Fisheries Biological Support Members, Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Fish and Aquatic Conservation Complex

Fisheries Biological Support Members, Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Fish and Aquatic Conservation Complex

Summary

American Conservation Experience (ACE), a non-profit conservation corps, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), is seeking TWO Fisheries Biological Support Members to contribute to fishery resource monitoring projects alongside Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Fish and Aquatic Conservation Complex and Joint Base Lewis-McChord Staff.

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

Start Date: Early March 2025

Estimated End Date: Depends on start date

**35-week commitment required, with potential for 10-week extension

Location Details/Description: Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Complex, Lacey, WA

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

For more information on the Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, please visit its USFWS website.

For more information about Makah National Fish Hatchery, please visit its USFWS website.

For more information about Quilcene National Fish Hatchery, please visit its USFWS website.

For more information on the Quinault National Fish Hatchery, please visit its USFWS website.

For more information on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, please visit its US Army website.

Position Overview: The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. This position will help FWS realize the mission at Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Fish and Aquatic Conservation Complex while also supporting our Tribal and military partner's conservation objectives. The fish and aquatic monitoring includes providing field, lab, and hatchery support for a diversity of projects. Field sampling, invasive species monitoring and removal, and hatchery evaluation efforts (bio-sampling and sample processing) will be primary roles. While the member will primarily assist specific biologists, opportunities to support other projects will be permitted when the schedule allows to maximize experience diversification. This also includes digital and in-person outreach. This opportunity is intended for enthusiastic young professionals with a deep interest in advancing their career goals in fish and aquatic conservation science. Overnight travel may be required. Overnight lodging and meals during travel will be covered through a travel stipend.

This individual placement is meant to facilitate professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with professionals. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups.

The member will provide support and assistance under the guidance and direction of FWS and Joint Base Lewis-McChord staff in the following tasks:

• Field biological sampling, including but not limited to minnow traps, electrofishing, seines, gill nets, snorkel surveys, funnel traps, crab traps, and screw trapping.
• Fish and amphibian identification and data collection (length, weight, scale samples, tag scans, etc.).
• Invasive species monitoring and removals, including European green crabs, bull frogs, and invasive plants.
• Habitat restoration, including physical removal of invasive plants and herbicide treatments.
• Abiotic data collection such as substrate sampling, water salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature.
• Hatchery fish spawning, fish transfers, mass marking, and bio-sampling.
• Keeping records of all data.
• Laboratory processing and data collection, including coded wire tag extractions from hatchery salmon samples and fish stomach sample identification of invertebrate and vertebrate diet contents.
• Supporting upkeep of sampling instrumentation used for core position functions.

• Relay daily mission, technical skills and safety concerns to other crew members as assigned.
• Personal contacts are with employees in the agency and immediate organizations. In some 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 service assignments.

Schedule: Duties are tentatively carried out between 8:00am and 4:30pm Pacific, Monday-Friday, 5 days/week (5/8s) but a 4/10-hour days per week is not uncommon. Work hours will likely vary due to a dynamic schedule that depends on project, site location, and season. Bi-weekly totals should not exceed 80 hours. A flexible work schedule will be required, which could involve work performed outside of normal work hours including early field work departures (6:00am) and/or late returns (6:00pm) depending on the season and field project. Time off may be granted, and requests should be directed to ACE and the FWS for approval.

Position Benefits

Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $700/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

AmeriCorps Education Award Program: This position may be eligible for a 1200-hour AmeriCorps Education Award while serving under the EAP 2024/25 grant year program, valued up to $5,176.50 upon successful completion of a complete service term and 1200 hrs.

Loan Forbearance: AmeriCorps members may also be eligible for federal loan forbearance. Additional enrollment steps are required.

Public Land Corps Hiring Authority: Members serving under this agreement may be eligible for a federal hiring authority upon completion of their term of service and 640 hours of service. If the duration of a PLC-eligible term is not long enough for Members to accrue 640 hours of service (~16 weeks), the total hours served at the completion of the term may be eligible to be combined with hours accrued from another PLC-eligible term to meet the 640 hours requirement. PLC projects also include specific eligibility requirements such as age and citizenship. Please contact ACE staff with questions about eligibility, or view general eligibility information on our usaconservation website.

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

Gear Reimbursement: ACE members will have up to $200 to spend on eligible gear purchases and must be approved by ACE staff prior to purchase.

Relocation Allowance: ACE members will have access to up to $1000 to be used for eligible relocation expenses. Further details regarding distribution of these funds will be provided during the interview process.

Provided Training/Orientation: ACE members will receive position specific training and an orientation outlining ACE policies and procedures, clear guidance on prohibited activities, and networks for support.

