Housing Support: Housing stipend up to $5,000 for the entire Fellowship is authorized based on actual expenses incurred. Fellow will be required to provide documentation to validate reimbursement.

Housing Description: Fellow will be responsible for locating and securing suitable housing. The housing stipend should provide enough funds to find a suitable short-term rental location within the Olympia and Lacey area that has public transportation available within a several minute walk. Additionally, there are many non-governmental rental properties within 5 miles of the duty station.

Valid Driver’s License: Required

Transportation Support Description: The Olympia and Lacey area offers free public transportation via an extensive bus route. There are three bus routes that that typically run by our office every 30 minutes. All transportation for work duties will be provided by the office.

Position Description: This position is with the Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Lacey, WA. Our office works with various partners (tribal, governmental, NGOs) to conduct scientific monitoring and evaluation for a number of fish species including bull trout, Pacific lamprey, O. mykiss, Pacific salmon, and introduced aquatic species. The geographic range of our studies covers headwaters of the Cascade Mountain Range, urban watersheds of Puget Sound, and rugged basins of the Olympic Peninsula. Our office also provides hatchery evaluation support for three National Fish Hatcheries within the Puget Sound Olympic Peninsula Complex.

This position explores the use of migratory sculpin species as indicators of the impact of fish passage barriers and the effectiveness of barrier removal actions. In 2013 a federal court injunction was issued that requires the state of Washington to increase removal of culverts that block salmon and steelhead access to habitat. Many of the culvert removal actions occur in lowlands streams where migratory sculpin are common. Assessing the effectiveness of the culvert removal can be difficult if the numbers of salmon and steelhead in the system are low. Using abundance and distribution surveys of migratory sculpin, which are more prevalent than salmon and steelhead, can help assess the effectiveness of culvert or other fish barrier removals. Increasing fish passage is a large conservation goal of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Passage Program. Methods and principles developed in this position could be applied elsewhere throughout the country to assess barrier removal effectiveness.

This position incorporates all aspects of scientific field research. To implement this position, the selected Fellow will be responsible for:

• Literature review,
• Coordination and completion of field-based data collection,
• Leading a field crew, curation of data sets, and
• Scientific writing and presentations.

The Fellow will be mentored by a USFWS biologist with extensive experience in field research and will have opportunities to learn from many other biologists within the office and hatcheries. The Fellow will be able to assist with other ongoing projects and fieldwork and will learn or further develop skills in data collection and analysis.

Minimum Education Level: Open for consideration to both undergraduate and graduate students who will not complete their degree requirements before September 22, 2024.

Fields of Study:

• Biological Sciences
• Education/Outreach

Working Conditions Requirements:

• Ability to conduct field work involving hiking and carrying equipment
• Ability to lift/carry 50 pounds
• Ability and willingness to live in a remote camp for weeks at a time