Landscape Ecologist

IMPORTANT:  This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders.  Other applicants need not apply.

 

The Wilderness Society seeks a Landscape Ecologist to join our Center for Landscape Analysis.  This is an exceptional opportunity for a GIS professional to apply his or her spatial analysis, scientific, and communications expertise to land conservation and management challenges and work in the nexus between science and public policy.  We seek a GIS professional who can apply their GIS, natural science, and communications skills to design and perform landscape analysis projects to further our land management and conservation programs.

The primary role of this position is to provide landscape analysis expertise to support land management and conservation planning, with an emphasis on forest restoration, in Idaho and Montana and oil and gas related projects in Wyoming. This position will join the team of six scientists in our Center for Landscape Analysis (CLA)—a subset of the Research Department.  The individual in this position will also be a member of the interdisciplinary project teams in the Bozeman and Boise offices consisting of Research, Communication, and Regional Conservation Department staff. The position will require balancing multiple complex projects and close collaboration with ecologists, economists, regional conservation specialists, policy experts, communicators, and external partners engaged in collaborative projects. 

The GIS work will involve designing spatial analysis projects with project teams, collection and preparation of GIS datasets, performing and programming GIS analyses, developing cartographic products (including on-line interactive maps), writing reports and other products stemming from the spatial analyses, and presenting the products to a variety of audiences.  Projects in the Northern Rockies include: modeling the response of different forest restoration treatments in a mixed-severity fire regime; optimizing road decommissioning base on ecological and economic factors on national forest lands; and evaluating the wildlife impacts of oil and gas development.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
 

• Work on interdisciplinary program teams (and external collaboratives) to develop GIS or related spatial analysis research and applied projects to further organizational conservation goals in the Northern Rockies.
• Collect, edit, manage, and organize GIS datasets for Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
• Perform, interpret, and present spatial analyses for land management and conservation using ArcGIS and related spatial analysis software.
• Program spatial models as needed and provide documentation and support.
• Create maps for posters, reports, presentations, interactive websites and other internal and external communication needs.
•  Communicate results (orally and in writing) to program team and external groups, including scientists, land managers, elected officials, and other audiences.
• Assist with routine system administration tasks for the GIS workstation (e.g. system backups, software updates).
   

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in ecology, environmental science or a related field.  (A Bachelor’s degree may be substituted with additional 3 years of experience.)
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in research or applied science GIS projects, including using ArcGIS software for analysis and cartography in areas of forest ecology, wildlife biology, land management or similar natural science areas. Special consideration will be given to candidates with experience in landscape fire effects modeling.
• Passion for wildlands and their conservation
• Experience with ModelBuilder and Python programming are helpful but not required.
• Demonstration of strong organizational and data management skills.
• Experience communicating technical information orally and in writing for scientific and non-technical audiences.
• The ability to work both independently and interdependently, in a multi-disciplinary environment.
• A willingness to travel.
• Additional desirable qualifications include:  experience interacting with the U.S. Forest Service and/or Bureau of Land Management, familiarity with the non-profit conservation community, knowledge of Northern Rockies landscapes.

The mission of The Wilderness Society is to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.  Building and applying scientific understanding of those places and the values they provide to human communities has long been a hallmark of the organization, and that work is led by The Wilderness Society’s Research Department.  It consists of experts in economics, ecology, law and landscape analysis, including 14 Ph.D.-level scientists. This team develops and deploys a base of knowledge needed to answer pressing questions about wildland stewardship issues such as resource development, public lands restoration and management, climate change, and recreation. This information is key to understanding often complicated environmental issues and, ultimately, to making sound choices toward achieving lasting protection for the resources and places that sustain us and our ways of life.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, sick and vacation leave, and a generous retirement plan.  At TWS, we advocate for and protect the rich variety of life, values and experiences that wild places provide; as an organization we are equally committed to honoring diversity in our staff and creating an inclusive work environment. 

To apply please send a single email with the following two to five attachments to mailto:research_jobs@tws.org with the subject line “Boise Landscape Ecologist”: a cover letter explaining your qualifications for and interest in this position; resume or curriculum vitae; the name, address, and phone number for three references (which can be included in the resume/c.v.); and awriting sample (optional) and/or sample of work (optional).