PNW Research Station, Forestry Inventory & Analysis Program, Portland Forestry Sciences Lab
Locations: Oregon Coordinator: Portland, OR; Washington Coordinator: Olympia/Seattle, WA area; California Coordinator: Sacramento, CA, San Francisco, CA, Fresno, CA, OR Nevada City, CA GS-401-11 Biological Scientist Outreach is being conducted until September 30, 2009. The PNW Research Station, Portland Forestry Sciences Lab, anticipates filling three positions for the Oregon, Washington, and California field data collection coordinators for the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. Each will have a salary range of $59,309 to $77,097 (including the 19.71% locality pay increase for the Oregon coordinator located in Portland, OR). About the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program is considered the US forest census. The program is responsible for the inventory of forestlands in all states and territories across the US. There are 4 FIA programs across the country; the PNW FIA program covers Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands. It conducts forest inventories in these states as well as a program of research to characterize and assess land cover and forest resources, estimate changes and trends of those resources, and create or improve resource inventory techniques. Research goals include producing innovative and generally applicable approaches to analyzing and understanding dynamics inherent in a changing natural resource base, determining renewable resource conditions and quantities, analyzing trends in regional resource supply, identifying resource management opportunities, uncovering unique approaches to local, regional, and national utilization of forest resource inventory data, and improving efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy of forest resource assessment methodologies. For more information about the FIA program, see the following Internet website: http://fia.fs.fed.us/ Duties A majority of the duties will be devoted to data collection operations that meet program standards for production, data quality, and safety. Duties will involve the planning all aspects of the field work including scheduling and field logistics, hiring field workers, administering contracts, overseeing interpretation of imagery and ownership determination, writing field manuals, training field crews, and managing the data collection budget for the state. The position will require working closely with the data collection team leader and other state coordinators as well as state and federal officials and major land owners. During the field season, work involves supervising teams of field crews in remote locations, overseeing the scheduling of fieldwork including arranging for vehicles or other forms of transportation, ensuring safety, and overseeing the quality of field data, as well as performing some field work. This position will prepare an annual work plan and year-end report for data collection activities in the state. The position is supervisory in nature and involves hiring, performance appraisals, and overseeing personnel actions. All non-field related duties are performed in the office. Some field work and travel will be required during the field season over a wide diversity of ecological communities and types. Fieldwork requires the ability to work and travel with a 45-pound pack in steep, wet, and slippery terrain. Community (for OR coordinator position location) Portland, located in the northwest corner of Oregon, is strategically situated on the Pacific Rim and along the Interstate 5 corridor. Its high quality of life, a growing and diversified economy, excellent transportation linkages, skilled work force and access to beaches, rivers, and mountains make it an excellent place to live, work, and play. Portland’s housing market offers a broad range of neighborhood and housing options; mortgage rates are currently low and homes are very affordable. The University of Portland and a number of private and community colleges are located in Portland; Oregon State University is located in Corvallis, 60 miles south; University of Oregon in Eugene, 90 miles south; and University of Washington, 150 miles north. The average rainfall is 36 inches a year with average temperatures ranging from the mid-40’s in the winter and high 70’s in the summer. Oregon has 13 national forests, including the Mt. Hood NF less than an hour from Portland, and 225 state park areas. All of Oregon’s beaches are owned by and accessible to the public. Many opportunities for skiing, hiking, biking, windsurfing, backpacking, golfing, boating, and hunting and fishing can be found in Portland or within a 1-2 hour drive from the metropolitan area. If you are interested in this position and working with the Pacific Northwest Research Station, please use the attached response form to express your interest by September 30, 2009. You can send your response electronically or by regular mail to the following address: John Chase (503) 808-2098, [email protected], PNW Research Station, 620 SW Main, Suite 400, Portland, OR 97205. This is just a pre-announcement. When the position is advertised, the announcement will be posted on the Office of Personnel Management web site: www.usajobs.opm.gov . The announcement will contain all of the information you need to apply for the position.
