OUTREACH NOTICE ***



***OUTREACH NOTICE***

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Fisheries Biologist GS-0482-09

Tongass National Forest

Craig and Thorne Bay Ranger Districts

Prince of Wales Island

Position Title: Fisheries Biologist

Tour of Duty: Permanent, full-time.

Duty Station: Craig or Thorne Bay, Alaska

The Tongass National Forest is filling one permanent, full-time GS-0482-09 Fisheries Biologist position for its Prince of Wales Zone Fish, Wildlife, Watershed, and Subsistence Program.

Outreach Response: Interested applicants please see outreach form at the end of this document, or those desiring further information, contact Ali Reddington, at (907) 826-1608 or alreddington@fs.fed.us. Please respond by March 3125, 2016.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The ideal candidate would possess some or all of the following skills and/or have experience with these elements:

• Coldwater (trout/salmon) ecosystems

• Design and implementation of aquatic restoration projects

• Assessing watershed condition and developing watershed restoration plans

• Working with contract specifications (e.g., road storage, in-stream restoration)

• Hydrologic processes

• Forest management (timber, mining, roads).

• Collaborating with partners and stakeholders

• Developing and managing grants and agreements

Description of Duties:

This position serves as a Fisheries Biologist as part of the Fish, Wildlife, Watershed, and Subsistence team on Prince of Wales Island. As part of a zoned Prince of Wales FWWS team, the Fisheries Biologist would provide expertise in aquatic habitat restoration planning, watershed protection, and restoration within the framework of multi-use management.

Assessment of past management activities effect on watershed function and process, aquatic resources, development of restoration projects (if needed), and monitoring past restoration work will be a large part of this position.

The Fisheries Biologist will participate with higher level project hydrologists and fisheries biologists in monitoring fish habitat and fish populations. He or she reviews data and determines results from ongoing fish habitat projects, population studies, and monitoring. This position will analyze and interpret project and study data to provide information for use in fish habitat and population management project proposal reviews and decisions.

As part of an interdisciplinary team, this position will contribute to the development of project proposals and reports, which summarize critical information relating to the objective, approach, funding, and expected results of proposed investigation or restoration project. The incumbent will assist with the design and implementation of fisheries enhancement or habitat rehabilitation projects utilizing contracts and partnerships. Support from higher level fisheries biologists and hydrologists is available on the district and at the Supervisor’s Office level.

The Fisheries Biologist provides advice and assists in the development of plans related to the protection and management of aquatic resources including fish passage, stream inventory, stream productivity, stream function, physical and biological characteristics, and habitat improvements or rehabilitation projects. The incumbent ensures compliance with aquatic resource management plans. Work includes data collection and analysis, preparation of a variety of written reports, and providing recommendations on aquatic resource issues and aquatic habitat requirements, including assistance to Federal, State, Tribal, and/or local agencies.

The incumbent collaborates and builds relationships with a variety of internal and external partners and stakeholders engaged in watershed restoration activities on Prince of Wales Island.

Accomplishment of these duties will require arduous field work in inclement weather conditions throughout the year.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Those who are interested must meet the qualification requirements for the 0482 professional series. The Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards Handbook is available for review at any federal personnel office or for a direct link to the 0482 series requirements on the internet visit:

One year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the next lower level in the Federal service, or equivalent experience in private sector is required. Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the position to be filled, and which has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. For more information on this please visit:

Qualifications and time-in grade requirements must be met within 60 calendar days of the closing date of the announcement.

Duty Station

The duty station office will be either in Craig or Thorne Bay, Alaska on Prince of Wales (POW) Island, about 60 air miles from the Supervisor’s Office in Ketchikan. Roughly one million acres each, these districts are larger than many forests in the lower 48.

The Work Environment

The Craig and Thorne Bay Ranger Districts are challenging and interesting places to work. They are busy places with many customers coming to the office or contacting us by phone. Most fieldwork is done during the long light-filled days of summer. However, employees are busy throughout the year with a variety of work.

The Administrative Sites

The Craig District administrative site is about 25 years old and is located in downtown Craig, on the west side of the island. The compound consists of an office building, a warehouse, a 10-person bunkhouse, and a 10-plex government housing unit consisting of one and two bedroom apartments. Employees currently pay about $700 per month + utilities to rent a 2-bedroom apartment in the 10-plex or about $500 per month for a one bedroom. Open government apartments are limited but available. Housing opportunities in the community are limited but available and can be expensive. Daycare is not available on the Forest Service compound but can be found within the community.

The Thorne Bay District administrative site, completed in 1985, is located in Thorne Bay, on the eastern side of the island. The compound consists of an office building, a warehouse, a 28-person bunkhouse, and 25 government housing units consisting of one and two bedroom apartments, and three bedroom duplexes. Employees currently pay about $800 per month to rent a 3-bedroom duplex, and less for one or two bedroom apartments. Housing opportunities in the community are limited. Daycare is currently available on the Forest Service compound. The Forest Service compound on the unit is like a small community and employees are neighbors as well as coworkers.

The districts may operate several small field camps for employees during the field season. Most employees travel daily to the field in vehicles as well as by boat, helicopter, and float plane. Safety comes first and foremost!

The Island(s)

Prince of Wales Island (POW) is the largest island in southeast Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago, and the third largest US islandIsland. It measures approximately 130 miles from north to south and encompasses approximately 1,427,659 acres. POW has thousands of miles of coastline and hundreds of smaller islands to the west of POW.

The Natural Environment

Prince of Wales Island is located in southeastern Alaska, 40 air miles west of Ketchikan. The climate is mild but wet. Summertime temperatures range in the 60's and most winter days rarely fall below freezing. Precipitation is abundant and snowfall is variable. The lush ferns and foliage carpeting the forest floor are the result of over 100 inches of rainfall annually. The most pleasant months generally fall between May and September. The land is heavily forested with Sitka spruce, hemlock, and cedar. The emerald green slopes of the island drop off abruptly into marine waters and provide some of the most breathtaking scenery in the United States. Day length changes with the seasons from 18 hours of daylight in the summer to 18 hours of darkness in the winter.

Sitka black-tailed deer, black bear, and bald eagles make this coastal rain forest their home. The abundance of silver, pink, chum, and sockeye salmon makes the island streams a fisherman's paradise. Spring and fall steelhead runs add to the excitement. Crab, halibut, and other seafood are available in the surrounding waters, which are also populated by whales, seals, sea lions, sea otters, and porpoise.

Communities

The permanent population of POW is approximately 5,000 people. The economic emphasis in the area include timber related occupations, commercial fishing, tourism and lodges, federal highways development, government, health care, and construction. Seasonal workers and visitors add to the population in summer months. Nine year-round communities (Whale Pass, Coffman Cove, Naukati, Thorne Bay, Kasaan, Klawock, Craig, Hydaburg, and Hollis) on POW are connected by the road system.

Four of the island’s communities, Klawock, Craig, Kasaan, and Hydaburg, are the sites of traditional Alaskan Native (Haida in the south and Tlingit in the north) villages. A tribal government exists in each of these communities and represents tribal members.

Craig, the largest community on POW with a population of about 1,200 is located on the island’s west coast. The town, historically a local center of the commercial fishing industry, offers a full service grocery store, three restaurants, two banks, a public library, several motels and lodges, bed and breakfasts, various other stores (hardware, sporting goods, etc.), and seven churches covering a variety of denominations. Craig has a new high school complex, a well-established middle and elementary school, and a medical clinic. There is no movie theater, but there is an independent cable company and a video rental store. Craig is located on a spit and is essentially surrounded by salt water, which makes for some spectacular scenery.

Seven miles north of Craig is the community of Klawock, a traditional Tlingit community of about 800 people, which also supports a K-12 school adjacent to the city totem park, a full-service grocery store, and a health clinic.

