SW MT Coordinating Wildlife Biologist III - Dillon

                                                                      Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever

                                                                                                               The Habitat Organization

                                                                                                   Job Vacancy Announcement

                                                                                       Southwest Montana 

                                                Habitat Restoration Specialist

Application Deadline: 4/10/2024

Location: Dillon, MT

Anticipated Start Date: April/May 2024

Overview: This is a collaborative position serving the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV). The position responsibility will be to further the delivery and implementation of conservation efforts of Missouri Headwaters Restoration Landscape through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The historic Inflation Reduction Act directs $161 million of funding to BLM for once-in-a-generation investments to enhance the resilience of public lands selected for their unique mix of qualities to benefit lives and livelihoods today and for future generations. The BLM selected areas for their mix of intact, unfragmented ecosystems and lands where strategic and coordinated work is likely to accelerate ecological restoration. These areas also hold potential for cross-boundary partnerships for additional restoration at the broad, watershed-level scale. The areas represent coordinated BLM investments, including fuels management, range, wildlife, forestry, aquatics and recreation programs. Selected landscapes also hold potential for additional partner investments: private landowners, states, local governments, Tribes and other stakeholder groups.   

This is a full time, 3-year position with the incumbent being an employee of Pheasants Forever. Daily supervision, instruction and leadership will be provided by BLM Dillon Field Office (DFO) with additional supervision, support, and mentorship provided by Pheasants Forever and IWJV. This position will be located in the DFO and will require travel throughout the lands administered by the DFO. The incumbent is expected to work closely with several different agencies and organizations including, but not limited to the BLM, IWJV, Tribal Governments, MT Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, MT Fish Wildlife & Parks, US Forest Service, US Geological Survey, and Multiple non-governmental organizations. 

Position Duties and Responsibilities:

• Communicate clearly and effectively with land managers and partner agency staff.
• Assist with landscape-level conservation planning, project prioritization, and project management support to the BLM, Pheasants Forever, and IWJV.
• Provide natural resource expertise, range/soils technical assistance, coordination and support for collaborative conservation, management and restoration efforts.
• Facilitate information and awareness on conservation opportunities to all levels of each partner in the partnership including BLM, Pheasants Forever, and IWJV staff.
• Communicate program requirements, complete site visits for soils management (surveys, inventories, monitoring) on identified projects.
• Seek new partnerships, write and secure grants, and develop agreements as appropriate to build the partnership, and subsequent conservation efforts in the area.
• Serve as the resident expert advisor and consultant on soil productivity, quality, sustainability, and limitations for management, planning, for directing land use activities for the DFO. 
• Participates as a member of an Interdisciplinary team to assess all planning actions for implementing new restoration and enhancement projects by interpreting the chemical and physical properties of soils and ecological site description information provided in soil surveys, and outline recommended design features based on soil map unit suitability/limitations for incorporation into environmental assessments (EAs), Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), Categorical Exclusions (CX), Documentations of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Adequacy (DNA), and other planning documents. 
• Provides soil and/or ecological site description data, information, and knowledge for assessing shifts and trends in vegetative communities that support activities such as land health evaluations, land use planning, restoration projects, and permitted actions. Ensure that soil quality standards are being met and soil functions are ma