The Eastern Forest Environmental Threat
Assessment Center (Center) of the USDA Forest
Service Southern Research Station is recruiting
for an Ecologist research and development
position located in Asheville, North Carolina.
The position is targeted for the GS-12 grade
level, with a salary range of $ 68,809 to $
89,450. This is a term position with an initial
appointment of 18 months; extension of
appointment up to four years is possible.
Application is open to all U.S. citizens.
The position
The mission of EFETAC is to generate knowledge
and tools needed to anticipate and respond to
environmental threats. The most serious threats
to forests and the benefits they provide
inevitably involve complex factors interacting at
multiple scales. The Centers challenge is to
maintain a holistic and integrated research
program to tackle these complex issues. Research
conducted by the Center is necessarily
multidisciplinary, integrated, and applied.
Corporate or team results are more highly valued
than individual accomplishments. Thus, the
position is expected foremost to contribute to
the design and development of integrated Center
products, and to ensure successful delivery of
scientific information and tools to managers.
This assignment is directed at improving the
understanding of ecological and socioeconomic
aspects of the Appalachian landscape. Assignments
includes a comprehensive status assessment
conducted of pre-existing or ongoing work that
could contribute to better understanding of
environmental threats and their relationship to
environmental services. This work will be used to
help design a landscape-scale assessment of
environmental threats and ecosystem services in
collaboration with the Appalachian Landscape
Conservation Cooperative. The assessment will:
(1) summarize existing threat assessment efforts
of major stressors including measures of
ecosystems integrity, function, or
sustainability, and identification of endemic
species or trust species affected, (2) identify
knowledge gaps and/or limitations to existing
tools, methodology, and approaches, and (3)
identify a framework and propose a process to
facilitate a comprehensive assessment. Technology
transfer and collaboration with stakeholders are
essential components of the position.
Knowledge required
The position requires advanced understanding of
landscape processes, forest and watershed
ecology, and conservation. The successful
candidate will have demonstrated expertise in
analyzing complex environmental and social issues
at broad spatial scales. Advanced understanding
and experience with Geographical Information
Systems (GIS), ecological modeling, or
comparative risk assessment are desired.
Excellent communication skills and ability to
work in a collaborative team environment are essential.
Location
This position will be located at the Southern
Research Stations headquarters in Asheville,
North Carolina. Asheville is the largest city in
Western North Carolina with a population of over
70,000. It is the core of a three-county
metropolitan area of 229,950. In the last 20
years, Asheville has emerged as one of the
eastern United States regional centers for
cultural amenities. The city boasts a symphony,
lyric opera, and a ballet. It is well recognized
for its thriving drama, music, and arts
communities. Asheville is also a regional center
for health care, banking, professional services,
manufacturing, and transportation. Located at an
elevation of 2,200 feet in the heart of the
Southern Appalachians, the city has average
summer highs of 82 dropping to winter lows of 32,
and rainfall from 55 to 60 inches with some areas
over 80 inches. Surrounded by national forests
and 50 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, Asheville is the gateway for
numerous rivers and trails and spectacular drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Interested candidates
Candidates meeting the qualifications and
interested in the position should contact Ginny
Burgess
(<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected])
no later than September 6, 2013 and provide your
name, address, and email. Please do not send
résumés and/or transcripts when responding to
this outreach notice. It is anticipated that the
vacancy announcement will be posted on OPMs USA
Jobs website (<http://www.usajobs.opm.gov>www.usajobs.opm.gov).
For more information about the position contact
Danny C Lee, EFETAC Center Director, at (828)
257-4854 or e-mail
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]. If you
would like to learn more about EFETAC, visit our
Web site at
<http://www.forestthreats.org/>http://www.forestthreats.org/.
Should you like to learn more about the Southern
Research Station, visit our Web site at
<http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/>http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/.
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