Wild Wednesday Job Post

Scouting for work in wildlife or fisheries science?

Stick around. You've reached a vantage point. 

As a former field biologist who has worked her way around the country, I know where to "go for the goods" when it comes to employment opportunities, and I'd love to help you land a job you love. I'll round up new announcements each week, and I'll post 5 findings here every Wednesday. 

Whether you're a newbie technician or a seasoned professional, you're likely to find a lead worth following. 

Photo by Gary Kramer, USFWS

 JOB LISTINGS

Job Title: Full-time Keeper / Antelope / Water's Edge Exhibit 
Employer: Saint Louis Zoo
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri

Basic Requirements:  
Bachelor’s degree in an animal-related field and previous zoo keeper experience preferred. Must have the physical ability to perform required duties as assigned, including standing for long periods of time, lifting, bending and working in all types of weather conditions. Good keeper safety record required. Diver certification a plus.  
Duration: Permanent

Application Deadline: Open Until Filled

Job Title: Education Coordinator
Employer: Endangered Wolf Center
Location: Eureka, Missouri

Basic Requirements:  
• Four-year degree in education or other similar field
• Minimum 2 years of applied working experience in developing educational programs
• A good knowledge of office practices, administration, and customer service skills
• Able to establish and maintain good working relationships with other departments and external communications
• Able to attend events and other off-site functions
Duration: Permanent

Application Deadline: Open Until Filled

Job Title: Lakeside Classroom Field Teacher
Employer: Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center  
Location: Bryant Pond, Maine

Basic Requirements:

Degree in environmental science, education, adventure education, or related field

Age 21 or older

First Aid and CPR training, WFR is preferred

Commitment to working long days with participants in a hands-on and high energy setting

Experience educating and managing children, grades 4-9 in an outdoor setting as well as the confidence to lead adult groups

Experience facilitating teambuilding initiatives, as well as low and high challenge course activities

Understanding of basic ecological concepts

Ability to work outdoors in all weather conditions while keeping participants safe 

Duration: 2 or 6 months
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled

Job Title: Senior Wildlife Biologist/Manager
Employer: POWER Engineers 
Location: Boise, Idaho 
Basic Requirements: M.S. degree or higher in wildlife biology or closely related field. • Environmental consulting experience • Excellent verbal, interpersonal and written communication skills • Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment • Proficient in navigation using topographic maps and GPS. • Able to travel for up to one week at a time, and be in the field for extended periods of time. • Have solid species specific (for one or more of the following; bird, mammalian, herp) identification skills. • Have species specific scientific collection and survey permits (state and federal ). • Comfortable meeting/working with company executives and federal agency personnel

Duration: Permanent
Application Deadline: August 13, 2012           

Job Title:  Pollinator Program Assistant 
Employer: Xerces Society
Location: Portland, Oregon

Basic Requirements: College Degree (ideally in biology, natural resource management, environmental science, nonprofit administration, etc.) or equivalent experience;
•Background in nonprofit work (2+ years preferable), or background that provides similar experience;
•Excellent computer skills, including strong familiarity with the following programs: MS Office Suite (Word, Publisher, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook), Adobe Acrobat, and Internet;
•Preferred experience with Adobe InDesign
•Excellent written, communications, and time management skills;
•Experience creating professional looking documents and correspondence;
•Preferred experience updating WordPress websites and working with Constant Contact email and event marketing;
•Ideal candidate will be technologically savvy
Duration: Part-time (20 hours a week) 6 month position

Application Deadline: July 16, 2012

Honeymooning Hellbenders at the St. Louis Zoo

Last October, when the US Fish and Wildlife Service added the Ozark hellbender to the nation’s list of endangered species, my first question was:

What is an Ozark hellbender?

As a resident of the Ozarks, it was a little embarrassing not to know. 

But this creature (one of the world’s largest salamanders) is not the sort of species that attracts a lot of attention. The hellbender is slimy, hulking, drab, and downright strange-looking. Plus, it spends daylight hours hiding under rocks in the depths of swiftly flowing streams. I’ve spent years working and playing in Ozark waters, and I’d never heard of it, much less laid eyes on one.

Photo by Jill Utrup/USFWS

Unfortunately, the harmless Ozark hellbender is now as imperiled as it is elusive, and people are finally paying attention.

Fewer than 600 hellbenders are estimated to exist in a handful of river systems throughout southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Projects are already underway to protect and restore hellbender habitat in the wild, and scientists are working in earnest to identify and combat other possible causes of population decline.

At the same time, the Saint Louis Zoo has been bent on boosting numbers by hosting an elaborate hellbender honeymoon. The Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation has created a 32-foot-long replica of a natural Ozark stream.  Inside this “honeymoon suite,” the zoo has successfully established a breeding group of adult hellbenders. So far, 165 baby hellbender have hatched—the first hellbenders to ever be born in captivity—and with them, a new hope for this species’ survival has hatched as well.