Job Description

Fisheries Field Members (2), Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Fisheries Complex

ACE EPIC placements provide young adults with focused, hands-on opportunities to work alongside and under the guidance of agency mentors as they apply their knowledge of resource management on their path to becoming the next generation of resource and land managers.

Funding for ACE positions is provided by a federal program designed specifically for the employment of youth and young adults.

For more information about ACE, please visit: www.usaconservation.org.

Summary:  American Conservation Experience, a non-profit conservation corps, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) ​​Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Complex in Lacey, Washington is seeking TWO Fisheries Field Members to dedicate 8.5 months to the monitoring of fisheries resources.  The fisheries monitoring includes providing field, lab, and hatchery support for a diversity of projects. Field sampling and hatchery evaluation efforts (biosampling and sample processing) will be primary roles.  While each intern will primarily assist a specific biologist, opportunities to support other projects will be permitted when the schedule allows in order to maximize experience diversification. This opportunity is intended for enthusiastic young professionals with a deep interest in advancing their career goals in fisheries management.

Start Date: May 9, 2022

End Date:  38 weeks later

**38-week commitment required**

Location: Lacey, WA

For more information about Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Fisheries Complex, please visit the website for any of the four complex facilities:

https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/wwfish_new.html 

https://www.fws.gov/makahnfh/Index.cfm

https://www.fws.gov/quilcenenfh/

https://www.fws.gov/Quinaultnfh/Index.cfm

 Work Schedule: Duties will primarily be carried out Monday – Friday.  Bi-weekly totals should not exceed 80 hours.  A flexible work schedule may be required, which could involve work performed outside of normal work hours including on weekends and/or holidays.  Time off may be granted and requests should be directed to ACE and the FWS for approval.

Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute approximately 40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $450/week to offset the costs of food, housing, and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly. A $1,000 relocation stipend will also be provided if the position requires moving to the Lacey area.

 Housing: Housing is the responsibility of the member and not provided by ACE or the USFWS.

 AmeriCorps: This position  may be eligible for a 1200-hour AmeriCorps Education Award ($4,441.50) upon successful completion of service hours. Additional enrollment is required.

Public Land Corps (PLC) Non-competitive Hiring Authority: Members serving on this project may be eligible to receive a Department of the Interior (DOI) PLC non-competitive hiring authority certificate upon completion of their term of service. Eligible members must meet standard requirements of completing at least 640 hours (16 weeks at 40 hours/week) and utilize their certificate when applying for qualifying federal positions within 2 years of receipt. More information can be provided upon request.         

Position Description:

This individual placement is meant to facilitate personal growth and professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with agency professionals. This could include gaining experience in a variety of conservation fields and/or shadowing different work groups.

Primary Duties include:

 Safety:

•         The work involves regular and recurring moderate risks or discomforts which require special safety precautions. This includes the inherent risk of working around water and watercraft, as well as the risks associated with the operation of electrofishing units. An array of mandatory trainings will be provided upon initiation of the position.
•         This positions will require, on a regular and recurring basis, working outdoors, in other such environments with extreme temperatures, and/or exposure to adverse weather conditions.
•         This position will require an understanding of the communication plan, and a basic level of comfort using both cellular and inReach devices.
•         Employees are required to use protective clothing or gear such as hard hats, masks, gowns, earplugs, coats, boots, goggles, gloves, or shields to moderate risks, or to follow procedures for minimizing risk.
•         Employees should be proficient in operating a 4-wheel drive vehicle on rugged roads and able to navigate using topo maps, compass and GPS. Applicants should be willing to work independently.

 Communication:

•           Relay daily mission, technical skills and safety concerns to members and other crewmembers as assigned.
•           Personal contacts are with employees in the agency and immediate organizations. In some work situations, personal contacts may be with the public, contractor personnel, or special users, e.g., special interest groups.
•           Contacts are for the purpose of obtaining, clarifying, or exchanging information and receiving instructions regarding work assignments.

 Physical Demands:

•           The work requires some physical exertion, such as regular and recurring running, walking, or bending, walking or climbing ladders or scaffolds to observe, collect, or record research data.
•           In many situations, the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job.
•           The selected intern must be fit enough to hike in mountainous and swampy terrain over long distances in various weather while carrying equipment (40lb+) and should expect to hike and/or wade 10 miles or more per day in mountain streams.

 Potential responsibilities:

•       Field biological sampling, including minnow traps, electrofishing, seins, gill nets, and screw trapping.
•       Fish identification and data collection (length, weight, scale samples, tag scans, etc)
•       Abiotic data collection such as substrate sampling and water salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and temperature.
•       Hatchery fish spawning, fish transfers, and biosampling.
•       Keeps records of all data
•       Laboratory processing and data collection, including coded wire tag extractions from hatchery salmon samples, fish stomach sample identification and sediment sample analysis.
•       Schedules, services, calibrate repairs, and installs sampling instrumentation.

 Environmental Conditions/Hazards:  The members may encounter environmental conditions/hazards including extreme heat or cold, rocky terrain, wading in deep/swift water,  swamp or wetland conditions, biting insects, and potentially dangerous wildlife. The member is expected to conduct duties in a safe and orderly manner so as not to endanger self, fellow staff/members or resources. 

 Vehicle and Equipment Use/Safety: If a vehicle is required for the accomplishment of the duties, one will be provided by the FWS or ACE.  Any tools required for the accomplishment of the duties will be provided by the FWS. Use of personal protective equipment (PPE), typically provided by the FWS, will be mandatory for any activity that requires it.  Strict adherence to FWS and ACE equipment training, certification and safety protocols is required. 

 Qualifications: 

Required

•   Willing and able to represent ACE and the partner organization in a professional, positive, and enthusiastic manner.
•   Ability to be both self-directed/work alone, and be a positive, contributing member of a group.
•   U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident
•   A valid driver’s license and an insurable driving record (documentation to be provided upon request).
•   Willing to undergo and must pass required criminal history checks.
•   Ability to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

Preferred Education:

• Competitive applicants for this position hold a Bachelor’s of Arts or Bachelor’s of Science degree in fisheries biology, wildlife biology, botany, natural resource management, or other related discipline appropriate to this position.  Exceptions may be made for those who have completed their Junior year.

​​DESIRED KNOWLEDGE

 Technical Methods:

•   The position requires knowledge of the technical methods and procedures for a work area to employ them in carrying out (alone, as crew lead, or as a fully functioning crewmember) a variety of technical duties common to fisheries.
•   Also required is the knowledge to operate complex equipment systems such as those with numerous components or parts which must be calibrated and synchronized to achieve desired results.
•   The work involves execution of specific rules, regulations, or procedures, such as those found in common technical manuals, laboratory handbooks, and administrative manuals.

Biological Sciences:

•   The duties require a knowledge of the basic principles of a biological science to assess readings and measurements taken, tests executed, observations made, work completed, samples collected, etc.
•   The employee will be required to understand and relate the significance of the results to the higher objectives to which the activity is related.

Data Analysis:

•   The technician must assess the worth of the data by considering its applicability to the higher objective, by assessing and reporting on the characteristics and quality of the source of the data, or by otherwise creatively interpreting the data produced.
•   Work products affect the accuracy, reliability, or acceptability of further procedures, processes or services, or the quality of day-to-day operations of a significant program in land management.

How to Apply

Job Categories: Equal Opportunities. Job Types: Temporary. Job Tags: conservation, Fisheries, natural resources, and science. Salaries: 20,000 - 40,000.

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