Pacific Northwest Research Station
USDA Forest Service
OUTREACH NOTICE
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team (FERA)
Research Ecologist
GS-0401-11/12
The Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team (FERA) of the Pacific Northwest Research
Station is planning to advertise a Research Ecologist position, GS-0401, grade 11/12, salary $59,978 $71,889.
This full time, permanent position is located in the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory, Seattle,
Washington. It is a Research Ecologist position with the Fire and Environmental Resource Applications
Team (FERA) of the Pacific Northwest Research Station, Managing Disturbance Regimes RD&A
Program (MDR). The incumbent is reports to David L. Peterson, Research Biologist and Team Leader.
The incumbent serves as a member of the research team responsible for research, development, and
communication of scientific information on fire ecology, fuels, and related areas of fire science.
Job Duties include:
 Develop a program of research that addresses current scientific and management issues in fire
ecology including the effects of wildland fire and prescribed fire on natural resources, fire regimes in
the United States, management effects on fire regimes, and fire effects in a range of ecosystems
ranging from wet to dry forests.
 Develop a program of research that addresses current scientific and management issues in fuels
science in the United States including techniques for fuel reduction at small scales, planning
approaches for fuel reduction at large scales, fuel succession over time, and management of natural
fuels and harvest-created fuels.
 Participate in a range of activities related to technical transfer of scientific information, teaching, and
outreach including fire training for federal resource managers, teaching in collaboration with
university faculty and students, and direct contact with managers on national forests and other public
lands.
 Generate substantial external funding to supplement operating funds and to develop innovative
applications in the science and management of fire and fuels on public lands.
This position requires travel away from duty station (up to 30% of the time) in the United States and
other countries.
FOREST SERVICE EMPLOYEES ON THE WORKFORCE REDUCTION PLACEMENT SYSTEM
LIST WILL RECEIVE PRIORITY CONSIDERATION AND CTAP/ICTAP CANDIDATES WILL
RECEIVE THE APPROPRIATE CONSIDERATION.
Interested applicants, or those desiring further information, contact Ellen Eberhardt, Technical
Information Specialist, (541-750-7481; eeberhardt@fs.fed.us), or complete the attached form and return
by June 1, 2009.
AREA INFORMATION:
ABOUT THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION AND PACIFIC WILDLAND FIRE
SCIENCES LABORATORY:
The PNW Research Station is one of seven research units in the USDA Forest Service. The USDA
Forest Service conducts the most extensive and productive program of integrated forestry research in the
world. The scientific information produced by the station has application on public, private, and tribal
lands in the Pacific Northwest (Alaska, Oregon and Washington) and elsewhere in the United States and
other parts of the world. The Station’s programs reflect the changing character of the questions that
science is being asked to help answer. Rather than relatively isolated in a disciplinary and geographic
sense, issues and questions are geographically broad and multifunctional.
Duty Station Specifics:
The Fire Lab is located in the Fremont neighborhood, 2 miles west of the University of Washington. It
is centrally located in Seattle, just 15 minutes north of downtown. All amenities are nearby, such as
medical facilities, banks and shopping. Public transportation is readily available. Apartment rentals
start at $782.00 in the metro area, and $1,400 in the City of Seattle. The median price for purchasing a
home is $309,000 in the metro area and $454,000 in the City of Seattle. Utilities are priced in the
average price range. No government housing available.
Community Information:
The City of Seattle is located in the northwest part of the state of Washington, and is a major urban area on
Puget Sound. The population is around 600,000 in the city, and 3.5 million in the metropolitan area. Seattle
has a year-round mild climate (rarely <40F or >75F, with an average annual rainfall of 37 inches). Seattle is
known for its numerous museums, galleries, theaters, music venues and pro sports teams. Seattle's public
parkland covers 5,000 acres including wetlands, formal gardens, urban walking trails, and country paths.
Seattle is also the main hub for a variety of outdoor activities such as biking, boating, camping, fishing,
hiking, hunting, mountaineering, river rafting, and snow skiing.
The City of Seattle is the largest city in the four-county metropolitan area. The region's other major
metropolitan cities are Bellevue to the east, Tacoma to the south, Everett to the north, and Bremerton to the
west. They are surrounded by a number of growing cities that include Redmond, Kent, Renton, Bothell,
Issaquah, and Kirkland. Seattle is built on seven hills between the Puget Sound and freshwater lakes to its
east. The altitude ranges from 0 to 500 feet above sea level.
Seattle is a full service community in regards to various and numerous businesses, banking, restaurants, coffee
shops, denominations of churches, schools, colleges, and universities, theaters, golf courses, shopping malls,
international airport, and more. The Seattle Metro area has a large medical community, with a wide variety of
specialists and a variety of clinics and hospitals.
Ethnic diversity in the area continues to increase. In King County, for example, 2007 Census Bureau
estimates show that the Hispanic population increased nearly 38 percent while the Asian population
increased more than 25 percent.
To be considered, applicants must be U.S. citizens.
Thank you for your interest in this position
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service prohibits discrimination in all its programs
and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex,
marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information,
political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any
public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs). Persons with
disabilities who require alternate means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotapes, etc) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and
TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400
Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202)7206382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
OUTREACH NOTICE FORM
Research Ecologist
GS-401-11/12
PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION
If you are interested in this position and want to receive a copy of the Vacancy Announcement, please
complete this form and send via e-mail to eeberhardt@fs.fed.us. If you are not a current Forest Service
employee or do not have access to e-mail please complete the form and mail to: Ellen Eberhardt,
Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, Oregon 97331. You may also FAX
the form to Ellen Eberhardt at FAX # 541-758-7760. Please respond no later than June 1, 2009. The
position will be advertised on the OPM USAJobs website www.usajobs.opm.gov concurrently and
extending beyond when outreach is completed.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Date: ________________
Name:
Address: _________________________________________________________
City:______________________________ State:_________________________
E-Mail Address:
__________
Phone:________________________
EMPLOYMENT
Are you currently a federal employee?
YES
NO ____
If yes:
Name of your Agency/Unit and Location:______________________________________
Current Title/Series/Grade:______________________________________________
Type of Appointment:
Permanent
Term
Temporary
If not:
Current Employer:____________________________________________________
Current Position Title & Salary:__________________________________________
Type of Appointment:
Permanent
Term
Temporary
If not a current permanent federal (career or career conditional) employee, are you eligible for other appointments
under any of the following special authorities?
___Person With Disabilities,
Veterans Readjustment,
Former Peace Corps
___Volunteer, ____ Disabled Veteran w/30% Compensable Disability,
____Student Career Experience Program, ___Veteran’s Employment Opportunities Act of 1998,
Thank you for your interest in our vacancy!
Other