Wildlife Biologist

Department of Interior; Twentynine Palms (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

National Park Service within the Department of the Interior seeks a Wildlife Biologist to support Joshua Tree National Park. The incumbent will develop and implement wildlife resource programs and habitat strategies for sensitive species, pests, and conservation needs.

The position includes supervisory duties up to 20% of the time, and requires meeting education and specialized experience criteria by the closing date. Time-in-Grade rules apply for current federal employees.

Qualifications

• Basic educational requirement and specialized experience for the GS-0486 series.
• Experience planning and executing ecological or biological studies.
• Ability to design, develop, and implement scientific monitoring protocols.

Responsibilities

• Participate in planning and execution of ecological/biological studies.
• Conduct long-term monitoring of biological or ecosystem components.
• Develop monitoring protocols and data collection procedures.

Skills

Ecological studies

Biological sampling

Data collection protocols

Monitoring programs

Education

Biological science degree

Graduate education potential

Job description

You will serve as a Wildlife Biologist with National Park Service in Joshua Tree National Park.

The wildlife biologist is responsible for program development and implementation for wildlife resources and their habitat requirements, sensitive species, and non-native and pest animals. Incumbent will perform supervisory duties up to 20% of the time. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/01/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, 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.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

Basic Educational Requirements

In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

GS-0486 series

Degree: biological science that included:

• At least 9 semester hours in such wildlife subjects as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research courses in the field of wildlife biology; and
• At least 12 semester hours in zoology in such subjects as general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology, parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects (Excess courses in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where appropriate.); and
• At least 9 semester hours in botany or the related plant sciences.

OR

Combination of education and experience

equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), with at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects, 12 semester hours in zoology, and 9 semester hours in botany or related plant science, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must submit transcripts.

Specialized Experience

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level:

Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Participated in the planning and execution of ecological or biological studies with a limited number of variables; performed established, standardized tests and analyses on a broad range of biological samples; conducted studies using established fact-finding and evaluation procedures; conducted long-term monitoring of biological or ecosystem components; designed, developed, tested, and implemented scientific monitoring protocols; developed scientifically credible protection, mitigation, and restoration projects; developed and carried out statistically valid data collection protocols. You must include hours per week worked.

OR

Education

Successful completion of at least 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree in wildlife biology, wildlife management, wildlife ecology, ornithology, biological science, or other related fields. You must include transcripts.

OR

Combination

of education and experience as listed above. To combine education and experience, first take your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of semester hours in excess of 36 semester hours by 18 or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and 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.