Forestry Technician

National Park Service•Orick, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Forestry Technician plans and implements technical projects and performs duties supporting forestry program activities. This term appointment is expected to last at least 13 months and may be extended, at management’s discretion and subject to applicable regulations, up to a total of ten years or more if regulations permit. The position supports forest restoration under the Redwoods Rising collaborative initiative in Redwood National and State Parks. The initiative brings together the National Park Service, Save the Redwoods League, and California State Parks to improve forest and watershed conditions across 120,000 acres. The technician serves as a project inspector for restoration work and carries out forestry inventory, monitoring, and restoration activities. Work includes office duties and frequent fieldwork. Office tasks are performed in adequately lighted, heated, and air-conditioned offices. Fieldwork may involve rough terrain, temperature extremes, insects, snakes, other hazards, and occasional work at heights. Telework is suitable only during an emergency or natural disaster.

Requirements

For GS-9 qualification, have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-08 level in federal service, or qualifying graduate education, or a qualifying combination of education and experience.
Specialized experience must demonstrate at least four of the listed areas: variable-plot forest-resource sampling; project inspection or contract monitoring on construction projects and heavy equipment operations specific to silvicultural forest management; delineating riparian areas, wetlands, and equipment exclusion zones; marking trees for removal ahead of forest management operations; managing and analyzing large datasets and creating project maps with GIS; collecting monitoring data using vegetation plots, transects, and photo points; or leading field crews and training lower-graded employees and interns in forest management activities.
For education substitution, complete at least two full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a related master's or equivalent graduate degree, with qualifying coursework as specified in the announcement.
For a combination of education and experience, the qualifying education and full-time experience percentages must total at least 100 percent, calculated using the method stated in the announcement.
Include hours worked per week for experience claimed; provide transcripts when using education to qualify.
Be a U.S. Citizen or National; undergo a background investigation and favorable adjudication; meet applicable Selective Service requirements; participate in Direct Deposit; and pass E-Verify.
Meet the stated minimum age requirement: at least 18, or at least 16 and satisfying one of the specified education, vocational training, school-authority, or student-employment conditions.
Serve a one-year probationary period, during which continued employment is evaluated and requires written agency certification to continue beyond the period.

Responsibilities

Inspect forest restoration contracts and agreements by observing contractor progress and compliance with specifications, providing technical information, ensuring quality control, resolving logistical or operational problems, and maintaining inspection diaries.
Support restoration contracts involving heavy equipment operations, including ground-based and cable yarding methods.
Use GIS software to plan forest inventory, monitoring, and restoration prescriptions, including tree marking and delineation of project boundaries, riparian management zones, wetlands, and equipment exclusion zones.
Conduct forest vegetation sampling to characterize and monitor ecosystem response to restoration treatments, including timber cruising with variable-radius plots and establishing or remeasuring vegetation plots, transects, and photo points.
Use database management systems and GIS to store and analyze large datasets and create reports and maps.
Conduct hazard-tree surveys and mitigation; mark trees for retention or removal with industrial timber marking paint while checking stand-density retention targets.
Lead or oversee lower-graded technicians, interns, and volunteers conducting ecological field studies, vegetation work, or restoration projects.