Deadline: Wed, 08/09/2023 - 12:00pm Employer: Department of Agriculture Forest Service Job Field: Forestry Job Type: Full Time Location: New Mexico Location Detail: Alamogordo,NM; Cloudcroft, NM Job Description: Duties Performs routine and complex tasks involving techniques and practices relating to natural resources management programs, (i.e., timber and silviculture, recreation, wildlife, and/or range), supporting field projects and program planning activities. Performs timber marking, cruising and scaling of forest products, planting, site preparation, and timber land improvement projects. Collects, summarizes, and prepares requested timber reports and maps which provide information in planting units concerning topography, livestock trespass, invasive species, and general conditions of the area. Assures recreation areas are maintained in accordance with standards and reports on condition of area. Makes group and individual contacts in providing forest recreation information and answering questions about recreation management on the unit. Provides specific information concerning camping or swimming and other area regulations such as fire, safety, and sanitation. Notifies visitors of violations and potential violations. Makes wildlife and fish habitat surveys and implements coordination measure such as marking key areas. Constructs wildlife habitat improvement projects such as water developments, fish attractors, or clearing and planting site preparation areas for establishment of more desirable food or cover and other similar tasks. Participates in plant control or type conversion by flagging boundaries, operating equipment, carrying our kill studies, or reseeding. Makes range analysis to determine utilization and grazing impact, and maps out key use areas. Checks allotments for compliance with permit and management plan and contacts permittee about maintenance and/or construction needs. Performs maintenance on range fences, lays out location for fence construction or cattle-guards and other range improvements, and locates areas suitable for the construction of range ponds or works on re-vegetation or plan control projects. Participates in noxious plant control, seeding, or similar projects by flagging boundaries, operating equipment, and carrying out kill studies. Identifies plant specimens in the field and collects and prepares specimens. Identifies plants and noxious weeds and determines how they grow. Applies the proper chemicals to control noxious weeds. Uses botanical key to identify plants encountered during field trips or surveys of forest and range areas. Compiles and summarizes the vegetation types obtained from ground surveys including forest health monitoring, biological evaluations, and range surveys. Inspects silvicultural contract work for compliance with contract. Explains steps necessary for compliance to contractor and reports violations to COR. May act as COR on various silvicultural contracts. Examines sapling and larger stands to collect and record data on stocking, density, condition, insects, disease, site index, and ground vegetation. Makes recommendations for areas requiring remedial action. Examines plantations to assess numbers of tree seedlings present, condition, and growth and survival rates, and evidence of animal, insect or disease damage. Selects prospective parent seed trees using established procedures to determine which trees have superior growth characteristics. Determines the relative abundance and species of seed cones by observing the developing cone and pollen buds. Operates chainsaws and other power equipment to implement thinning, planting, pruning, fire suppression and other silvicultural projects. Follows silvicultural prescriptions and directs work to accomplish timber stand objectives. Performs maintenance and cleaning of power equipment and hand tools. Qualifications: Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a US Citizen or US National. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Direct Deposit Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choosing. Must be 18 years of age. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify. 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. GS-05: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-4 grade level; OR a bachelor's degree or 4 years of successfully completed education above high school (120 semester/180 quarter hours) with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position, or that included 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, outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science (no more than 6 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 college or university. Examples of specialized experience include: Assisting in preparing timber reports and maps which provide information concerning topography, livestock trespass, invasive species and general conditions of the area; assisting in executing fuel treatment plans, slash hazard appraisals and hazard reduction plans; assuring recreation areas are maintained in accordance with standards and reporting on condition; and performing maintenance on range fences or other structural range improvements. Operates chainsaws and other power equipment to implement thinning, planting, pruning, fire suppression and other silvicultural projects. 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. To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Miscellaneous: Additional information PLEASE NOTE: This vacancy is being used to fill positions for FY2024 Temporary Employment Hiring season. The expected start date for this position will be between December 31, 2023 and April 7, 2024. By selecting the "Location Negotiable" option during the application process, implies your willingness to be considered for any official duty location listed on this announcement and/or those duty locations not listed for this Regional announcement. Pay rates vary depending on location. The salary shown is for the Rest of the U.S. See OPM.gov for additional information on pay rates. This position is temporary, has a Not-to-Exceed date and will be filled for up to 6 months or as a not to exceed (NTE) 1 year, however an extension of the appointment may be possible without further competition. The appointment may also end early due to lack of work or lack of funds. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other groups within the Region who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in any of the geographic location(s) listed on the announcement. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. The duty station for this position will be at one of the duty locations listed in this announcement. Salary range as shown is the locality pay Rest of U.S. (RUS). Pay rates vary by location. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management's website for additional information on pay rates. 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. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligible 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. If you are retired from the Federal Government and are selected for this vacancy, your retirement annuity may be offset from your pay. This position is not eligible for telework. Availability of government housing and federal day care facilities will vary by location. Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE. How You Will Be Evaluated You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. A Direct-Hire Authority under the USDA Demonstration Project will be used to fill this position. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, including any applicable selective placement factor(s), will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, the application documents are 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. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be referred to the selecting official. 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 whether you are considered. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. Salary: $18.06 - $18.06 per hour Benefits: 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. How to Apply: job posting: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/739382000
