Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service Job Announcement: Research Ecologist/Research Forester (interdisciplinary) GS-0408/0460-12 Reply Due: 30 March 2015 The USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) will soon be advertising for a Research Ecologist/Research Forester (interdisciplinary position). The position will be located at the Pacific Southwest Research Station in Redding, Placerville, Davis, or Fresno, California. This notification is being circulated to inform prospective applicants of this upcoming opportunity and determine interest in the position. The vacancy announcement for this position will be posted on the U.S. Government’s official website for employment opportunities www.usajobs.gov. Program: The incumbent will be a scientist in the Fire and Fuels Program of the Pacific Southwest Research Station. The mission of the Fire and Fuels Program is to produce science that will help improve management actions intended to enhance resiliency and sustainability of ecosystems affected by fire and reduce the potential for adverse or uncharacteristic effects resulting from wildland fire. Research conducted by the Fire and Fuels program provides scientific knowledge and applications to land managers, policy makers, other scientists, land owners, and communities. The program consists of a Physical Fire Science team and an Environmental Fire Science Team. The scientist will be a member of the Environmental Fire Science Team, which is composed of personnel located in Redding, Riverside, and Davis, California. The Fire and Fuels Program conducts research in five problem areas: 1) Improving measurement, modeling, and prediction of wildland fire phenomena in complex landscapes and fuels; 2) Determining the ecological effects of fire and fire removal on landscapes throughout California, Hawai'i, and the Pacific Islands; 3) Evaluating the short and long-term outcomes of fuels, fire and post-fire management strategies; 4) Measuring and discovering the interactions between climate, vegetation, and fire in the face of climate change and how do we improve our understanding and predictability of these interactions in order to manage forests and wildlands more effectively; and 5) Examining risk analysis to assist the evaluation of management options and determine what decision support tools are needed to support science- based decision-making. Duties: The scientist will be responsible for developing and carrying out research projects in line with Program problem areas, chiefly problem areas 2, 3, and 4, which are the primary responsibility of the Environmental Science Team. Areas of study that are particularly sought include interactions between fuels, topography and weather in controlling fire behavior and fire effects in complex landscapes of the western U.S.; efficacy of fuel treatments and post-wildfire treatments in altering future fire behavior and effects; evaluation of different fire management approaches; how forest management practices or climate change has affected resilience to wildfire and approaches for restoring more resilient forest conditions; and fire-climate relationships. The scientist’s research program would ideally focus on studies at the landscape-scale, or at least have applicability at the landscape scale. Familiarity with GIS, remote sensing products (e.g. LandSat, MODIS, LiDAR), modeling approaches, and interest in incorporating such tools in research to further our understanding of fire-related phenomena is needed. Ultimately research results will contribute to development of decision support tools and models for managers (problem area 5). Requirements: An applicant for this position should have a Ph.D. in Ecology, Forestry or a related field of study, including at least 24 semester hours in biological science or forestry. Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW): The Station is a world leader in natural resources research through scientific excellence and responsiveness to the needs of current and future generations. PSW represents the Research and Development branch of the USDA Forest Service in the states of California and Hawai`i and the US-affiliated Pacific Islands. Our mission is to develop and communicate science needed to sustain forest ecosystems and their benefits to society. Our staff is primarily located at 8 campuses in Albany (headquarters), Arcata, Davis, Fresno, Hilo, Placerville, Redding, and Riverside. The research occurs both in our labs and at many field sites. This position will be located in Redding, Placerville, Davis, or Fresno, CA. Information on these communities can be found at the links below: Redding: http://www.ci.redding.ca.us/demographics.html Placerville: http://www.cityofplacerville.org/our_city/about/profile.asp Davis: http://cityofdavis.org/about-davis Fresno: http://www.fresno.gov/default.htm
If you are interested in receiving a copy of the vacancy announcement for this position…complete the attached Outreach Notice Response Form and return it to the Pacific Southwest Research Station no later than February 15, 2015.   PACIFIC SOUTHWEST RESEARCH STATION FIRE AND FUELS PROGRAM Interdisciplinary Research Ecologist/Forester GS-0408/0460-12 Redding, Davis or Placerville, California If you are interested in this opportunity, please complete this form and send it by e-mail to Dr. Jan Beyers at [email protected] Please respond no later than February 15, 2015. INTERESTED APPLICANT INFORMATION: NAME: EMAIL ADDRESS: MAILING ADDRESS: TELEPHONE NUMBER: TYPE OF CURRENT APPOINTMENT: (if applicable) PERMANENT --TEMPORARY --TERM CURRENT STATION/LAB/REGION/FOREST/DISTRICT: (if applicable) CURRENT PAY or SERIES AND GRADE: (if applicable) CURRENT POSITION TITLE: I AM ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL NON-COMPETITIVE HIRING AS: VRA (Veterans Recruitment Authority) SCHEDULE A (Persons with disabilities) Reinstatement (prior permanent career/career conditional employees) OTHER **Note: for candidates that do not understand what these authorities mean, or the criteria that needs to be met in order to be eligible for non- competitive hiring authorities, please see the information below. • 30% or More Compensable Disabled Veterans: Temporary and career opportunities can be provided to qualified disabled veterans who were discharged because of a service-connected disability or retired with a disability rating of 30% or more, and have been rated by the VA since 1991 or later as having a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. OPM.Gov/Strategic Management of Human Capital • Veteran’s Recruitment Authority (VRA): Allows for temporary and career opportunities for positions at grade levels through GS-11. Qualified veterans must be disabled or, have served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized or, received an Armed Forces Service Medal or, was recently (within the last 3 years) separated from active duty. OPM.Gov/Strategic Management of Human Capital
