Biologist (Ecological Services)

Summary

You will serve as a Biologist (Ecological Services) located within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fish & Wildlife Service Region 7 at the Anchorage Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office in Anchorage, Alaska.

Duties

Help

At the full performance level (GS-11), some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Plan, evaluate, and carry out complex ecological investigations and inspections of complex land and water resource development projects to determine their effects on fish and/or wildlife resources and habitats, ensuring compliance with legal standards and recommending appropriate actions.
• Lead the review and processing of research and recovery permits in coordination with federal, tribal, and state agencies, and ensure adherence to policies and deadlines and provide technical information regarding the permit process to field offices.
• Develop comprehensive fish and/or wildlife mitigation and management plans to ensure the preservation, protection, and enhancement of species and habitats across diverse ecological conditions, organize and implement biological and habitat preservation work, and analyze program outcomes to recommend improvements.
• Maintain communication with biologists and partner agencies, provide technical biological guidance for conservation and recovery programs, and represent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at professional meetings and public forums.
• Draft and review biological portions of environmental assessments, impact statements, or resource planning reports to evaluate environmental consequences of proposed actions; and recommend ways to minimize or eliminate impacts on listed species.
• Respond to inquiries from the public and media, prepare informational materials, assist with public meetings, and provide training to new or lower-grade personnel as required.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/20/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following Basic Educational Requirement AND Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

• A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must submit transcripts.
• B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

-AND-

To qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience applying professional knowledge of fish and wildlife biology, ecology, or conservation biology to assist in the development of comprehensive wildlife management plans to ensure conservation, protection, and enhancement of wildlife and their habitat; compiling, evaluating, or analyzing data to develop recommendations, objective reports, or presentations; assisting with preparation and review of biological implications of environmental assessments; plans and conducts assessments of low-to-moderate complexity to determine impacts and support compliance determinations; assess impacts of proposed actions and develop draft opinions for supervisory review; analyzing data and writing reports to evaluate findings and make recommendations; and communicating technical or scientific information to colleagues, partners, stakeholders, landowners, agencies, organizations, or the public to exchange information, provide assistance, coordinate activities, or support resource conservation objectives. You must include hours per week worked. -OR-
• Education: Successful completion of at least two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. Degree must reflect the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. You must include transcripts. -OR-
• Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours or equivalent earned towards a graduate degree, in excess of 18 semester hours, and divide by 18 semester hours or equivalent. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience applying professional knowledge of fish and wildlife biology, ecology, or related natural resource disciplines to independently assess, conserve, protect, restore, or manage fish, wildlife, and their habitats; evaluating biological and project data to identify impacts of proposed projects, programs, or land and water resource activities on fish, wildlife, or habitat resources; reviewing projects, permits, and/or plans for compliance and developing recommendations to address identified concerns; developing reports, environmental analyses, biological evaluations, management plans, and correspondence to communicate findings, conclusions, and recommendations; applying analytical and problem-solving skills to interpret scientific information, assess alternatives, and develop biologically sound recommendations; and communicating biological or environmental information to partners, stakeholders, government agencies, landowners, or the public to explain findings, provide technical assistance, coordinate activities, or support resource conservation and management objectives. You must include hours per week worked. -OR-
• Education: Successful completion of at least three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Degree must reflect the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. You must include transcripts. -OR-
• Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours or equivalent earned towards a graduate degree, in excess of 36 semester hours, and divide by 18 semester hours or equivalent. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

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.

Education

This position has a mandatory education requirement.

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. How do I receive credit for a college degree obtained in a foreign university in another country? - OPM.gov

Applicants must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, commonly called a credential evaluation service. To be acceptable, the foreign credential evaluation must include/describe:

• The type of education received by the applicant;
• The level of education in relation to the U.S. education system, and state that its comparability recommendations follow the general guidelines of the International Education Standards Council;
• The content of the applicant's educational program earned abroad and the standard obtained;
• The status of the awarding foreign school's recognition and legitimacy in its home country's education system; and
• Any other information of interest such as what the evaluation service did to obtain this information, the qualifications of thee valuator, and any indications as to other problems such as forgery.

Foreign credential evaluations that do not contain the above information or that state there is insufficient information provided by the applicant on which to base an evaluation should not be accepted. If the requested evaluation shows the foreign education to be legitimate and comparable to that expected of a candidate with U.S. credentials, it may be accepted at the discretion of the agency.

Additional information

Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate. A Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) rate of 1.49% is authorized for Anchorage.

Salary Range Information:

GS-9: $69,789-$90,731 per year

GS-11: $84,439-$109,777 per year

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

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.

If otherwise 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. A continued service agreement may be required if it is determined you are eligible for a recruitment or relocation incentive.

Physical Demands: Work is sedentary and requires average agility and dexterity. Some field work will require periods of physical exertion such as walking over wet, rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces; bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, rea