FUL - Biologist
What you'd do
This position serves as a Biologist (Migratory Birds) with the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fish and Wildlife Service Region 7, Division of Migratory Birds in Anchorage, Alaska. This vacancy uses the Field Unit Local Hiring (FUL) Authority. Applicants MUST reside within a 50-mile commute of the duty location.
Major duties
Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Design, coordinate, and implement statewide and regional non-game bird monitoring programs, including surveys to assess species distribution, abundance, habitat use, productivity, and population trends. Coordinate statewide implementation of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and provide technical oversight for long-term bird monitoring programs. Coordinate Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) eBird program, including statewide data quality assurance, reviewer coordination, volunteer engagement, and integration of citizen science into conservation and management. Design and conduct Sikes Act avian monitoring projects on military lands, including Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) surveys to support military readiness, environmental compliance, and natural resource management. Conduct and oversee standardized non-game bird surveys using methods such as point counts and line transects using distance-sampling, area searches, nest monitoring, across forest, tundra, alpine, wetland, coastal, and other habitats. Develop survey protocols, sampling designs, field methods, and quality assurance procedures to ensure scientifically rigorous and defensible monitoring data. Plan and conduct field studies involving the capture, handling, processing, marking, and release of wild birds, including the deployment of satellite, radio, and geolocator tracking devices, and the collection of biological samples (e.g., blood, feathers, fecal samples, morphometrics) to support research and conservation objectives. Manage, standardize, archive, and disseminate large biological datasets to support long-term monitoring, conservation planning, and public data accessibility Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level. Salary Range Information (Per Annum): $69,789 - $90,731 per annum *First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.
What you need to qualify
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/21/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. All candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: A. Degree: in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must submit transcripts. -OR- B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level: Specialized Experience Requirement: You must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and evaluating non-game bird monitoring (landbirds and shorebirds), including survey methodology, sampling design, demographic analysis, and biological statistics. Demonstrated experience coordinating both 1) large-scale, long-term avian monitoring programs such as North American Breeding Bird Survey and eBird and 2) DoD Sikes Act avian monitoring on military installations, including Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard surveys. Ability to accurately identify North American birds by sight and sound, with expertise in Alaska's landbirds, under a wide range of field conditions. Demonstrated experience capturing, handling, measuring, and banding wild birds (particularly landbirds and shorebirds); deploying tracking devices (satellite, radio, geolocator); and collecting biological samples following established protocols for animal welfare. Experience with biological data management, quality assurance, GIS, R, spatial analyses, and scientific database management. You must include hours per week worked. Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first divide your total months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one (1) year (18 semester hours) by 18. Add the two percentages together. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (Note: only graduate education in excess of one year is creditable toward meeting the experience requirement when combining experience and education). You must include transcripts. Volunteer Experience: 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.
Before you apply
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