The position offers a rewarding opportunity to work with an effective team of wildlife professionals to conserve wildlife and habitat resources and provide for public access to enjoy those resources in eastern Montana. Applicants should have strong communication skills and the desire to build working relationships with private landowners, sportsmen, agency staff, NGOs and other members of the public. Wildlife surveys and inventories often require use of light aircraft and helicopter at low altitudes and in hazardous flying conditions, sitting in confined spaces with exposure to high noise levels. Field work is often carried out alone in rugged terrain during unpredictable and inclement weather conditions. Hours of work are often long and irregular and include evening meetings and occasional weekend work. 

Malta is in north central Montana and has a population of approximately 2,000. There are medical and basic shopping facilities located within Malta, while the cities of Billings and Great Falls are within a two-hour drive. The Missouri River Breaks, Nelson Reservoir and Fort Peck Reservoir are located within 60 miles and offer a wide variety of recreating opportunities such as hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing. Malta is surrounded by public land, native prairie and offer excellent opportunities for upland bird hunting, big game hunting, bird watching, and multi-species fishing.

Minimum Qualifications (Education and Experience):

The knowledge, skills, and abilities of this position are normally attained through a combination of education and experience equivalent to a master’s degree in Fish and Wildlife Management, Wildlife Biology, Range Management, Zoology or Biology, including completion of a field research project presented in a successfully defended thesis. Other combinations of education and experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Equivalent experience is defined as five (5) years of progressively responsible experience as a wildlife biologist or senior wildlife technician that includes the examples of:

• Literature review and development of a problem statement and/or hypothesis for a particular issue.
• Development of a detailed study plan or sampling protocol for a field-oriented project based on the above-noted hypothesis.
• Data collection and the effective management of data with an appropriate application.
• Interpretation and analysis of data, including a quantitative assessment of that information.
• Completion of a final report in a peer-reviewed publication or a publication comparable to a refereed journal.
• If appropriate to the project, formulation of any recommended changes in management prescriptions and/or actions.
• Oral presentation on results of investigation to agency staff or public audience.

 If you feel you meet the equivalent experience, please provide a supplemental document in your application that indicates your experience level relative to each point listed above.