Green Mountain/Finger Lakes National Forest Natural Resources Staff Officer

The Green Mountain & Finger Lakes National Forests will soon be advertising the position of Natural Resources Staff Officer a GS-0401-12/13 position. The duty location is the Forest Supervisor’s Office in Rutland, Vermont. Information about the Rutland and surrounding area can be found at http://www.rutlandvermont.com/ The Green Mountain National Forest is approximately 400,000 acres along the spine of the Green Mountain region in Vermont. The Finger Lakes National Forest is about 16,000 acres located upstate New York. Approximately one-quarter of the Green Mountain National Forest is Congressionally designated Wilderness. These forests have a combined workforce administered from the Supervisor’s office in Rutland, VT. Both Forests are working to collaboratively with other agencies and groups to enhance our collective conservation and stewardship of natural resources on and off the forest. Both Forests have several active partnerships and information/education programs with a wide variety of trail groups, place-based associations and watershed groups, those interested in fishery and wildlife habitat improvement or historic sites, educational institutions and governments. We are considered a regional leader in the use of collaboration and stewardship contracting. We are also beginning to work with new partners to address emerging issues in human health, climate change, non-native invasive plants, sustainable operations and natural resource education. The Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest is organized into teams as well as a traditional supervisory structure. We seek innovators interested in working in a collaborative environment with people. The individual selected will be a member of the Forest Leadership Team and be the leader for the Ecological Services Mission Group responsible for overall program development, budgeting, implementation and evaluation for the fish/water, wildlife, botany, air, soil, ecology, fire/fuels, range, silviculture and forest management programs for both forests under our recently revised Forest Plans. This position will supervise 3-5 program managers and serves as a key contact for external partners, governments, Congressional staff and various media. The individual selected for this position is the only Staff Officer on the Forest. As such, the position is expected to play an informal leadership role across the Forest, and work cooperatively and closely with all Forest programs and program managers (including those in recreation, heritage, wilderness, administration, engineering, planning/NEPA, information technology and lands). This position will also provide primary leadership for our Program of Work Team, that helps establish, monitor and balance the Forest’s key project priorities across all programs. If you are someone who enjoys working with diverse people across a variety of different programs this job may be for you! More information about the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest, including our 2008 accomplishment report, can be found on our web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/gmfl/ The actual vacancy announcement, which will contain a more descriptive breakout of job duties and evaluation criteria, will be posted on the web at www.usajobs.opm.gov in May, 2009. Please contact Meg Mitchell, Forest Supervisor, for additional information about the position at 802-558-0922, or mmitchell01@fs.fed.us.