Please go to www.usajobs.opm.gov to apply for this position It will be posted Monday 2-13-06 until Wednesday 2-22-06.
BIOLOGIST GS07 TERM (BOTANY) HENDERSON, NV This position is located in the Las Vegas Field Station of the USGS-BRD Western Ecological Research Center. The successful candidate will participate in various research projects focusing on fire and invasive plant ecology and ecological effects of fuels management in the Western U.S., with special emphasis on the Mojave Desert, Great Basin Desert and the Colorado Plateau. The position focuses on the inventory of plants, their distribution, habitat characteristics and response to various experimental treatments. Field work will occur in the Mojave National Preserve, CA; Lee Vining, CA; Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, AZ; and various other sites in UT and NV. Individuals with knowledge of plants native to the Colorado Plateau and Mojave Desert and ability to efficiently and effectively use a taxonomic key are preferred. The incumbent is responsible for directing USGS employees (1-3) in data collection in remote field locations. The individual will be responsible for assuring quality control in data collection and collaboration while in the field and in the office. As a crew leader the incumbent is responsible for managing field crews including health and safety concerns when in remote settings, quality of data collection and maintenance of equipment. The incumbent may be responsible for development and maintenance of project websites when not in the field or laboratory. Individuals with web design and development skills are encouraged to apply. General position requirements include: to establish sampling sites, assist and manage data collection (soil sampling, vegetation inventory and monitoring, biomass collection, species identification, preparing herbarium specimens), data management, maintenance of field, laboratory and computer equipment, and occasional library research. The incumbent will also assist in the application of experimental treatments in the field including fire, herbicide, fertilizer, grazing, mechanical, and ecological restoration treatments. The incumbent will collect and organize field data, ensuring adequate quality control of data collected. The work involves large amounts of time outside under a variety of conditions including high elevations and extreme heat and cold and will require the incumbent to carry objects weighing up to 45 pounds. The use of global positioning systems (GPS units), computers, cameras, and on-and off-road vehicles are necessary. Periods of several days (7-14) will be spent camping at remote locations on data collection trips throughout the entire summer and fall. During the winter months (November, January, February) the prospective hire will participate in greenhouse experiments and data processing. The greenhouse work involves identifying, counting and photographing emergent seedlings and entering data into a database. Data processing may include drying and weighing biomass collected in the spring, entering data into databases, prepping supplies for the spring field season etc. See web sites for project descriptions: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/fire/lv/fireandinvasives/ http://www.werc.usgs.gov/fire/lv/pj/lakemead/ http://www.werc.usgs.gov/invasivespecies/mojavegrassfire.html
