521 and dbless...@fs.fed.us ABOUT THE FOREST: The Klamath National Forest covers an area of 1,700,000 acres located in Siskiyou County in northern California and Jackson County in southern Oregon. The Forest is divided into two sections separated by the Shasta Valley and the Interstate 5 highway corridor. In the mountains to the west, the terrain is steep and rugged while the east side has the relatively gentler, rolling terrain of volcanic origin. With elevations ranging from 450 to 8,900 feet above sea level, the Forest is one of America’s most biologically diverse regions, situated in a transition region between the hotter and drier areas of the south and the colder and wetter locale of the north. This central position of the Klamath in relation to the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, Coast Range and the Great Basin has fostered complex climatic patterns and led to an unparalleled diversity of plant life found nowhere else in California. More species of conifers live near or in the Klamath’s Marble Mountain and Russian Wilderness Areas than anywhere else on earth. An astounding 17 conifer species co-exist within one square mile! The Forest is also home to one plant that lives nowhere else on earth, the Siskiyou Mariposa Lily. The program of work for the Forest is centered on the restoration of fire adapted ecosystems. We have an active and strongly integrated vegetation management and fuels program that works to protect communities, infrastructure and critical wildlife and fisheries habitat. We work with local communities, Fire Safe Councils, and interested groups and individuals in developing projects using Healthy Forest Restoration Act authorities. In 2010, the Forest was honored to be recognized as having treated the greatest amount of hazardous fuels reduction acres in the Pacific Southwest Region. The appropriate management of naturally occurring wildfire across the Forest is also an important program component. The Klamath is known as a leader in using wildfire to benefit landscape conditions as well as having a highly skilled and experienced fire suppression workforce. The Forest includes all or part of five wilderness areas: Marble Mountain, Russian, Trinity Alps, Red Buttes and Siskiyou. Trailheads are numerous and hikes range from easy to arduous. There are 200 miles of river system for rafting and 152 miles of wild and scenic rivers in the Forest. The Forest has 28 campgrounds, and world-class hiking, fishing and wildlife viewing. With the Klamath, Salmon, and Scott Rivers meandering from one end of the Forest to the other, recreationists have found a playground that offers virtually everything (except crowds) to the outdoor enthusiast. The management of area streams and rivers, and range, botanical, heritage, cultural and mineral resources rounds out the active and interesting programs included on the Klamath. More information on the Klamath National Forest is on our website: http://fs.usda.gov/klamath/ . ABOUT THE COMMUNITY: Yreka, California (pronounced Y-Reeka) has been designated as 48th in the top one-hundred small communities in the U.S. and is located twenty-two miles south of the California/Oregon border along Interstate 5. Yreka is a quiet little city located in an area rich in history and generous in natural resources, nestled in the northern most corner of the majestic Shasta Valley. Serving as the governmental seat of Siskiyou County, geographically the fifth largest county in the state, Yreka is the largest full service community between Ashland, Oregon and Redding, California. The population base provides support for professional services, medical facilities, all governmental offices and a full range of retail businesses which make Yreka the trade center for the county. Yreka is abundant in its intrinsic beauty and enjoys the diversity of a four season climate. Yreka is home to several retail shopping areas, many restaurants, auto service stores and 14 motels. Several primary and secondary schools, a high school, and a modern hospital are located in Yreka. A two year Community College maintains a satellite campus in Yreka and the main campus in Weed is about 30 minutes away. Housing costs vary depending on location, residence size, and property, averaging $180,000-$250,000 for a typical 3 bedroom home on a city parcel. Rental housing for a typical 3 bedroom home starts at about $800/month. Medford, Oregon is an easy 45 minute drive and has a full array of large retail and warehouse shopping centers and home improvement centers. The airport in Medford is full service. Outdoor recreation opportunities are abundant and include fishing, hunting, camping, boating, whitewater rafting, Nordic and Alpine skiing, golf, and just about any other outdoor activity imaginable. Two ski parks, Mt. Ashland and Mt. Shasta, are each about 1 hour away. Several golf courses are within Siskiyou County and nearby counties. The coast and beaches are about 3 hours away. Trout, salmon and steelhead fishing are nearby. Duck and goose viewing and hunting occur in the nearby Klamath Basin and Tulelake Wildlife Refuge. Two large reservoirs, Shasta and Trinity Lakes, are about 1 hour away. Cultural events include Siskiyou Performing Arts in Yreka, the nationally acclaimed Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, and the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument and Lava Beds National Monument are about 1 1/2 hours away. Forest Service employees on the workforce reduction placement system list will receive priority consideration and CTAP/ICTAP candidates will receive the appropriate consideration. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination on all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. OUTREACH INTEREST FORM Assistant Ecologist GS-0408 9/11 Klamath National Forest Supervisor’s Office Please respond by 6/7/2016 If you are interested in this position and would like notification of the job announcement when it is issued, please complete this Outreach Interest Form and email to Dan Blessing at dbless...@fs.fed.us. If you do not have email, complete the form and mail to: Klamath National Forest, Attn: Dan Blessing, 1711 S. Main Street, Yreka, CA 96097. NAME: E-MAIL ADDRESS: MAILING ADDRESS TELEPHONE NUMBER AGENCY EMPLOYED WITH: ☐ USFS ☐ BLM ☐ OTHER TYPE OF APPOINTMENT ☐ PERMANENT ☐ TEMPORARY ☐ TERM ☐ VRA ☐ PWD ☐ OTHER CURRENT REGION/FOREST/DISTRICT CURRENT SERIES/GRADE IF APPLICABLE CURRENT POSITION TITLE WHERE DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS VACANCY IF NOT A CURRENT PERMANENT (CAREER OR CAREER CONDITIONAL) EMPLOYEE, ARE YOU ELIGIBLE TO BE HIRED UNDER ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL AUTHORITIES: ☐ PERSON WITH DISABILITIES (SCHEDULE A APPOINTING AUTHORITY) ☐ VETERANS RECRUITMENT APPOINTMENT (VRA) ☐ 30% OR MORE DISABLED VETEREAN ☐ VETERANS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNIES ACT OF 1998, AS AMENDED (VEOA) ☐ FORMER PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER ☐ Pathways Program (Students, Recent Graduates, and PMF) ☐ OTHER Submission of this form is voluntary. Thanks for your interest! Ramona J. Butz, PhD Northern Province Ecologist Forest Service Klamath, Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity, and Six Rivers National Forests p: 707-441-3584 c: 707-601-4332 rb...@fs.fed.us<mailto:rb...@fs.fed.us> This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
