Forestry Technician (Recreation, Timber, Range)

Summary

This position is located within a National Forest. This position is established to perform a variety of routine and frequently complex tasks involving techniques and practices relating to natural resources management programs, (i.e., timber, recreation, and range).

Duties

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. Assembles and summarizes data and prepares reports and maps regarding areas cruised. 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. Brings to attention of responsible individual situations where specific prescriptions do not fit ground conditions. Independently marks trees using and adapting complex marking rules in areas complicated by variations in type, species composition, defect, site, age, class, etc. Gathers, compiles, and recommends improvements for developed and dispersed recreation sites on the unit. Recruits and trains volunteers. Serves as inspector and contracting officer’s representative on service contracts ensuring work is completed properly. Performs limited law enforcement duties under close supervision of a qualified law enforcement officer. Patrols recreation areas for compliance by day visitors and campers with established rules and regulations posted in the area. Inspect recreation areas, areas of concentrated public use, and special use permits for compliance with the permit and management plans, public health regulations, and safety plans. Functions as Collection Officer for recreation sites. Collects fees, count, reconciles money collected, and ensures deposits are made appropriately. Performs all aspects of Special Use Permit administration for activities within undeveloped and developed areas of the unit. Assists with putting together project proposals and with conducting studies for providing input in National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) project analysis. Collects, compiles, and summarizes recreation data as required for data systems. Monitors and leads crews maintaining existing trails, facilities, etc. to ensure they are in operable condition. Assists with the selection and recommendation of new trail and facility locations or with the closing of old sites. 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. Implements maintenance and construction of range structural improvements. Contacts range permittees and communicates to them Forest Service range policies and basic requirements of permit. Counts designated permitted livestock to ensure number are in compliance with permit, checks range condition including structures, and checks for trespass livestock. Develops plans for the installation of range and soil condition and trend transects. Installs permanent and pace transects. Obtains required measurements, records information concerning forage density, production and types, vigor, rate of growth, and soil depth, compaction, and erosion.

Requirements

You must be a US Citizen or US National. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. 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 and evaluation

You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. Eligible applicants will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Applicants with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category. 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, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or 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.

How to apply

Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Please 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 (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, 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 complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents. 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. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.

Required documents

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages. 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 if it includes your name and the necessary course information; 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. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. 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), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE: This vacancy is being used to fill positions for FY2027 Temporary Employment Hiring season. The expected start date for this position will be between November 15, 2026 to December 27, 2026. 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 National 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. If you are selected, you must respond to the requested documentation outlined in your tentative section notice within 72 hours. Failure to respond within 72 hours will result in the cancellation of your selection. 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.