Salmonid Trap Technician - Scientific Technician - Non

Working Title: Salmonid Trap Technician

Classification: Scientific Technician 2

Job Status: Full-Time/Non-Permanent

Appointment/Season Length: 9.75 Months – August 3, 2026 – May 31, 2027

WDFW Program: Fish Program – Hatchery-Wild Interactions Division

Duty Station: Dayton, Washington – Columbia County

In this role you will collect, analyze, and report data relevant to multiple ESA‑listed steelhead and fall Chinook populations.

Responsibilities include:

• Adult and juvenile salmonid weir/trap construction, installation, daily maintenance, and data collection.
• Conduct daily adult and juvenile trap checks.
• Assist with trap repair, construction, instream installation, and weir/trap removal.
• Collect, record, and ensure accurate physical and biological (species, size, and scale samples) data and field observations in a timely manner to ensure up to date field summaries are available.
• Make trap operation decisions based on observations of environmental conditions.
• Safe handling and anesthetization of adult and juvenile ESA‑listed salmonids and other fish species.
• PIT tagging adult and juvenile salmonids.
• Prep and maintain field gear for daily use.

• Participate in weekly spawning activities at Lyons Ferry Hatchery during fall chinook spawning.
• Spawning ground/carcass fall chinook surveys in Lower Tucannon River (ability to walk 3–4 miles in a stream under all weather conditions).
• Fish  biological data collection at Lower Granite Dam fish trap.
• QA/QC of data, reconciliation, and summarization of data.
• Picking eggs, CWT retrieval and reading, scale and otolith sampling.
• Cooperate and maintain professional demeanor with other agencies (e.g., NOAA, Nez Perce Tribe, Corps of Engineers, Anchor QEA).

• Spawning ground surveys for spring chinook or summer steelhead.
• Hook and line sampling of residual hatchery steelhead.
• Data entry on multiple platforms.
• Data QA/QC.
• Format and upload/download of PIT Tag data to regional databases.
• Assist colleagues within Fish Science, Fish Management, and Hatcheries Division as assigned by supervisor and agreed upon (e.g., PIT Tag Array Installations and/or Maintenance, Creel Surveys, periodic assistance at Lyons Ferry Hatchery with egg picking, raceway setup, and other tasks).
• Assist with mass PIT tagging activities at Lyons Ferry Hatchery as needed.

Work setting: Combination of office and field duties, including in‑stream adult traps, weirs, juvenile rotating screw traps, Lyons Ferry Hatchery, stream surveys (3–4 miles in length), and the Lower Granite Adult fish trap.

Schedule: Generally day shift, 8–10 hours per day, including weekends. Work during peak field seasons may include non‑standard hours (weekends, evenings/nights, holidays) and weeks in excess of 40 hours.

Travel requirements: Daily travel expected for juvenile and adult traps, field surveys, spawning activities at Lyons Ferry, Tucannon River, or other SE WA locations. Daily travel to Lower Granite Dam may be required. No overnight travel expected.

Customer Interactions: Interaction with private landowners during routine field trap checks; responding to visitors and public inquiries during field activities; contacting staff from NOAA Fisheries and occasionally Army Corps of Engineers, Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho Fish and Game, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Required Qualifications:

Option 1:
Graduation from high school or GED, including one year of high school science, and two (2) years of professional or volunteer experience as a Scientific Technician.

Option 2:
Graduation from high school or GED, including one year of high school science, and two (2) years of professional or volunteer laboratory or field experience as an assistant to a biologist, chemist, or zoologist.

College coursework in biology, zoology, fisheries, chemistry, natural sciences, or closely allied fields may substitute for experience at a 1:1 ratio; requires at least six (6) semester or nine (9) quarter hours of natural science classes.

License: Valid driver’s license.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Profici…