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Forester (Silviculture)

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in Region 6, on the Blue Mountain Ranger District of the Malheur National Forest in John Day, Oregon.

The incumbent serves as an assistant Silviculturist and is responsible for the development, planning and application of silvicultural methods and practices.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Amanda Lindsay at (541) 575-3333 or by email at amanda.lindsay@usda.gov.






Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/20/2019 to 05/24/2019
Salary
$42,053 to - $51,440 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
John Day, OR
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel may be required for field work, site visits, trainings and/or meetings.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
19-R6SV-0604-586247DP-LM
Control number
533808300

Duties

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  • Administers or supervises the administration of timber stand improvement, fuels reduction, reforestation, cone collection, and other vegetation management contracts.
  • Serves as a COR for administering contracts.
  • Prepares project plans and contracts for silvicultural methods and techniques in planting, seeding, site preparation, cone collections, timber stand improvement, fuels reduction, and tree and shrub improvement projects.
  • Inspects all phases of reforestation and stand improvement projects; appraises the degree of conformance with policies, procedures, and silvicultural plans; and recommends corrective action as required.
  • Coordinates silvicultural needs with other resource specialists.
  • Serves as a full member of an IDT on reforestation, timber stand improvement, fuels reduction, range, and landscape restoration projects.
  • Plans, coordinates, and evaluates the timber stand improvement program; prescribes cutting practices based on an examination of stand conditions and esthetic or other resource requirements.
  • Participates in preparation and review of reforestation and timber stand improvement environmental documents.
  • Duties listed above are at the full performance level.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify.
  • This is a bargaining unit position represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

Basic Requirement:
Forester GS-0460:

Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in forestry; or a related subject-matter field that included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours of course work were in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently diversified to include courses in each of the following areas:

  • Management of Renewable Resources -- study of the science and art of managing renewable resources to attain desired results. Examples of creditable courses in this area include silviculture, forest management.timber management, wildland fire science or fire management, utilization of forest resources, forest regulation, recreational land management, watershed management, and wildlife or range habitat management.
  • Forest Biology -- study of the classification, distribution, characteristics, and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of living organisms to the forest environment. Examples of creditable courses in this area include dendrology, forest ecology, silvics, forest genetics, wood structure and properties, forest soils, forest entomology, and forest pathology.
  • Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory -- sampling, inventory, measurement, and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources. Examples of creditable courses include forest biometrics, forest mensuration, forest valuation, statistical analysis of forest resource data, renewable natural resources inventories and analysis, and photogrammetry or remote sensing.
OR

Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in forestry, or at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours in forestry are the same as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess specialized experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

For the GS-07
: Applicants must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level. Examples of specialized experience are: Laid out unit boundaries, selected and marked individual trees for cutting, gathered data about wildlife, planted, or stand improvement implementation; Gathered and analyzed soil and water data used for resource planning; Gathered and summarized data collected from vegetation surveys for input to resource planning; Collected vegetation data needed for stand improvement problems, reported observations and recommended solutions to problems; drafted suggestions for managers to consider about specific treatment or action needed;

OR

one (1) full year of graduate level education;

OR

an appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience;

OR

Superior Academic Achievement (to determine if you are eligible, go to: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp)The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

For the GS-09: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level. Examples of specialized experience are: Provided direction on treating forested vegetation in order to meet resource objectives; Determined volume of merchantable timber, species composition, accessibility, and environmental constraints; performed related timber sale preparation, stand improvement, and reforestation duties; Collected timber compartment and stand prescription, or presale information data;

OR

two (2) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or have received a master's or equivalent graduate degree in biological science or directly related coursework;

OR

an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education (beyond 18 semester hours). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

See above for education requirement(s) for this position.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.

This position is eligible for telework.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government housing is not available.

If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is not guaranteed.

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications.

You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. You will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Individuals with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10500829

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