Summary This position serves as a Forester in a BLM office, typically at the District/Field office or equivalent organizational level. Duty locations are as follows: North Bend, Oregon - Umpqua Field Office Salem, Oregon - Mary's Peak Field Office and Cascades Field Office Springfield, Oregon - Siuslaw Field Office Responsibilities Salary Ranges for North Bend, OR and Springfield, OR GS-05: $39,576 - $51,446 GS-07: $49,025 - $63,733 GS-09: $59,966 - $77,955 Salary Ranges for Salem, OR GS-05: $42,571 - $55,339 GS-07: $52,734 - $68,556 GS-09: $64,504 - $83,854 Duties: At the GS-05 level: This position is a trainee and will develop skills in conducting timber sale layout and learning to perform tasks associated with road layout, logging systems, sale planning and layout. The employee works with team members in the technical aspects of logging systems, forest engineering, forest management planning, and documentation of NEPA compliance. As a trainee, the individual learns the technical aspects of road layout in support of harvest activities and learns to prepare viable and acceptable logging and harvest plans. In addition, the individual is taught to identify forest management activities on specific forest land tracts and is trained to maintain and edit a variety of geospatial data. At the GS-07 level: At this grade level the advanced trainee is continuing to develop skills and performs progressively more complicated tasks associated with road layout, logging systems, sale planning and layout, interdisciplinary (ID) team/EA work and assisting in the development of long-range forest management plans. The employee works with team members in the technical aspects of logging systems, forest engineering, forest management planning, and documentation of NEPA compliance. As a trainee, the individual learns the technical aspects of road layout in support of harvest activities and learns to prepare viable and acceptable logging and harvest plans. In addition, the individual may serve as a member of an ID team that develops and designs projects for the forest management program, is taught to identify forest management activities on specific forest land tracts and is trained to maintain and edit a variety of geospatial data. At the GS-09 level: The forester will serve as a work group member for the District/Field Office's Forest planning and timber sale preparation team. The individual performs work with road layout, logging systems, sale planning and layout, interdisciplinary (ID) team/EA work, and long-range forest management plans. The incumbent will work with team members in the technical aspects of forest engineering particularly road layout, logging systems, forest management planning and documentation of NEPA compliance. The individual will apply a full range of forestry development and treatment principles to routine field work and will work with a variety of resource specialists. The position will primarily prepare viable and acceptable road layout packages as part of the timber sale contract. In addition, the individual may prepare logging and harvest plans, serve as a member of ID teams that develops and designs projects for the forest management program, maintain and edit a variety of geospatial data, and compile statistic and budgeting information. NOTE: Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications In order to qualify, you must meet BOTH the Basic and Additional qualification requirements for at least one grade level described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience. If qualifying based on education, a copy of your unofficial transcripts must be provided with your application. BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT for the 0460 series: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included the following major field of study and specific course requirements as stated below: A. Degree: forestry; or a related subject-matter field that included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours of course work were in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently diversified to include courses in each of the following areas: Management of Renewable Resources -- study of the science and art of managing renewable resources to attain desired results. Examples of creditable courses in this area include silviculture, forest management operations, timber management, wildland fire science or fire management, utilization of forest resources, forest regulation, recreational land management, watershed management, and wildlife or range habitat management. Forest Biology -- study of the classification, distribution, characteristics, and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of living organisms to the forest environment. Examples of creditable courses in this area include dendrology, forest ecology, silvics, forest genetics, wood structure and properties, forest soils, forest entomology, and forest pathology. Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory -- sampling, inventory, measurement, and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources. Examples of creditable courses include forest biometrics, forest mensuration, forest valuation, statistical analysis of forest resource data, renewable natural resources inventories and analysis, and photogrammetry or remote sensing. OR B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in forestry, or at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours in forestry are the same as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH GRADE: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level in which you are applying: GS-05: There is no Specialized Experience Requirement for this series at this grade level. You must meet the Basic Qualification Requirement as stated above. NOTE: Applicants must submit a copy of transcripts. GS-07: A. Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing the following in a developmental capacity: (1) assisting with the development or implementation of forest management plans such as timber sale planning, logging system, reforestation, timber stand improvement, or landscape forestry; (2) preparing/analyzing logging and harvest plans, silvicultural treatments, or timber sale contracts to ensure compliance; and (3) interacting with various groups of people to investigate, exchange, or report information related to forest programs. OR B. Education: Have successfully completed 1 full year of graduate level education. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Applicants must submit a copy of transcripts. OR C. Meet the requirements for Superior Academic Achievement by earning a bachelor's degree with at least one of the following (1) a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher based on a 4.0 scale; (2) a 3.5 GPA or higher for required courses completed in a major field of study during junior and senior year of a 4-year college or university; (3) class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or a major subdivision of the college, such as the College of Liberal Arts, based on completed courses; or (4) membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College Honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies. In order to be creditable under this provision, superior academic achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position being filled. NOTE: Applicants must submit a copy of transcripts. OR D. Combination education and experience: Successfully completed a combination of education and experience as described above that, when converted to percentages, equal at least 100% of the total requirement. Note: You must submit a copy of your transcripts. GS-09: A. Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing the following: (1) preparing and/or implementing timber sale or silvicultural service contracts; (2) executing long range forest management plans such as logging systems, road layout, harvesting, and tree improvement; (3) developing forest management plans such as: forest inventory analysis, environmental assessments, or forest history reports; and (4) preparing data, briefings, or trainings to explain and exchange forest management information???????. OR B. Education: Have 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree that included a major field of study or specific course requirements generally as stated in the basic requirements. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. (NOTE: You must submit a copy of your transcripts as proof of any claimed education). OR C. Combination education and experience: Have successfully completed a combination of education and experience as described above that, when converted to percentages, equal at least 100% of the total requirement. When combining education with experience, first determine your total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determine your experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify this grade level. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your transcripts as proof of any claimed education. Status merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-05 is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-07 level. One year at the GS-07 is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-09 level. (Must submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No award SF-50 will be accepted). You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies". Education Qualifications, Continued: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). 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. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Occupational Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. Education: To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society. GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study. Additional Information Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 05 nights per month. You must be eligible to obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. Driver's: You will be required to obtain and maintain a valid state driver's license. This position is offering a Relocation/Recruitment Incentive, of 25% of the annual salary. To be eligible for a Relocation Incentive, you must be a current Federal Employee employed with the Federal Government and be willing to work directly from the BLM OR/WA office in your assigned duty location (not remote). The selectee's current duty location must be more than 50 miles from the duty location of this position. To be eligible for a Recruitment Incentive, selectee must not be employed by the Federal Government. Recipients of a relocation or recruitment incentive are required to sign a one-year service agreement. Physical Demands: Some the work of the position is performed in an office however, there is also considerable field involved the performance this work. Field work requires long periods of time walking over steep and rough terrain, extremely dense brush, logging slash and tree covered terrain, often wet or occasionally covered with snow. Working Conditions: The work of this position is sometimes performed in an office setting with adequate lighting and temperatures. However, much of the work is performed outdoors. Exposure to extremes of hot, cold, rainy or snowy weather is common. The position requires operation of motor vehicles on narrow mountainous roads as necessary to get to and from job locations in the field. Protective gear is necessary for field work. Telework: The Bureau of Land Management has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval. Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) or Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible see http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ctap\_guideline.pdf. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 90 or above on the rating criteria for this position. If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, please contact San Antonio Services Branch at SASBMailbox@opm.gov or 816-541-8101.