Forest Monitoring Measurement Specialist

Colorado State University, United States

Updated: 11 months ago
Location: Fort Collins, COLORADO
Deadline: 27 Mar 2023

Posting Details
Posting Detail Information


Working Title Forest Monitoring Measurement Specialist
Position Location Fort Collins, CO
Work Location Position qualifies for hybrid/in-office work
Research Professional Position No
Posting Number 202300405AP
Position Type Admin Professional/ Research Professional
Classification Title Prof/Indiv Contrib II
Number of Vacancies
Work Hours/Week 40
Proposed Annual Salary Range $65,000 - $70,000 commensurate with experience
Employee Benefits
Colorado State University (CSU) is committed to providing employees with a strong and competitive benefits package that supports you, your health, and your family. Visit CSU’s Human Resources website for detailed benefit plan information for permanent full-time and part-time faculty and administrative professional employees in the following University benefit areas: https://hr.colostate.edu/hr-community-and-supervisors/benefits/benefits-eligibility/ & https://hr.colostate.edu/prospective-employees/our-perks/ .
Desired Start Date
Position End Date (if temporary)
To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by 11:59pm (MT) on 03/27/2023
Description of Work Unit
The Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) is an agency of Colorado State University, Colorado’s land grant institution of higher education, and is housed 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, and a State Office located in Fort Collins on one of the foothills campuses of CSU. The Science and Data Division of the Colorado State Forest Service provides administration and oversight of science and data delivery that directly contributes to the agency’s mission of “the stewardship of Colorado’s diverse forest environments for the benefit of present and future generations”.
Founded in 1870, Colorado State University is among the nation’s leading research universities and enrolls approximately 32,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Located an hour north of the Denver metro area, Fort Collins is a vibrant community of approximately 157,000 residents that offers the convenience of a small town with all the amenities of a large city. Fort Collins is situated on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains with views of 14,000 foot peaks, and offers access to numerous cultural, recreational, and outdoor opportunities.
Position Summary
Under the supervision of the Forest Monitoring Program Manager (FMPM), as well as CSFS personnel from Science and Data and Forest Planning and Implementation (FP&I) this monitoring measurement specialist will lead field operations of the monitoring program.
This work entails working with the FMPM to design and implement long-term monitoring projects associated with grant awardees within the Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation Grant Program (FRWRM), as well as help the FMPM expand existing monitoring projects to other programs and collaborations.
The incumbent will conduct a variety of field measurements including, but not limited to, those involving tree/sapling/seedling data, vegetation diversity, fuel loading measurements, land ownership, and soil and erosion data collection in collaboration with a wide variety of partners mostly following treatments and/or disturbances. The incumbent will be required to be knowledgeable with scientific literature and technical bulletins related to natural resources, and be effective in written and verbal communication for non-technical and technical reports, professional and public meetings, and professional presentations. Using a variety of geographical information systems (GIS) software packages, the forest vegetation simulator (FVS) and other modeling platforms, the FMSF will work closely with the FMPM to deliver updates to various groups regarding treatment outcomes, hire and train summer field measurement crews, and implement adaptive management within Colorado by gathering accurate field data to assess treatment outcomes across a variety of ownerships and treatment types.
The FMMS is expected to ensure safe working practices of themselves and their crew and be an advocate for productive team development. The FMMS will administer performance ratings, assign work, and handle administrative tasks related to their crews. This person will be responsible for supervising maintenance and upkeep of the crew vehicle and all crew supplies and equipment. The FMMS will work closely with the FMPM to stratify and develop plans to gather pre- and post-treatment data for FRWRM grant awardees, as well as assist in the development and implementation of expanding monitoring tasks undertaken by the CSFS. The FMMS is also responsible for making all private landowner contacts prior to accessing or crossing private property.
A person who fills the FMMS position will operate 4-wheel drive vehicles, UTVs, ATVs, and occasionally other modes of transportation as necessary. Road and plot navigation skills – including use of GIS software and datasets, topographical maps, aerial photos and GPS units- are a must for this position. Crews will use handheld data recorders to gather, encode, summarize, and upload collected field measurements to the monitoring program database.
The FMMS and their crews will be required to hike carrying at least 45-pound packs with all related field gear; pack weights can exceed 60 pounds. Crews work at elevations ranging from 3,500 to 14,000 feet when accessing permanent inventory plots. Crews will be expected to hike long distances to reach plot locations both on- and off-trail, and work on steep and or rough terrain. Crews will be working in sun, rain and snow, across the full range of temperatures which can change rapidly throughout the day.
Required Job Qualifications
  • Bachelor’s degree (or greater) in Forestry, Forest Ecology, Botany, or a Natural Resources program option will be considered.
  • Three years of field experience which must include:
    • Leading field crews in forestry measurements.
    • Familiarity with FVS software and handheld data recorders.
    • Analytical and technical skills related to various GIS software packages and GIS databases, including importing shapefiles and buffering, clipping, intersecting layers.
    • Experience analyzing and summarizing scientific and economic data for reports and presentations.
    • Experience in road and backcountry navigation using topographical maps, aerial photos, and GPS units.