Scholarship Funding Opportunity: The selected candidate(s) for this position will be eligible to apply for ACE's Access and Inclusion Scholarship. This is a $500 scholarship which is intended to make participation in ACE positions more accessible to individuals who are underrepresented in the conservation field. Scholarship recipients will be able to allocate this funding to financial need(s) of their choosing. A limited number of scholarships are available.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Members must be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident, as required by U.S. government contracts.
• Willing and able to represent ACE and the FWS in a professional, positive, and enthusiastic manner.
• Ability to be both self-directed/work alone, and be a positive, contributing member of a group.
• A valid driver's license and an insurable driving record (documentation to be provided upon request).

• Willing to undergo and must pass the required criminal history checks

• Ability to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
• ACE Members will need to complete bi-weekly timesheets, beginning of term feedback forms, end of term evaluations, and for longer terms, a mid-term evaluation.
• Member may not participate in any prohibited activities as listed in the Member Service Agreement or as defined by AmeriCorps.
• To learn more about eligibility requirements, please visit our website on usaconservation dot org.

Preferred:

• Competitive applicants for this position can 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.

Technical Methods:

• 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.
• Knowledge to operate complex equipment systems such as those with numerous components or parts which must be calibrated and synchronized to achieve desired results.
• Ability and willingness to execute specific rules, regulations, or procedures, such as those found in common technical manuals, laboratory handbooks, and administrative manuals.

Biological Sciences:

• Knowledge of the basic principles of a biological science to assess readings and measurements taken, tests executed, observations made, service completed, samples collected, etc.
• Ability and willingness to understand and relate the significance of the results to the higher objectives to which the activity is related.

Data Analysis:

• Deep interest in assessing 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.
• Awareness of work products affecting 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.

Equipment:

• Proficient in operating a 4-wheel drive vehicle on rugged roads and able to navigate using topo maps, compass, and GPS.
• The use of water crafts (motorized and/or human power) may be needed to access sampling sites and/or deploy gear.

Physical Demands, Work Environment and Working Conditions:

• Physical Demands: This position requires physical exertion in the form of hiking in mountainous and swampy terrain over long distances in various weather while carrying equipment and should expect to hike and/or wade 10 miles or more per day in mountain streams. Other demands include stooping, lifting, reaching, talking, hearing, regular and recurring running, walking, or bending, 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.
• Manual dexterity required for use of various tools, computer keyboard/mouse and other office equipment and may involve fine and precise procedures, delicate adjustments, or exact measurements.
• Vision Requirements: Requires close, distance, peripheral, and depth perception vision as well as the ability to focus.
• Weight Lifted or Force Exerted: Frequently moves up to 40 lbs., ability to move up to 40 lbs.
• Environmental: Outdoor and indoor conditions. Work environment conditions can change frequently, working under adverse weather conditions and in various climates. When indoors, office environment conditions; indoor air quality is good and temperature is controlled.
• Noise Environment: Moderate to high noise such as hand and power tools. Moderate noise such as in a business office with equipment and light traffic.
• Travel: This position may require domestic travel.

Environmental Conditions/Hazards: The ACE members may encounter environmental conditions/hazards including extreme heat or cold, rocky terrain, swamp or wetland conditions, wading in deep/swift water, 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. This position includes the inherent risk of working around water and in watercraft (motorized and human powered), as well as the risks associated with the operation of electrofishing units. An array of mandatory training will be provided upon initiation of the position.

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. The service involves regular and recurring moderate risks or discomforts which require special safety precautions. This position will require an understanding of the communication plan, and a basic level of comfort using both cellular and inReach devices. Members 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.

To Apply: Please submit your resume, a cover letter demonstrating your interest and experience, and contact information for three professional/academic references to the online application page for this position on our website at usaconservation dot org. Early consideration will be given as resumes are received. This position may close at any time. If you have any questions regarding this position, please feel free to contact ACE EPIC FWS Program Manager Nich Jackosky at njackosky at usaconservation dot org.

ACE values an inclusive workforce - if you meet at least 70 percent of the qualifications, we want to hear from you!

ACE participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information when you are hired to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.

EEO: Employment or Service with ACE is based upon ability, qualifications, attitude, and job-related factors. Every qualified employee, member, or applicant has the same opportunity for recruitment, hire, training, transfer, promotion, compensation, demotion, termination, benefits, employee activities, and general treatment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, creed, national origin, pregnancy, ancestry, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital or parental status, political affiliation, ethnicity, hair texture or style, arrest record, caste, hereditary status, endogamy, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal law.

Current Openings for Fisheries Biological Support Members, Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Fish and Aquatic Conservation Complex Jobs at American Conservation Experience - EPIC