Job Description

Description of Work Unit
The Colorado State Forest Service is an agency of Colorado State University, Colorado’s land grant institution of higher education, and is housed, organizationally, in the Warner College of Natural Resources. The CSFS also staffs the Division of Forestry for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. The CSFS has 17 field units throughout the state, with a State Office located in Fort Collins on CSU’s foothills campus.
Position Summary
Under the supervision of the Supervisory Forester, the Lead Project Forester will lead and manage complex projects/programs, falling within one or more of the following program areas:
Community Wildfire Protection Plans and wildfire hazard mitigation
Forest agriculture
Forest stewardship planning
Good Neighbor Agreements
Outreach and engagement programs
Collaboratives and Partnerships

The Lead Project Forester may perform some, or all, of the following: project budget management, program oversight, personnel direction, grant and agreement development and implementation. The Lead Project Forester coordinates program delivery with program staff and will serve as the primary contact point for local officials and key CSFS partners within their assigned project/program area(s), under the supervision and mentoring of the Supervisory Forester.

The Lead Project Forester will lead Area work teams associated with complex programs, train and mentor Field Office or Area foresters, develop and manage program and project budgets, provide input to Area strategic work plans, cultivate emerging issues and opportunities, serve as the acting Supervisory Forester as needed, and support all Area operations. The Lead Project Forester must have a thorough knowledge of overall Field Office and Area operations, local collaboratives and partnerships, silviculture, best management practices, insect and disease identification and management, wildfire mitigation and community protection, timber harvest operations, contract development and administration, and will be a local Subject Matter Expert on their assigned complex projects/programs.
Required Job Qualifications
A bachelor’s degree (or greater) in Forestry, Wildlife Biology/Management, Fire Ecology or other related natural resource field will be considered
Three years of professional forestry experience, with specific experience in Wildfire Management/Fuels Mitigation, Wildlife Biology, Forest Management, Dendrology, Forest Ecology, Forest Measurements, Silviculture, or Vegetation Dynamics
Experience in knowledge and principles of project management, concepts of project constraints, and ability to manage and apply those principles
Physical ability to stand and walk for extended periods of time over rough terrain; lift and move material weighing up to 50 pounds; work in all types of weather conditions
Must have a valid driver’s license or the ability to obtain a driver’s license or access to a licensed driver by the employment start date
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States before the employment start date; Colorado State Forest Service will not sponsor a visa for this position
Preferred Job Qualifications
Two years of experience with a state forestry agency
Experience developing work plans and project/program prioritization and resource allocation
Ability to exhibit confidence and competence in public presentations
Committed to safety, quality, demonstrated excellent customer service ethic and professionalism
Professional experience with participation on teams, committees and other special assignments, as well as the ability to work independently
Experience with contracts, agreements, and grant management
Program and/or project management experience
Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills
Proficient with the general Microsoft Suite office software products, ArcGIS, and GPS
Ability to perform GIS based data entry; capable of using GIS/GPS units to collect field data
Knowledge of western United States forest management techniques in the following areas: Silviculture (e.g., intermediate treatments; even-aged and uneven-aged structure; disturbance regimes and variability; periodic and mean annual increment; diameter distributions; stand legacy; and age structure); forest insect and diseases related to vectors and alternative hosts; sustainable harvesting systems in even-, two-, and uneven-aged forests; forest management planning based on desired future conditions; wildfire hazard mitigation, prevention and suppression in the wildland urban interface (WUI); community forestry in both urban and WUI situations; and outreach and education related to scientific and general public arenas
Comprehension of basic field forestry skills (cruising and timber marking) related to timber sale boundaries, harvest plans, silvicultural prescriptions, natural and artificial regenerations methods, road layout, and contract inspections.
Demonstrated skills in writing forest management plans, timber sale layout and administration, and budget preparation and administration
Essential Duties
Job Duty Category Program/project management and leadership
Duty/Responsibility
Project manager for active management of treatments within persistent pinyon-juniper woodlands with the goal of increasing their resilience to drought and resistance to mortality events.
Designs, monitors, coordinates, and implements fuels management treatments that have co-benefits for pinyon-juniper wildlife like Pinyon Jays. Communicates with researchers, biologists and practitioners to reduce knowledge gaps related to pinyon-juniper woodland health and resilience and jays by layering science/monitoring on large-scale fuels projects in PJ woodlands to ‘learn by doing’ providing a conduit for researchers and biologists to further coproduction.
Enhance spatial prioritization of fuels treatments based on wildlife habitat needs and other values
Engagement with indigenous communities and BLM tribal liaison in connection to pine nut harvesting and/or other pinyon-juniper woodlands uses/values to bring Tribal priorities into management
Communicate program requirements, complete site visits, monitoring and surveys on identified fuels projects
Write and review required input to environmental assessments, biological assessments, development of protective stipulations or design feature mitigation and assist with required Endangered Species Act Sec 7 Consultation. Provide technical assistance (wildlife biology and range conservation focus) and guidance to the BLM, landowners, government agencies, non-government organizations (NGO’s) and others
Coordinate integration and application of biological sciences within the conservation programs in cooperation with the local BLM district & field office staff
Communicate program requirements, complete site visits, lead species specific wildlife surveys, and develop contracts/plans for projects and participants
Coordinate and participate in field work activities for pinyon-juniper communities project implementation
Complete project management through data creation, gathering, tracking and dissemination through frequent updates and reporting
• Facilitate information and awareness on sagebrush conservation opportunities to partners and the BLM staff
Direct and coordinate professional science-based forest management services to local federal, state, and private landowners and communities. The position utilizes a broad range of experience in managing the various activities occurring within their assigned project/program area(s).
Serve as project/program work leader providing direction to foresters working in complex programs/projects/activities as assigned.
Collaborate with BLM, CSFS, and IWJV to set project priorities, goals and targets for assigned project/program area(s) and provides budget management and oversight for assigned project/program(s).