Natural Resources Technician I – Denver Parks and Recreation

City and County of Denver•Denver, CO

20h•$27 - $40•Onsite

About The Position

With competitive pay, great benefits, and endless opportunities, working for the City and County of Denver means seeing yourself working with purpose — for you, and those who benefit from your passion, skills and expertise. Join our diverse, inclusive and talented workforce of more than 11,000 team members who are at the heart of what makes Denver, Denver. What We Offer This is an on-call position, which means it is a part-time, hourly role. This position will work no more than 39 hours per week. The pay range for this position is $26.84 - $40.27/hour. New hires are typically brought into the organization between $26.84 and $33.55/hour. This position is eligible to enroll in the City and County of Denver’s 457b retirement plan. This position is not eligible for other additional benefits. On‐call positions may have routine or variable work schedules. Location & Schedule In this position you can expect to work around 39 hours per week on site at Camp Rollandet, 5161 Sheridan Blvd, Denver CO. The position will be Monday – Friday, and some weekends. This person may be required to respond to after-hour calls or emergency calls outside of normal scheduled or business hours. Who We Are & What You’ll Do This position performs as a team member of the Wildlife Management Program with a mission of wildlife management and coexistence in Denver’s urban parks, natural spaces and mountain park landscapes to balance healthy wildlife populations with safe, enjoyable human use of parks. The position focuses on conserving biodiversity, protecting and restoring habitats, and reducing conflicts between people and animals through science-based management, thoughtful park design, environmental education, and community engagement. The goal is to create resilient and sustainable urban ecosystems where wildlife can thrive, and people can connect with nature responsibly. Team members collaborate to find solutions and implement strategies of wildlife management that result in the protection and conservation of native plant and wildlife species, mitigation of invasives, and conflict resolution, which includes conducting site assessments, evaluations, and finding solutions and projects that support people and wildlife to coexist and to ensure the ecological sustainability of parks and natural areas. Team members work with stakeholders both internal and external to the city to preserve and conserve urban and rural parks, natural areas, and open spaces which includes working with citizens, volunteers, park rangers, agencies such as Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado State University, Mile High Flood District, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Audubon, Denver Zoo and related non-profit organizations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Range or Wildlife Management, Forestry, Environmental Science, Biology, Restoration Ecology, Park and Recreation Management, or a related field of study
One (1) year of urban and rural habitat management experience
Requires a valid Driver's License at the time of application. Licenses and certifications must be kept current as a condition of employment

Nice To Haves

Experience with vegetation and wildlife management in both urban and mountain parks
One (1) year of urban and rural habitat management experience with a wildlife management related emphasis
Proficiency in plant identification and/or habitat assessment
Experience writing and editing technical reports
Experience designing and executing strategies for mitigating wildlife conflicts
Possession of a current Commercial Driver’s License
Proficiency with Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, GIS, GPS, FVS
Experience with field tools and equipment used for wildlife management related projects
Experience operating a 4-wheel drive vehicle in variable weather and road conditions
Knowledge of grants programs and experience writing and managing grants

Responsibilities

Assist with conducting habitat site assessments and evaluations to identify and inventory land types that support wildlife species, monitoring wildlife activity, and count of wildlife within the area or region, mapping habitat locations, and nesting sites, setting up monitoring cameras, and entering assessment results and data in GIS data collection apps.
Manage and monitor Canada geese parkwide, which includes monitoring, surveying and recording populations, identifying and counting resident verses migrating geese, oiling eggs to prevent new hatchings, hazing geese to discourage nesting in certain areas, and when necessary, capturing and taking injured geese and other wildlife to rehabilitation facilities.
Manage and monitor prairie dog colonies by performing surveys and recording habitat conditions, and numbers of animals, which includes making assessments for what type of mitigation is necessary for managing a population – using lethal or nonlethal methods - and ensuring other sensitive or highly desirable wildlife will not be impacted such as Black-Footed Ferrets and Burrowing Owls that inhabit colonies.
Manage and monitor beaver populations, beaver activity and beaver dams, which includes mapping of beaver dams and lodges, observing beaver activity, mitigating dams to lower water levels and control flow rates of streams, and caging and painting desirable trees vulnerable to beaver damage.
Participate in wildlife management research projects and make suggestions on best management practices.
Conduct public outreach and wildlife education, which includes educating citizens within the parks, setting up educational booths at community events, formal classroom presentations, responding to 311 calls regarding wild animal complaints, and assists with training and working with volunteer groups.
May assist with eradicating and controlling invasive weed species in urban and mountain parks, natural areas and open spaces to promote healthier ecosystems, which includes assessing area conditions, mapping targeted species populations, determining treatment method of control, and evaluating the effectiveness of the treatments.
May assist with wildland forest management to include management of forest fuels in the removal of vegetation such as weeds, shrubs, and trees, which includes felling, bucking, swamping, chipping, and cruising with the use of chainsaws and other handheld cutting equipment and collects field mapping data for the delineation of boundaries and borders.
Assist with performing habitat restoration work, which includes planting trees and native plants, reseeding native grasses, collecting native seeds, installing fences, signs, fishing-line recycling containers, and building and installing bird/bat boxes.
Adheres to personal and public safety guidelines and standards, which includes wearing personal protective equipment, and understanding wildlife management protocol applications.
Perform data management tasks which includes GPS and GIS mapping systems and makes recommendations for program and project improvements, and logistics planning.
Prepares reports and records daily work activities in DPR’s GIS system that tracks wildlife mitigation work performed, wildlife population counts, locations of studies and site activities, hours worked, and resources necessary to complete objectives.
Performs regular maintenance and restoration of natural areas, parks, and open spaces which includes building and maintaining prairie dog barriers, fences for habitat restoration projects, trail mitigation, and installing informational signs.