Mountain Quail Field Technician -- Southeast Washington

Position description — Washington State University’s Quantitative Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Lab has openings for two (2) 6-month field technicians in our mountain quail research program. Positions are from January through June 2023. Field work will take place in southeast Washington and neighboring counties in Oregon.

The project is in collaboration with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and conservation oriented due to the “Critically Imperiled” status of mountain quail in the state of Washington. Technicians will have the unique and exciting opportunity to live-capture, radio-collar, and track mountain quail through several life history stages. Technicians will work directly with two graduate students to gain experience handling and tracking radio-collared mountain quail, conducting raptor surveys, performing vegetation surveys, and conducting population surveys to estimate mountain quail abundance. Additionally, technicians will gain experience deploying and processing data collected from acoustic recording devices to detect quail by their vocalizations, as well as game cameras to detect mammalian predators.

Field work will be in remote, off-trail environments and require daily rigorous hiking in rugged and beautiful terrain. Technicians will be paid $15.74/hr + benefits. Field housing (camper trailers) and a work vehicle are available for shared use by technicians and graduate students. The nearest towns are Asotin and Clarkston, WA.

Qualifications — A B.S. degree in wildlife or related field. Applicants must be able to hike off-trail 5-10 miles a day in rugged terrain, maintain a positive attitude, and be able to communicate effectively with the graduate students. Previous fieldwork and telemetry experience is preferred, but not required. To apply, send a cover letter, CV, and contact information for 3 references in a single document to Kylie Denny (kylie.denny@wsu.edu). We will begin reviewing applications immediately, in the order they are received.