  • 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.
  • The successful candidate 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
  • Four or more seasons of FIA or other monitoring experience or similar fieldwork experience(e.g. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) fieldwork).
  • Previous experience involving supervising hourly, seasonal, and/or temporary employees.
  • Experience with handheld field computers (i.e. Allegro) and experience using CSFS software for data collection. Previous use and knowledge of GIS programs, GIS datasets, GPS units to collect field data, and digital cameras.
  • Ability to use and troubleshoot IT issues related to Windows 8, Windows 10, Java, internet browser security settings, and off-site storage devices.
  • Experience with scientific and economic data reporting for use in progress reports and presentations.
  • When contacting landowners and resource managers, demonstrate the ability to explain the scientific basis behind natural resource inventories through a variety of complex negotiation skills.
  • Experience in project/logistical planning and implementation, and experience participating on teams and ability to work autonomously for extended periods of time.
  • Experience in map navigation, compass/orienteering, and aerial photo interpretation for reconnaissance; stream-typing using CSFS monitoring standards; forest-class typing based on ownership, density, tree regeneration techniques, reserved status related to national and state statutes; and completing required documentation and applications as specified with the FRWRM grant program.
  • Experience using and calibrating inventory tools that include hypsometer, clinometer, laser,stereoscope, loggers/diameter tape, chaining tape, increment borers, and others related to repeatable and accurate measurements.
  • Knowledge of general forest management techniques in the following areas: silviculture &mensuration (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.
  • Dendrology and vegetation identification course work and/or fieldwork.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Committed to safety, quality, demonstrated excellent customer service ethic and professionalism
  • General safety (CPR/First-aid) and wilderness first responder safety training and experience.
Diversity Statement
Demonstrated knowledge of, and relevant ability with, culturally diverse communities among potential target and constituent populations.

