Seasonal Furbearer Technician

Seasonal Furbearer Technician

Fieldwork will occur during fall, winter, and early spring in remote mountainous locations across western Montana. The incumbent must work safely in deep snow, extreme cold, inclement weather, rugged terrain, and variable road and backcountry travel conditions. Temperatures, including wind chills, may occasionally reach
-40 degrees

F. Work may require hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, operating or riding snowmobiles and other off-highway vehicles, and carrying equipment or animals weighing 40 pounds or more over uneven terrain. Hazards may include wildlife, winter travel, trapping and handling equipment, biological materials, pathogens, chemicals, and remote work with limited communications. Rigorous adherence to animal-welfare, biosecurity, and safety protocols is required. The work requires strong interpersonal skills and effective coordination with coworkers, landowners, land-management agencies, project partners, and members of the public.

The technician must work effectively both independently and as part of a team, maintain professional relationships, and communicate field status, safety concerns, animal-capture events, and project needs clearly and promptly.

Job duties include data collection, project implementation, management, and summary under the direction of FWP staff. Conduct fieldwork for prioritized furbearer projects using established protocols. Assist with deploying, maintaining, and retrieving remote wolverine survey stations. Serve as the lead seasonal field technician for a marten translocation project. Accurately record, enter, review, and manage biological and project data. Prepare, test, operate, clean, and maintain field equipment.

Monitor weather, access, trap status, animal welfare, and field-safety conditions and communicate promptly with supervisors.

Minimum qualifications include the knowledge, skills, and abilities normally attained through a combination of education and experience equivalent to at least one year of college in pursuit of a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology, fish and wildlife management, animal ecology, biology, or a closely related field, together with relevant field experience. Experience conducting wildlife surveys, working with furbearers, live trapping or handling wildlife, using remote cameras, or conducting winter backcountry fieldwork is preferred.