Job Description
Description Position Title: Fisheries Conservation Steward - AmeriCorps
Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placements- BIA WaterCorps Program
Site Location: Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office; 500 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey Washington.
Application Timeline: Preference given to applicants that submit application by
January 31 st , 2025 Position Openings: 2
Terms of Service: - Ideal Start Date : 06/09/2025
- End Date : 12/5/2025
- AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 900 hour, 26 weeks
Purpose: Stewards Individual Placements (Stewards), a program of Conservation Legacy, provides individuals with AmeriCorps service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants serve with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits to provide institutional capacity, develop community relationships, and support ecosystem health. Stewards partners with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to facilitate the WaterCorps Program to provide opportunities to Tribal Members seeking to gain experience in the water resources field. This WaterCorps position will be hosted at the Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Lacey, Washington.
The Fisheries Conservation Steward is an AmeriCorps position that will support aquatic biological field research, population monitoring, invasive species removal, habitat work, fish hatchery rearing, and fish hatchery evaluation efforts. In addition to supporting the mission of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, this Fisheries Conservation Steward will gain a wealth of diversified and career building field, lab, and hatchery experience. They will also gain exposure to the multiple federal, state, local, and tribal governments as well as non-profit conservation partners we work with. This position also includes local and regional (WA, OR, ID, and HI) career development training that will prepare the participant to find and compete for relevant employment opportunities beyond this experience.
Description of Duties: - Biological field sampling in aquatic environments, including but not limited to minnow trapping, electrofishing, seining, gill and tangle netting in lakes and rivers, hook & line sampling(angling), and screw trapping.
- Fish identification and data collection (species, length, weight, scale samples, tag scans, genetics, etc.).
- Fish marking, tagging, and tracking (coded wire tags, PIT tags, floy tags, and radio telemetry tagging and tracking).
- Invertebrate and limnology sampling.
- Abiotic data collection such as river substrate sampling, water salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature.
- Habitat surveys (wetted width, maximum depth, pebble counts, canopy cover, etc)
- Collecting and entering field data into a database. Database management.
- Laboratory processing and data collection, including fish stomach sample identification and sediment sample analysis.
- Fish Hatchery Evaluation: Mass marking of juveniles, tag retention sampling, tag scans on adults, biological sampling of tagged adults, and tag extractions (lab) and linking tag number to biological sampling data.
- Supplemental Hatchery Support: fish rearing, spawning, and transfers. Raceway (tank) maintenance, water quality monitoring, fish health monitoring, and fish per pound size and growth tracking measurements.
- Supplemental support for education and outreach programming such as events and school activities such as Salmon in the Classroom. This includes tribal specific outreach programming.
- Supporting upkeep of sampling instrumentation used for core position functions.
Qualifications: - Must be a member of a Federally recognized Indian Tribe, Band, or Village; Alaska Native; or meet one of the following descriptions:
- Persons who possess at least one-half degree Indian blood derived from Tribes Indigenous to the United States.
- Descendants of members of federally recognized Indian Tribes, Bands or Communities who were residing on any Indian Reservation on June 1, 1934 - shown by completing BIA Form 4432.
- A strong interest in a career in aquatic and natural resource conservation science.
- Ability to lift at least 40 pounds
- Ability to hike at least 4 miles on uneven ground.
- Ability to wade in water, including in and across rivers.
- Ability to work long days and in inclement weather.
- United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien.
- Must be at least 18 years of age or older.
- Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award.
- Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete National Service Criminal History Checks for Conservation Legacy and potentially the host site.
Preferred Qualifications: - Relevant college degree or course work is preferred but not required. Coursework could include biology, fisheries/aquatic science, forestry, wildlife biology, oceanography, ecology, and environmental science.
- Personal, educational, and/or professional experience capturing and handling aquatic organisms such as fish. Personal experience can include recreational and Tribal subsistence fishing. Professional experience could include commercial harvest of fish and other aquatic species.
- Boating experience. This includes human and/or motor-powered watercrafts in river, lake, and/or saltwater environments.
- Swimming proficiency (for snorkel survey work and personal safety when working in and around water)
Additional Position and Community Information: - This position will be based in the Lacey-Olympia, Washington area. Olympia, the capital of Washington state, is at the southern end of the Salish Sea (or Puget Sound) and has a population of approximately 56,000. There is a good combination of arts, entertainment, health care, and cuisine as well as number of outdoor recreational opportunities within a reasonable drive.
- We are unable to provide local housing, but we can provide some level of assistance in searching for housing options. There are several Tribes within commutable distance of our office, so we will be focusing primarily on local recruitment.
- It is recommended that members have their own vehicles, but public transportation is also fine if they can reliably get to work on time. Early departures and late returns to and from the field and hatcheries are not uncommon. It would be ideal if the member has their drivers license so they can drive our government vehicles.
Benefits: - Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $3,697 awarded upon successful completion of position.
- Living Allowance of $600.00 per week.
- Additional Benefit of $100.00 per week.
- Professional Development fund of $2,255.00 for entire term.
- Option to choose Healthcare Coverage and Childcare Coverage
- Student Loan forbearance if Eligible (administered by MyAmeriCorps, directly)
- Interest Payments if Eligible (administered through MyAmeriCorps, directly)
How to Apply: In addition to your
resume , you must upload a copy of your
Tribal ID proving you are enrolled in a federally recognized Tribe, Band, or village. Please also submit a
one-page cover letter highlighting why you are interested in this position and how your background and experience will help you succeed in this position.
Application Timeline: Preference given to applicants who submit applications by January, 31st 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Supervisor Name and Contact Information: - Program Contact information: Andre Nguyen at anguyen@conservationlegacy.org
- Service Site Contact information: Daniel Spencer at Daniel_Spencer@fws.gov
Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodations due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.
Additional Details Physical Requirements: Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects.Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.
Time Requirements: - This position is expected to serve full time each week, but exact service schedules may vary.
- Lunch breaks will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service.
- Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.
Orientation and Training: - Member will receive an orientation that includes program expectations and AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities.
- Member will receive job training for our field, hatchery, and lab methodologies and protocols. Field methods include electrofishing, minnow trapping, beach seining, invertebrate sampling, and snorkel surveys.
- Member will receive safety training. This includes staff led training as well as opportunities through outside sources. Professionally sourced safety training could include First Aid & CPR, Swiftwater Rescue, and/or Wilderness First Responder certifications.
- Member will receive professional development training. This includes resume building and counseling, job searches and applications, networking, interview preparation and strategies.
Evaluation and Reporting: As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.
Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking. Conservation Legacy
Job Tags
Permanent employment, Full time, Local area, Outdoor, Night shift,