Northwest Forest Plan-Passive acoustic monitoring field technician positions; as Forestry Technicians

2027 NWFP-PAM Field Technician Positions

USDA Forest Service | Pacific Northwest Research Station | PNW Bioacoustics Lab

Join the team collecting field data for the Northwest Forest Plan passive acoustic monitoring (NWFP-PAM) network. We anticipate hiring 40 seasonal technicians across six study areas in Washington, Oregon, and California. Crews place autonomous recording units in federal forests to monitor northern spotted owls, barred owls, and other wildlife. Your work helps produce annual estimates of spotted owl landscape use and pair occupancy, track barred owl activity, and document wildlife across the region.

The data we collect help agencies evaluate conservation efforts and make informed decisions about federal forests.

These positions are part of the Forest Service Timber Initiative national hiring event. The USAJOBS announcements cover a broader range of Forestry Technician jobs; the positions described here support NWFP-PAM field data collection.

Positions by duty station
Duty station | GS-05 | GS-06 | GS-07
Cle Elum, WA | 2 | 4 | 1
Arcata, CA | 3 | 3 | 1
Roseburg, OR | 3 | 3 | 1
Medford, OR | 3 | 3 | 0
Springfield, OR | 3 | 3 | 0
Corvallis, OR | 3 | 3 | 1

The announcements are scheduled to be open September 25 through October 5, 2026, closing at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

• Deploy, maintain, troubleshoot, and retrieve autonomous recording units in remote forest locations, often away from roads and trails.
• Navigate with GPS, maps, and compass; record accurate field notes and metadata; check equipment; and transfer acoustic files for permanent storage.
• Drive government owned vehicles, hike, and sometimes snowshoe or use snow machines or ATVs in difficult terrain and adverse weather.
• Some overnight vehicle camping and backcountry travel may be needed.
• At GS-06, serve as an experienced crew member and help train staff. At GS-07, take on additional coordination and training duties and assist the study area crew leader.

These are temporary seasonal Forestry Technician positions (series 0462).
In addition to the 1,039-hour appointment, newly hired technicians receive 685 hours of training.
Anticipated start dates are November 15 through December 27, 2026, with work concluding no later than August 2027.
Positions are full-time while on duty, generally four 10-hour days per week.
Housing is not provided, and employees must arrange transportation to the duty station office.
Applicants should be able to hike or snowshoe more than 10 miles in a workday on steep terrain while carrying a pack of up to 50 pounds.
Fieldwork may involve poison oak, ticks, biting insects, and inclement weather.
Staff may travel to other study areas for up to three pay periods; the planned travel schedule is eight days on and six days off.
A valid driver’s license, good driving record, federal background check, and Forest Service driving authorization are required.
We value reliable field navigation, careful adherence to protocols, independent problem solving, teamwork, and experience with acoustic recorders, computers, and GPS units.
Winter backcountry experience and familiarity with Pacific Northwest wildlife vocalizations are helpful.
For GS-06 and GS-07, experience maintaining equipment, training colleagues, and coordinating fieldwork is especially relevant.

Questions?
Contact Alaina Thomas (alaina.thomas)