Research and Monitoring Technician

Anticipated non-permanent employment is May - December 2026
Location: Forks, WA

Salary: $3,477.00 - $4,632.00 Monthly

Responsibilities:

• Works independently or as part of a team to conduct physical and biological surveys of streams, riparian areas, and uplands within the OESF. 
• Implements field protocols for estimating juvenile salmonid abundance. Identifies salmonid species and weighs and measures juvenile salmonids. This data collection includes sampling of the stream salmon population research and monitoring. 
• Collects field and instream data on stream morphology, stream water temperature, riparian vegetation, and microclimate. 
• Collects forest measurement field data such as tree diameter, species identification, tree density, and understory vegetation data. 
• Implement field monitoring protocols that must be adhered to, to ensure scientific consistency and confidence in measurements, results, and conclusions. This includes both uplands and instream research installation sites. Conducts work under close supervision by agency scientists. 
• Operates and maintains field instruments and equipment such as stream flow gauges, stream temperature sensors, audio recorders, wildlife cameras, field data tablets, and backpack electrofishers. 
• Drives a vehicle on unimproved roads and navigates unmarked road systems, hikes rugged terrain, and copes with a variety of weather conditions. 

Required Qualifications: 

• One year of experience in environmental monitoring; OR an equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
• Knowledge of environmental sampling and data collection.
• Experience in data entry and management.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with multiple-pass removal backpack electrofishing.
• Experience with stream sampling techniques.
• Experience with riparian and upland forest surveys.
• Experience identifying salmon and tree species common to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.