Nooksack Senior Restoration Specialist - Environmental Planner 4 - Permanent - 2026-09447

State of Washington; Washington; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work schedule

On-site 3 days per week

Travel up to 15%

Job summary

State of Washington’s Nooksack restoration program seeks a senior planner to lead habitat restoration and salmon recovery efforts in the Nooksack watershed. The role coordinates with tribal partners, WRIA boards, and regional staff to shape projects and secure funding.

The successful candidate will develop proposals, manage budgets, and oversee grant administration, ensuring deliverables align with recovery objectives and timelines. Hybrid work with travel and field coordination are expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in planning or environmental field.
• Five years of professional planning experience; or one year as Environmental Planner 3.
• Valid Driver’s License.

Responsibilities

• Lead internal and external coordination to develop restoration and habitat projects and identify and pursue funding opportunities.
• Develop fundable restoration project proposals and manage planning, design, and implementation.
• Develop and manage grants and budgets; track expenditures and ensure project goals are met.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Tribal coordination

Grant management

Environmental planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in planning or environmental field

Job description

Title- Nooksack Senior Restoration Specialist

Classification- Environmental Planner 4

Job Status- Full-Time - Permanent

WDFW Program- Habitat Program

Duty Station- Stanwood, Washington – Snohomish County

Hybrid/Telework- This position offers a hybrid work schedule, with at least 3days per week onsite at the Stanwood, WA regional office/in the field and up to 2 days of telework. The selected candidate must be available to work onsite for in-person meetings and to meet business needs.

Learn more about being a member of Team WDFW!

Photo Caption: North Fork Nooksack River – Photo Credit: WDFW

This is an opportunity to lead and coordinate salmon recovery planning and habitat restoration initiatives throughout the Nooksack River watershed.

Envision yourself advancing watershed restoration by assessing environmental conditions, building community partnerships and support, facilitating communication among project sponsors and stakeholders, and tracking project implementation and progress toward salmon recovery goals.

What to Expect:

Among the varied range of responsibilities held within this role, the Nooksack Restoration Planner will,

Lead internal and external coordination to develop restoration and habitat projects and identify and pursue funding opportunities:

• Actively engage tribal partners in restoration planning, including the Lummi and Nooksack Tribe, Regional Fish Enhancement Groups, Lead Entities, state and federal agencies, Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 1 Management Board, and other restoration entities.
• Actively and regularly engage tribal partners to ensure open communication on habitat restoration progress and limitations.
• Long-term planning such as identifying potential future projects for levee setbacks, flood/fish multi-benefit projects, and collective co-manager needs.
• Support and ensure that Restoration Pathway guidelines and policy are properly implemented.
• Lead discussions and negotiate agreements associated with habitat restoration projects and opportunities on WDFW lands by cooperatively engaging regional and district teams.

Develop fundable restoration project proposals and manage planning, design, and/or implementation of restoration projects:

• Develop proposals for new and/or expanded projects that meet the highest habitat needs and recovery objectives for Nooksack River Chinook recovery.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to assemble habitat and fisheries data to inform the development of goals, objectives and actions for advancement of restoration projects in the Nooksack watershed.
• Attend WRIA 1 Management Board, WRIA 1 Management Team, WRIA 1 Salmon Work Group, City of Bellingham and Whatcom County culvert work group meetings in-person and collaborate closely with WDFW Fish Program District Fish Biologist and WRIA 1 Habitat Biologist to understand and assess conditions throughout the Nooksack watershed.
• Participate in the Lummi, Nooksack, and WDFW co-manager meetings and provide regular updates.
• Coordinate with regional habitat, fish and wildlife biologists, and engineering staff to develop recommendations for project proposals by the WDFW Regional Management Team (RMT).

Develop and manage grants and effective and efficient budgets:

• Work with Regional Habitat Program Manager (RHPM) and program budget managers to develop fiscally responsible proposals and scopes of work.
• Ensure staff allotments are complete and efficient for accomplishing work.
• Actively manage expenditures, and report discrepancies to RHPM monthly.
• Support to meet project tracking, reporting, and close out administrative requirements to ensure all projects meet goals, objectives, and deliverables within schedule and budget.

Working Conditions:

Work setting, including hazards: Work primarily in an office and meeting setting. Travel to meetings within the region and statewide, as needed. Fieldwork duties may include walking over rough terrain for short distances (<1mile) regularly or occasionally over long distances (several miles).

Schedule: Typically, Monday – Friday, 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M., working 40 hours per week. The standard work schedule includes the potential for occasional evening or weekend work as needed.

Travel Requirements: Travel up to 15% of the time. Periodic statewide or regional travel and occasional attendance at evening meetings required. May include extended travel and evening or overnight trips.

Customer Interactions: Interact with state agency, tribal, and local government staff and leads, including Ecology, Agriculture, Health, county commissioners, tribal staff and the public

Qualifications:

Closely related qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-by-year basis.

Required Qualifications:

A bachelor’s degree (or higher) in urban, regional, environmental or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field.

And

Five (5) years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental or natural resource planning, and/or program development.

Or

One (1) year of experience as an Environmental Planner 3.

Certifications/Licenses:

Valid Driver’s License.

Preferred Qualifications:

In addition to the required qualifications, our ideal applicant will possess one or more of the following:

A Master’s Degree or higher with major emphasisurban, regional, environmental or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field.

Experience with:

• Marine, nearshore, and freshwater ecosystems, including salmon life histories.
• Environmental regulations and permitting, including State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA), Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Growth Management Act (GMA) and Shoreline Management Act (SMA).

Competencies:

• Ability to apply fish and wildlife management techniques, general ecological principles and practices and conservation and restoration biology.
• Knowledge of environmental engineering principles.
• Knowledge of human influence on aquatic ecosystems.

Important Note:

All new employees must complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9 Form) on their first day of work. If hired for this or any position at WDFW, you will be required to provide documentation proving you are eligible to work in the United States. For a list of acceptable documents, please use the following link: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents

Union - WAF WP:

This position is in the bargaining unit represented by the Washington Association of Fish & Wildlife Professionals and is subject to the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the State of Washington, Department of Fish & Wildlife, and the Washington Association of Fish & Wildlife Professionals.

Veteran and Military Spouse Preference Notice:

Per RCW 73.16.010 Veterans and qualifying spouses who meet the minimum qualifications of a position are eligible for preference during the initial application review stage. To receive this benefit, please do the following:

• Notify us of your veteran or military spouse status by email at [e-mail].
• Veterans only – Attach a copy of your DD214 (Member 4 copy), NGB 22 or USDVA signed verification of service letter.
• Please redact any PII (personally identifiable information) data such as social security numbers.
• Subject line must include recruitment number, position, and spouse/veteran (example: 2024-1234 – Biologist 1 – Veteran)
• Include your name as it appears on your application in careers.wa.gov.

Request an accommodation:

Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format please contact Jayme Chase by phone [phone] or email [e-mail], or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at 800-833-6388.

Technical Difficulties:

If you are having technical difficulties creating, accessing, or completing your application, please call NEOGOV toll-free at [phone] or [e-mail].

Other questions:

If you have other questions regarding this position, please reach out to [e-mail] and reference job #2026-09447

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Employer

As part of WDFW’s efforts to advance respectful and inclusive work environments, the Agency expects inclusivity as part of our professional interactions and communications. Therefore, we want to ensure that all individuals feel welcome, are treated fairly and respectfully. All staff are empowered to fully contribute to serving their work unit, Agency, and the citizens of Washington.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, disabled and Vietnam era veterans and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply.