Fish and Wildlife Biologist

Summary This position is located within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2, Oklahoma Ecological Services, Tulsa, Oklahoma Responsibilities Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Consult with federal action agencies under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (Act), including review and commenting on a variety of proposed actions in a variety of habitat types involving both terrestrial and aquatic taxa. Review and process recovery permits and other Act-related documents in coordination with Federal, Tribal, and state agencies; and with other parties as required. This includes maintaining and updating all related files. Facilitate the implementation of recovery actions under section 4 of the Act, including development of 5-Year Reviews, Recovery Plans, and Species Status Assessments. Work on listing/delisting packages utilizing familiarity with all sections of the Endangered Species Act and related Service/Departmental Policy. Plan, evaluate, and conduct a wide variety of complex ecological investigations or inspections involving complex land and water resource development projects, proposals and/or applications/renewals to determine their potential impact upon fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats. Respond to written, telephone, and in-person inquiries from the public and the news media, obtaining and providing requested information within established guidelines of the office and in conformance with Service/Departmental policy. Represent the Service at professional meetings and other meetings pertaining to species associated with the Act and provide technical assistance and regulatory information to other Service Programs and agencies (Federal, Tribal, and state) to properly satisfy requirements of the Act. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level. Requirements Conditions of Employment Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/12/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. All candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: A. Degree: Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must submit transcripts. -OR- B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. -AND- To qualify for this position, you must also possess one of the following: Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position is described as: conducting biological or ecological investigations, including field investigations, to evaluate impacts to fish and wildlife resources in response to identified threats or stressors; reviewing and providing technical input on Endangered Species Act Section 10 research and recovery permit applications; reviewing biological assessments and preparing written responses to Endangered Species Act Section 7 consultation requests; and working with Threatened, Endangered and/or imperiled species, including and their conservation and recovery. This experience is clearly demonstrated in my resume. -OR- Education: Have two years (36 semester hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree closely related field which provided me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully complete the work of the position. -OR- Combination of education and experience. Have a combination of education and experience as described in 1 and 2 above which together equals 100% of the requirement. You must include transcripts. Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Education This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. Additional Information This position will be filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Eligibility is limited to applicants who reside within the defined local commuting area at the time of application. For this announcement, the local commuting area is the area from which individuals can reasonably commute to the duty station under normal conditions. The defined vicinity for this position is: 50 miles from the official duty station. You must provide proof of residency within the defined vicinity (e.g. mortgage or property deed, lease/rental agreement, utility bill, insurance policy, etc.). See the Required Documents section for information on how to verify current residence. Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement. Situational telework may be authorized. It must be approved in advance, consistent with DOI telework policy and at supervisory discretion. Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor. All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here,