Essential Duties


Job Duty Category Forest Inventory, Biometrics, and Accomplishment Reporting
Duty/Responsibility
  • Conduct extensive forest land inventories across private, public, and tribal land ownership.
  • Determine accuracy of plot location and accessibility.
  • Locate remote field sites using GIS, aerial photographs, topographic maps, compass and GPS.
  • Collect biometric data related to tree species composition (count and measurement of the number, species, size, quality, cull and other characteristics of sample trees), understory vegetation composition(species identification, percent coverage, and quantify horizontal and vertical structure), wildland fuel-loading related to down dead wood (count and measurement of the number, tree species, fuel size, dead fuel moisture, and decay class), and forest floor metrics (depth and volume measurements related to organic matter, litter, duff, mineral soil, and carbon)
  • Examine the classified ownership, forest type, stand size, stocking, cover class, natural and anthropogenic treatments and disturbances; forest insects and disease; and other items as specified in the CSFS monitoring protocol.
  • Make professional interpretations of the CSFS monitoring protocol for application under unusual conditions.
  • Use botanical knowledge to identify plants, collect specimens, prepare them for mounting, and collaborate with various university herbariums
  • Monitor all measurements, transfer data, analyze data within quality-control parameters, and upload final dataset to CSFS data repositories
  • Complete accurate and concise plot summaries of all field visits.
  • Communicate, cooperate, and collaborate with city, county, state, and federal natural resource management agencies; tribal entities; private, non-profit, and corporate corporations to enlist support in conducting field inventory activities
  • Use various GIS software platforms to extract, analyze, and summarize natural resource and ownership data for state and regional forest health reports and public presentations.
  • Organize, verify, and refine data collected with FMPM.
  • Review and evaluate the CSFS monitoring protocol to the questions of those organizations for which monitoring data is collected.
  • Provide, professional and scientific findings related to natural resource inventories.
  • Consult various scientific resources to understand standards, methods, findings, recommendations, and conclusions related to data acquisition and inventories.
Percentage Of Time 60%
Job Duty Category Supervision
Duty/Responsibility
  • Directly supervise at least one Research Associate I and seasonal crew members, including students.
  • Responsible for interviewing and hiring crew member(s) for the field season, as well as conducting a performance evaluation of the Research Associate I(s).
  • Responsible for managing, documenting, and reviewing timesheets and travel vouchers for crewmember.
  • Plan daily, weekly, and monthly work to be accomplished by the unit, assign work to employee(s), and establish production or quality standards for the crew’s work.
  • Listen and resolve employee complaints, effect minor disciplinary measures, and recommend action in more serious cases to the FMPM.
  • Perform administrative and human resources management functions and guidance for the crew including, but not limited to, counsel or instruction on both administrative and work matters; and assure full compliance with safety regulations.
Percentage Of Time 20%
Job Duty Category Work Planning
Duty/Responsibility
  • Perform project planning activities including scheduling, organizing, and executing field collection projects related to natural resource inventories.
  • Create and implement long-range logistical planning and distribution of workload throughout the field season.
  • Develop and delegate weekly and monthly travel itineraries and logistics for the crew.
  • Develop work plans that include time and costs estimates, and the required materials, supplies, and equipment to accomplish various natural resource studies and inventories.
  • Implement daily and weekly safety plans and hazard assessments.
  • Provide essential support for projects of varying scope; assemble and prepare material for field research work including selection of aerial photos, maps, and equipment.
  • Responsible for coordinating with the Forest Monitoring Program Manager and other CSFS Divisions and partners
Percentage Of Time 20%

Application Details


Special Instructions to Applicants
To apply, please upload a cover letter that addresses the required and preferred job qualifications, a resume, and the contact information for three professional references. References will not be contacted without prior notification of candidates.
Conditions of Employment Pre-employment Criminal Background Check (required for new hires), Valid Driver’s License
Search Contact Ethan Bucholz, [email protected], 314-757-0387 cell
EEO Statement
Colorado State University is committed to providing an environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based on race, age, creed, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, or pregnancy in its employment, programs, services and activities, and admissions, and, in certain circumstances, marriage to a co-worker. The University will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. Colorado State University is an equal opportunity and equal access institution and affirmative action employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce and complies with all Federal and Colorado State laws, regulations, and executive orders regarding non-discrimination and affirmative action. The Office of Equal Opportunity is located in 101 Student Services.
The Title IX Coordinator is the Director of the Office of Title IX Programs and Gender Equity, 123 Student Services Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523-0160, (970) 491-1715, [email protected] .
The Section 504 and ADA Coordinator is the Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, 101 Student Services Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523-0160, (970) 491-5836, [email protected] .
The Coordinator for any other forms of misconduct prohibited by the University’s Policy on Discrimination and Harassment is the Vice President for Equity, Equal Opportunity and Title IX, 101 Student Services Building, Fort Collins, Co. 80523-0160, (970) 491-5836, [email protected] .
Any person may report sex discrimination under Title IX to the Office of Civil Rights, Department of Education .
Background Check Policy Statement
Colorado State University strives to provide a safe study, work, and living environment for its faculty, staff, volunteers and students. To support this environment and comply with applicable laws and regulations, CSU conducts background checks for the finalist before a final offer. The type of background check conducted varies by position and can include, but is not limited to, criminal history, sex offender registry, motor vehicle history, financial history, and/or education verification. Background checks will also be conducted when required by law or contract and when, in the discretion of the University, it is reasonable and prudent to do so.

Similar Positions