Watershed Forester

City of New York•Kingston, NY

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for managing the city's water supply, wastewater, and stormwater systems, as well as reducing pollution. The DEP manages a vast water supply system with 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes across a 2,000 square mile watershed. The Forestry Program, within the Natural Resources Division, is tasked with managing City-owned watershed forests to protect and enhance water quality, guided by the NYC Watershed Forest Management Plan. This plan outlines goals for the forest to best protect water quality over the long term. Foresters evaluate City-owned forest land, develop management plans, and oversee the implementation of forest management projects. This Associate Project Manager I position will focus on the Ashokan and Schoharie reservoir basins, implementing holistic forest management and restoration projects and contracts. These projects may include invasive species control, planting vegetation, timber harvesting, stand improvement, thinning, and deer exclusion, all in compliance with the NYC Watershed Forest Management Plan, the City’s Filtration Avoidance Determination, and the NYC Watershed Memorandum of Agreement.

Requirements

One year of full-time satisfactory experience in supervising employees performing project management work, such as planning, administering, managing, coordinating, or expediting, on engineering and/or architectural and/or landscape architectural projects, or supervising a construction project with a value of $1,000,000 or more.
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university in engineering, engineering technology, architecture, landscape architecture, architectural technology, construction, construction management, construction technology, sustainable design, urban planning, urban studies, city planning, transportation planning, business administration, or public administration, and one year of full-time satisfactory experience in project management work, such as planning, administering, managing, coordinating, or expediting, for engineering and/or architectural and/or landscape architectural projects.
A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and five years of experience in project management work, such as planning, administering, managing, coordinating, or expediting, for engineering and/or architectural and/or landscape architectural projects.
A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent plus any combination of college or university education and/or experience in project management work, such as planning, administering, managing, coordinating, or expediting, for engineering and/or architectural and/or landscape architectural projects to make up the equivalent of five years of education and experience.
One year of experience credit will be given for each 30 semester credits of college or university education leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in engineering, engineering technology, architecture, landscape architecture, architectural technology, construction, construction management, construction technology, sustainable design, urban planning, urban studies, city planning, transportation planning, business administration, or public administration.
One year of experience credit will be given for a Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in engineering, engineering technology, architecture, landscape architecture, architectural technology, construction, construction management, construction technology, sustainable design, urban planning, urban studies, city planning, transportation planning, business administration, or public administration.
One year of experience credit will be given for a Juris Doctor degree.
One year of experience credit will be given for a valid New York State license as a Professional Engineer, Registered Architect or Registered Landscape Architect.
In addition to meeting the qualification requirements for Assignment Level I, candidates must have at least one additional year of experience in project management work, such as planning, administering, managing, coordinating, or expediting, for engineering and/or architectural and/or landscape architectural projects in a supervisory capacity or have served for at least one year as a project manager for a large and/or complex construction project.
In addition to meeting the qualification requirements for Assignment Level I, candidates must have at least two additional years of experience in project management work, such as planning, administering, managing, coordinating, or expediting, for engineering and/or architectural and/or landscape architectural projects in a supervisory capacity or have served for at least two additional years as a project manager for a large and/or complex construction project.

Nice To Haves

Driver’s license valid in the State of New York
Ability to travel to meetings, work facilities, and field locations, utilizing a New York City vehicle
Knowledge and proficient use of Microsoft Office products such as Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Knowledge and proficient use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and workplace collaboration applications.
Strong computer skills
Experience with GPS software, hardware, data collection, and processing.
Experience with ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) ArcGIS Pro software.
Knowledge of ecology, mensuration, silviculture, stand dynamics, and dendrology of northeastern US forests.
Knowledge of invasive species ecology, biology, and control.
Ability to synthesize information about forest condition at multiple scales from disparate sources to determine the best forest restoration and/or silvicultural options at the stand, basin and landscape scales to achieve NYC Watershed Forest Management Plan objectives.
Ability to design statistically-valid forest inventories and to accurately collect forest inventory data.
Ability to use statistical analysis to process forest inventory data to generate meaningful insights into forest condition.
Ability to identify northeast US native, invasive and common escaped ornamental tree, shrub and herbaceous species in field conditions year-round.
Ability to navigate effectively off trail in forested conditions using only a map and compass with no available GPS signal.
Ability to use a GPS unit to navigate and collect data, and to download data for use in GIS.
Ability to work alone outdoors in harsh environmental conditions, including extreme temperatures and precipitation, over rough terrain in remote locations, sometimes with limited means of communication.
Ability to carry up to 30 lbs. while navigating in forested conditions over rough and uneven terrain.
Ability to use a chainsaw, brush saw, string trimmer, loppers, hand pruners, paint gun, hammer, hatchet, shovel, and other similar hand tools.
Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written expressions, to prepare and use charts, graphs, and tables, to communicate technical forestry concepts to non-technical audiences, and to use independent judgment.

Responsibilities

Designing and developing forest management and restoration projects in accordance with the NYC Watershed Forest Management Plan and directly oversee implementation through a variety of mechanisms including contracts, use of DEP staff, partnerships, inter-governmental agreements or any other approved method.
Performing forest planning work, including development of forest compartment plans, design and collection of forest inventory and other forest assessments, analysis and interpretation of data from multiple sources, and incorporation of stakeholder input.
Directly evaluating the condition of City-owned forest land in assigned region by collecting, analyzing, and compiling information through on-site inspection and from available remotely-sensed data, orthophotography, or other relevant data sets.
Overseeing contractor performance for adherence to approved forest project plans, quality of work, water quality protection goals, and health and safety compliance.
Developing regulatory submissions and secure internal and external approval, as appropriate, to ensure compliance and timely delivery of projects.
Reviewing and processing invoices, contractor approvals, and vendor insurance for City-funded contracts.
Acting as a subject matter expert to the Bureau and Agency on forest-related questions and issues.
Preparing and submitting written reports pursuant to specific deliverables and requirements of the Filtration Avoidance Determination.
Communicating and collaborating with local watershed stakeholders, program partners, and Federal/State agencies to support program goals.
Supporting other programs within the Directorate and Bureau on projects that require forest and tree knowledge and expertise, including reviewing construction projects for tree- and forest-related impacts and assisting with research on City-owned land.
Representing the Forestry Program to advisory boards, coalitions, associations, public meetings, workshops, or tour groups.