Thorne Bay, on POW’s east coast, is about 40 miles northeast of Craig by paved road. It has a population of about 600. Over the past 50 years the town has grown from a Forest Service administrative site and logging camp to a small community. Thorne Bay, like many southeast Alaskan communities, is in the process of adjusting to a changing and diversifying economy. Thorne Bay is not a full-service community but does have a contract post office located inside a small convenience store, a new well-stocked grocery store, a sporting goods business, a liquor store, a gasoline station, video rentals, several bed and breakfast establishments, several churches and two resorts. The Thorne Bay School serves K-12 and has excellent recreational facilities. The community supports the headquarters for the Southeast Islands School District.

Most major purchases must be made by mail, phone, or travel off island but with prior planning and patience, almost anything can be obtained. Information about Prince of Wales Island, its communities and the surrounding environment can be found by visiting, fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/pow/index.shtml , , or .

Family Need and Spousal Placement

Limited employment opportunities exist for spouses both within and outside the Forest Service. In private industry, the few opportunities that exist are primarily in construction, the logging trades, fishing related industries, the local school system, city government, health care, home businesses and in various small businesses within the community.

It is our experience that employees are usually happier in this setting if he/she and family members enjoy activities popular in a remote Southeast Alaska location. Rain and darkness in the spring, fall, and winter provide excellent opportunities for craft work, carving, reading, painting, and other hobbies. Your life will be in a close-knit community where your life out of the office feels slower than life in the "lower 48". Employees have been happiest on Prince of Wales when their family was happy.

Opportunities

Transportation to and from Prince of Wales is by floatplane or ferry. There is daily ferry service from Hollis to Ketchikan and back (a 3 hour trip one-way). The ferry terminal is 34 miles by paved road from Craig, and 63 miles from Thorne Bay. There are also floatplane and runway based small plane services with daily flights to Ketchikan or for charter.

POW Island is the most heavily roaded area in Southeast Alaska. Over 1,000 miles of publicly accessible roads open up two-thirds of the island to travelers and local residents for recreation, subsistence, and other uses. With the majority of roads being a result of logging activity, many are shot-rock or gravel construction. However paved roads now connect the larger communities of Craig, Klawock, Thorne Bay, Coffman Cove, Hydaburg and soon, Whale Pass. Development of the road system has significantly changed the way forest users view and use the resources on the island.

The outdoor recreational opportunities include fishing, boating, canoeing, wildlife photography, big game and waterfowl hunting, hiking, camping, sightseeing, beachcombing, road based trips, cross-country skiing and much more. Many residents spend the majority of their leisure time on or near the water.

The changing economy of POW and the local communities and the diverse cultural and ethnic mix of the population provide a challenging and exciting range of possibilities for resource managers on and around the National Forest. Forest Service staff and specialists are working extensively with city, tribal, agency, and other partners. It’s an exciting time in southeast Alaska.

For information on the position:

Contact Person: Ali Reddington

Phone Number: 907-826-1608

Email address: alreddington@fs.fed.us

If you are interested in the position, please fill out the attached form and send it to alreddington@fs.fed.us by close of business on 30 days from finalization of Outreach.

OUTREACH NOTICE FORM

Tongass National Forest, Craig Ranger District

Respond by. COB March 2531, 2016

Position Title/Series/Grade: Fisheries Biologist, GS-0482--9

Duty Station: Craig or Thorne Bay Ranger District

I am interested in this position and will check for the announcement, or I will call the contact person.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Name: __________________________________________________ Date: ________________

Address: ________________________________________________ Phone: _______________

________________________________________________ E-Mail: _______________

Current title/series/grade/location: ______________________________________________

Type of appointment you are currently under _______________________________________

(e.g., Career, Career-Conditional, Excepted-ANILCA, Excepted VRA, etc)

Are you currently a Federal employee: YES ____ NO ___

Briefly describe why you will be a quality candidate for this position:

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