Fisheries Monitoring & Research Technician - Scientific Tech - Non-Perm

Title
:
Fisheries Monitoring & Research Technician

Classification
:
Scientific Technician 2

Vacancies
:
Thirty-one (31)

Job Status
:
Full-Time – Non-Permanent

Appointment Length
:
Varied (3 months to 6 months)

Program
:
Fish Program – WDFW

Duty Stations
:
Region 5 – Clark, Cowlitz, and Wahkiakum Counties

Posting Period
:
Open until July 2, 2026 – first review June 12, 2026; may close after.

Salary Note
:
Salary does not include the 2% raise effective July 1, 2026.

Positions filled through this recruitment will vary in duties required. Typical duties may include:

• Conduct spawning ground surveys on the Lower Columbia River and its tributaries, identifying and enumerating adult salmonids (live and dead) and redds.
• Assist with the daily operation and maintenance of the Grays River, Elochoman River adult fish weirs.
• Collect biological data and perform marking of adult salmonids.
• Interview sport anglers and record catch by species, fishing effort, and biological data including collecting biological samples from salmon, trout, and sturgeon.
• Implement electronic data collection using iPads, digital tablets or other handheld devices.
• Monitor and observe commercial fisheries and research test fisheries.
• Capture, identify, count, handle, and tag and/or mark adult salmonids for mark‑recapture programs and distribution monitoring.
• Assist with the installation, maintenance, operation and removal of a temporary resistance board salmon weirs and fish traps on Germany Creek and Grays Rivers and other locations as directed.

Positions filled through this recruitment will vary in working conditions required. Typical working conditions may include:

• Approximately 85% of work performed in a non‑office, field environment and the remaining 15% in an office or laboratory setting.
• Fieldwork may involve exposure to inclement weather, wet, uneven, and slippery surfaces, walking up to 3–6 miles per day.
• May lift large live or fish carcasses, typically up to 30 pounds and occasionally over 100 pounds, with or without assistance, and repetitively carry loads up to 70 pounds over short distances across rough terrain.
• May assist with spawning ground surveys conducted on foot or by cataraft in whitewater conditions (Class I–III). Float up to 10 miles per day for stream surveys.
• May involve working in or near water, including tasks that require navigating, negotiating, and performing duties related to water environments.
• May work on small vessels, sometimes in adverse weather conditions.

Full‑time, 40 hours per week. The work schedule requires flexibility; shifts may vary within a 24‑hour period based on operational needs.

Most duties are conducted in the field away from the duty station. Daily travel from the duty station to field locations is required using a departmental vehicle or, rarely, a personal vehicle. Overnight travel may be required on rare occasions.

Basic hand and carpentry tools, winches, pulleys and blocks, motorized and non‑motorized watercraft, 4x4 vehicles including towing capability, 200’ beach seines, passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag readers, coded wire tag (CWT) detectors, GPS units, weighing scales, handheld data loggers, personal digital assistant (PDA), and computers.

Interacts with WDFW staff, personnel from other agencies, commercial fishers, and the public.

Required Qualifications

• Option 1:
  Graduation from high school or GED, including one (1) year of high school science and two (2) years as a Scientific Technician 1.
• Option 2:
  Graduation from high school or GED, including one (1) year of high school science and two (2) years of laboratory or field experience as an assistant to a biologist, chemist, or zoologist.

Professional and volunteer experience involving biology, zoology, fisheries, chemistry, natural resources, engineering, or related fields may substitute year for year for experience.

College coursework involving major study in biology, zoology, fisheries, chemistry, natural sciences, or related fields will substitute year for year for experience, provided the coursework includes at least six (6) semester or…