Stewardship Fish and Wildlife Biologist

Stewardship Fish and Wildlife Biologist

Location: 100% Remote Telework within WA
Work Hours flexibility may be available and considered
Relocation Compensation may be available and considered
Salary: $5,812.00 – $7,817.00 Monthly

Review of applications is ongoing. We reserve the right to make a hiring decision or close this recruitment at any time after 6/2/26. It is in your best interest to submit materials as soon as possible.

Want to join something GREAT and make a difference?
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has an exciting opportunity within our Forest Resilience Division as a Stewardship Fish and Wildlife Biologist. 

Are you passionate about wildlife? Do you enjoy sharing this passion with others? Do you want to help non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners meet their wildlife objectives? If you enjoy speaking with landowners about wildlife and helping landowners become better stewards of their land, then this position may be for you! We are seeing a motivated individual to help NIPF landowners understand, manage, develop, and improve the wildlife habitat on their property. 

The Forest Resilience Division is responsible for the assessment, planning, coordination, implementation, and monitoring of forest health-related activities across all lands that work to restore and sustain ecological functions of Washington’s forested landscapes and support healthy and resilient communities. The Service Forestry Program is an integral part of the team through the direct delivery of technical assistance and educational services supporting proactive management of Washington’s forests, including municipal, county, and nongovernmental organization-owned forest land. 

The Service Forestry Program provides land management advice to forest landowners and helps to assess resource conditions and forest health, identify potential problems and opportunities, determine financial assistance eligibility, assist with treatment implementation, and recommend management practices to help achieve objectives. The program educates landowners and assists with the development and implementation of management plans to guide current and future management actions. The Service Forestry Program and goals are informed by USDA Forest Service program guidance, the Washington Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee, 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan: Eastern Washington, Wildland Fire Protection 10-Year Strategic Plan, and the Washington State Forest Action Plan. 

The Statewide Stewardship Fish and Wildlife Biologist is the program lead and statewide expert biologist with leadership responsibility for fish and wildlife habitat management and policy issues for private forested lands. The position provides scientific expertise and advice to private landowners and other professionals serving private landowners. The Stewardship Biologist helps landowners develop and implement fish and wildlife habitat management components of management plans, resulting in habitat protection, creation, restoration, and enhancement on non-industrial forest lands. The Stewardship Biologist also assures fish and wildlife management components meet USDA Forest Service national plan standards and Washington State Integrated Forest Management Plan guidelines. The position is responsible for independently directing, developing, evaluating, managing, and implementing statewide biological studies, research, resource assessments, policies, legislation, or regulations as it relates to wildlife management issues for private forested lands in Washington state.

Responsibilities:

• Provide on-site fish and wildlife resource assessments for private forest landowners.
• Provide statewide scientific expertise and advice on fish and wildlife habitat needs in developing and implementing the fish and wildlife portion of management plans, including technical assistance to participants in DNR and WSU educational events.
• Diagnose and assess forest wildlife damage problems and recommend control measures.
• Provide statewide professional fish and wildlife habitat management consultation and advice to other natural resource professionals also serving forest landowners.
• Develop, direct, manage, implement, and evaluate statewide biological studies.
• Lead development of program policies and guidance related to wildlife habitat and management on private forest land.
• Review legislation and provide input and analysis on bills impacting wildlife management on private forest lands.
• Provide landowners with guidance on wildlife regulation.
• Coordinate with other DNR programs and external public and private service providers.
• Develop educational materials for, and make educational presentations to, family forest landowners, natural resource professionals who advise them, loggers, and other audiences regarding forest fish and wildlife habitat management.
• Teach fish and wildlife-related topics and WSU Extension education programs, including Forest Owners Field Days, Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Courses, Family Forest Advisors Workshops, Contract Logger’s Trainings, jobshiringnearme.org Districts, colleges, and others across the State.
• Author, edit, and review articles and publications on fish and wildlife habitat management.
• Provide technical and professional support for the Washington-Oregon Woodland Fish and Wildlife Publication project (or others). Serve on the project steering committee and author, review, and revise publications issued by the project.

Required Qualifications: 
You must meet all the Required Qualifications and Competencies to be considered for this position. There are multiple pathways to meet qualifications, such as education, volunteer work, life skills, and experience.  It is important that you clearly communicate in your Application material that your skills align with the position and qualifications. 

• Bachelor of Science in fish and wildlife biology, wildlife management, or closely related field AND five years of professional, operational, field experience in forest fish and wildlife habitat management in the Pacific Northwest;
  OR Equivalent education plus experience.
• Experience in typical silvicultural and forest management practices in the Pacific Northwest, including forest road design and construction, timber management planning, silviculture techniques, reforestation methods, and timber harvest boundaries.
• Experience teaching or providing group presentations to small forest landowners or other non-technical audiences.
• Experience responding to and interacting in a positive, responsive, cooperative, and collaborative manner while interacting with the public and other professionals (both inter-organizational and interdisciplinary).
• Proficient with computers and Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and SharePoint, and various online presentation tools.
• Experience in defining research problems and applying knowledge of research methods to forestry-related fish and wildlife research projects.

Desired Qualifications:
These qualifications are not required. However, it can help you stand out as a candidate and should be highlighted in your application material.

• Graduate degree in fish and wildlife biology, wildlife management, or a closely related field.
• Three years of experience in silviculture and forest management practices in the Pacific Northwest.
• Certified Wildlife Biologist designation by The Wildlife Society.
• Experience providing technical assistance, education, and educational materials to professional and non-professional audiences, especially forest landowners.
• Experience with Forest Stewardship Plan and Forest Management Plan development.
• Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), including ArcGIS Pro, Survey 123, Field Maps, and other mapping tools to document work and convey information to non-technical audiences.
• Experience working with small forest landowners, particularly in providing technical assistance.
• Experience determining fish presence or conducting water typing assessments on non-industrial forest land, including electrofishing performed according to WA Department of Fish and Wildlife guidelines.