Steens Wildlife Technician (Southeast Oregon)

Job Description: Oregon State University is hiring 1-2 seasonal technicians to spend a summer collecting valuable scientific data for a research project in the beautiful and remote Steens Mountains in the Oregon desert. Successful applicants will primarily work with a graduate student on a multi-agency research project assessing songbird abundance and diversity and ungulate use across a variety of habitat types and juniper gradients, with start date of mid to late-May and continuing until August. This project also aims to directly evaluate the songbird response to juniper removal. Successful candidates will gain outstanding theoretical and practical training and experience in wildlife ecology, conservation, and management in the northern Great Basin. These positions are primarily field based and require long hours, often working independently, of hiking and data collection throughout the Steens Mountain area in Oregon’s high desert.

Position Duties: This will primarily be a field-based job involving irregular work hours and/or days and will include camping in remote locations. These positions are physically demanding, require living and working in isolated areas without internet or reliable cell coverage and with a small group of people. Work will consist of roughly 85% data/sample collection and processing in the field and lab and 15% data entry and summarization. Field work includes conducting songbird and avian predator (e.g., corvid and raptor) point count surveys, collection of data on habitat characteristics and deployment of game cameras and automated recording units. The position requires long, irregular hours and very early morning hours under adverse field conditions (wind, rain, snow, mud). Successful applicants will be required to work in the field individually and in group settings utilizing ATVs, UTVs and/or 4WD trucks and hiking to reach extremely remote survey locations. Study sites are located on Steens Mountain in eastern Oregon.

Required Qualifications:

1. Experience with avian point count surveys
2. Experience or willingness to camp, live, and work in remote and rural areas
3. Ability to safely lift and carry up to 50lbs
4. Ability to learn quickly and efficiently collect accurate data
5. Possess a current, valid driver’s license: a driver’s license required to drive provided OSU field vehicle to commute to remote research project locations
6. A driving history for the past 3 years from the issuing state’s Dept. of Motor Vehicles is required in order to drive University vehicles
7. Demonstrated commitment to promoting and enhancing diversity

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Identification of western bird species by sight and sound
2. Courses/experience with wildlife data collection and sampling methods
3. Experience conducting field work in rough terrain
4. Experience/training with automated recording units (e.g., swift units) and/or game cameras
5. Demonstrated experience/training with ATVs or UTVs, 4WD vehicles, manual transmissions, GPS units (such as InReach units ) and map apps (e.g., Avenza Maps, onX )
6. Potential candidates should be well organized, self-motivated, and able to perform duties independent of direct supervision
7. Possess a current, valid driver’s license: a driver’s license required to drive provided OSU field vehicle to commute to remote research project locations

Salary: $13.90 –15/hour DOE + potential housing provided (dependent on Covid-19 restrictions)

Last Date to Apply: January 10th, 2022, but applications will be reviewed as they are received.

Please submit a cover letter, resume and three professional references (name, email, and phone number) as a single PDF file to cara.christensen@oregonstate.edu with “Steens Wildlife Technician 2022” in the subject line. Please name the PDF file with your first and last name. Applications without this subject line may be missed and might not be considered. Applications will be reviewed on a continuous, rolling basis until all positions are filled. Start dates will be mid to late May. Please indicate your availability in your email or cover letter.