These integrated entry-level permanent seasonal Forestry Technician positions coupled with career ladders, provide a sequence of training steps that lead to progressively more advanced jobs and skillsets throughout a Forest Service employee's career. Permanent seasonal employment guarantees a minimum of 13 pay periods of work each year with the possibility of additional pay periods of work if both employee and supervisor agree. Recruitment Incentives may be offered to qualifying candidates.
Summary
These integrated entry-level permanent seasonal Forestry Technician positions coupled with career ladders, provide a sequence of training steps that lead to progressively more advanced jobs and skillsets throughout a Forest Service employee's career. Permanent seasonal employment guarantees a minimum of 13 pay periods of work each year with the possibility of additional pay periods of work if both employee and supervisor agree. Recruitment Incentives may be offered to qualifying candidates.
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.
Perform a variety of routine and frequently complex tasks involving techniques and practices relating to natural resources management programs, (i.e., timber/silviculture, recreation, wildlife, fisheries, watershed, range and vegetation management).
Prepares, develops, and executes timber cruises and sample surveys for resource information and estimate quality and quantity of timber for purpose of appraisal, sales administration, management planning, and logging plans.
Lays outs sales in accordance with EAR and other instructions, considering variables such as accessibility, steep slopes, stream protection, nesting tree protection, wildlife impacts, fuels management and regeneration requirements.
Lays out the boundary of areas designated for planting, site preparation, and timber stand improvement contracts.
Personally performs work or inspects work performed under site preparation, planting, and timber stand improvement contracts following established procedures and which involve standard requirements.
Gathers, compiles, and recommends improvements for developed and dispersed recreation sites on the unit. Recruits and trains volunteers.
Assists with putting together project proposals and with conducting studies for providing input in National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) project analysis.
Conducts a variety of field studies of sensitive wildlife and fish species to determine numbers, environmental conditions, and the condition of the species and its habitat, and factor affecting the health and welfare of the species and its habitat.
Evaluates data and makes recommendations for improvement of habitat or species.
Conducts water resource inventories, implements water resource improvement project plans, and evaluates impacts of Forest management on the aquatic resources.
Participates in the development of plans and programs for range management by collecting data for grazing allotment plans and advising management as to what improvements are needed and what management practices can be affected.
Develops plans for the installation of range and soil condition and trend transects.
Participates in noxious plant control, seeding, or similar projects by flagging boundaries, operating equipment, and carrying out studies.
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.
Must be at least 18 years of age and meet requirements.
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.
Specialized Experience Requirement:
For the GS-05: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 in the Federal service. For the GS-05 Specialized experience is defined as two or more of the following:
assisted in preparing reports, visual aids, and maps which provided information, general conditions of the area; and/or assisted with inspections and reported findings on various natural resource projects (i.e., timber and silviculture, vegetation management, reforestation, recreation and trails, wildlife, fisheries, watershed improvement, range, special uses, plants, and noxious weeds identification and/or control, etc.); and/or
assisted in maintenance of recreation areas or features within an area and a variety of types of trails in accordance with predetermined standards and reports on condition; and/or
assisted in routine observations, measurement, surveys, inventorying, and recording of scientific data used to support natural resource management reports, projects, plans, or permitted uses; and/or
assisted with inspections, patrols, or contracts/permits for parts of a project; and/or
used databases, software, or apps in support of data collection, data management, or in preparation of visuals for forestry or natural resource projects; and/or
assisted in the preparation, building, installing and/or maintenance of features or structures to support parts of restoration or protection for wildlife, fisheries, range, botany-related, and watershed improvement projects; and/or
assisted customers with a variety questions or concerns related to natural resources, forests, and/or conservation using a variety of communication methods; and/or
used chainsaws and other power equipment to implement thinning, planting, pruning, fire suppression and other silvicultural projects; and/or
experiences related to Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) such as but not limited to gathering of wild plants and other materials, subsistence practice such as traditional hunting and fishing, cultural burning, traditional plant uses, resource management through traditional practices and conservation principles, environmental monitoring related to the health and dynamics of the ecosystem, cultural preservation, and sharing ITEK through advocating and educating.
OR
A bachelor's degree or 4 years of successfully completed education above high school (120 semester/180 quarter hours) with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science (no more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable);
OR
Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education (in excess of the first 60 semester/90 quarter hours) and specialized experience. The education must have been obtained in an accredited business ,secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.
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 that may be qualifying for this position.
Additional information
Salary range as shown is the locality pay area of Rest of U.S. (RUS). Pay rates vary depending on location and may be higher or lower than the amount shown. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management's website for information.
Location: Choosing "Location Negotiable After Selection" as one of your location choices will allow you to be considered for additional locations that may open or if we need additional candidates for hard-to-fill locations. Final determination of duty station will be made by the selecting official at time of job offer.
Work Schedule/Tour of Duty: Employees will work 80 hours every pay period (two weeks). The tour of duty is permanent seasonal 13/13, with 13 pay periods in pay status, or approximately six months, mutually guaranteed. Employees may work additional pay periods each year if they and supervisors agree, and the appointments may also be upgraded in the future to 18/8 or year-round if employee and supervisors agree. When not working, employees are placed in non-pay/non-duty status.
Selections made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would be given a new appointment.
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.
Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.
Government Housing may be available.
This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
This is a Direct-Hire Authority position, all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, the resume is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements. A rating will not be used; veteran's preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position.
Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, 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.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes:1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the responsibilities section including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications.
If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process.
Read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m. (MST), Monday - Friday. If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be returned to Human Resources no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order for it to be entered into the system prior to the closing date.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, in USAJOBS click "Apply" and follow the instructions to attach your resume and required documents, complete the assessment questionnaire, and submit your application.
NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center
DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
Albuquerque, NM 87109
US
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes:1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the responsibilities section including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications.
If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process.
Read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m. (MST), Monday - Friday. If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be returned to Human Resources no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order for it to be entered into the system prior to the closing date.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, in USAJOBS click "Apply" and follow the instructions to attach your resume and required documents, complete the assessment questionnaire, and submit your application.
NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center
DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
Albuquerque, NM 87109
US
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
