NFs and Grasslands in TX

Sam Houston National Forest

Sam Houston Ranger District

New Waverly, Texas

Vacancy Announcement

Forestry Technician (Sale Preparation) GS-0462-4/5/6

Permanent Full Time

Please apply by July 29, 2009

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBERS

Open to the Public: ADS09-R8-NFT-462456-2192DP

Open to US Forest Service Region 8 Employees only:

ADS09-R8-NFT-462456-2192R

This notice is to inform interested candidates of a Forestry Technician (Timber Sale Preparation Crew Leader) position being filled on the Sam Houston Ranger District.  Please note: only one position will be filled. If filled at the GS-4 or 5 level, the selected candidate can be non-competitively promoted up to the GS-6 level after meeting all the necessary requirements.

Applications for this position are being processed through an on-line applicant assessment system that has been specifically configured for USDA Forest Service applicants. Even if you have already developed a resume in USAJOBS, you will need to log on to the following web address to apply for this position:

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/

Applicants who are current status Forest Service Region 8 Employees use Job Announcement # :  ADS09-R8-NFT-462456-2192R

Demonstration Project Candidates (open to public) use Job Announcement: 

ADS09-R8-NFT-462456-2192DP

NOTE: When applying for this position you must specify New Waverly, Texas as the location for consideration on the Sam Houston Ranger District.

A request for a Referral List of Candidates will be sent on or about July 30, 2009.  To be considered for this position, job applications must be submitted through AVUE (https://www.avuecentral.com/)  before this Referral List of Candidates is developed.

The Job:

We will be filling one Forestry Technician (Sale Preparation), GS-0462-4/5/6 position on the Sam Houston Ranger District. The primary duties of this job involve working on preparing timber sales in accordance with the Forest Land Management Plan and project/location specific Environmental Analysis and Project Plans. This work will include layout of timber sale units and the designation and measurement of trees for removal involving a variety of silvicultural harvest methods. The work will be primarily outdoors in all types of weather while working as either a part of the sale preparation crew or independently and will occasionally involve monitoring of active timber harvesting activity. An important part of accomplishing these duties will be using GPS units, handheld computers, and desktop computers for data recording, entering, and processing as part of timber sales information gathered.

This job will also involve assisting with other types of resource management work on the District. This will include collecting inventory data for project planning, work with wildlife management, helping with the District’s recreation program, work with road and landline maintenance, and working in support of the District’s prescribed burning program and wildland fire fighting. Some travel away from the District office will be required as part of the job for work assignments and training.

If filled at the GS-4 or 5 levels, the incumbent may be promoted to the GS-6 level without further competition when they are qualified. 

The Sam Houston:

The Sam Houston National Forest is one of 4 National Forests and 2 National Grasslands managed by the USDA Forest Service in Texas. We’re in the western edge of the piney woods of East Texas with about 163,000 acres of national forest land in Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Walker Counties and have substantial recreation, wildlife, timber, minerals programs of work year ‘round. The district also boasts Texas' largest population of endangered Red-cockaded woodpeckers’ (RCW) and currently much of our resource management effort, including our timber sales work, goes into improving the woodpecker's habitat to recover and expand the local population and improve forest ecosystem that supports them.

The Sam Houston has also been designated an Urban National Forest because of its proximity to Houston, Texas and we're a heavily visited forest with a very active recreation program. Part of the district surrounds Lake Conroe, a 22,000 acre reservoir that provides water for Houston and recreation for thousands of visitors each weekend.  The lake offers warm water sporting activities such as fishing, water skiing, sail boating and swimming. The Lone Star Hiking Trail, a 128-mile trail cooperatively maintained with the Lone Star Hiking Trail Club, crosses the district and provides the avid hiker with a wide variety of sights and experiences. Other recreation opportunities available are 85 miles of multi-use trail, hunting, camping of all kinds, mountain biking, and horse riding.

We are constantly working hard to meet the ever-increasing needs of the visiting urban public and maintain the ecosystem that is home for the RCW and many other forest species. You will get the chance to do a little of everything as we all work together to manage the Sam Houston and the other National Forests and Grasslands in Texas to the best of our ability.

The Area:

Our office is located 3 miles west of New Waverly, Texas, a small town of just under 1,000. New Waverly lies just off Interstate 45, the major travel route between Houston and Dallas.  In fact, Houston is only an hour's drive to the south.  We're ideally situated between Huntsville, sixteen miles north, and Conroe, sixteen miles south, communities of about 40,000+ people each.  Numerous smaller towns are within easy commuting distance.  We have some of the best public and private educational systems available, ranging from elementary schools to community colleges and universities. Sam Houston State University is located in Huntsville approximately twenty minutes from the district office and Texas A & M University is approximately 50 miles to the west.

The nearby towns of Willis, Montgomery and New Waverly offer the surroundings of small country towns. The city of Huntsville offers small town atmosphere with the hint of a big-city life and the city of Conroe offers more of an urban, large city atmosphere. The local communities offer all the amenities, numerous banking institutions, restaurants, public libraries and a variety of good child care facilities.  Full service medical and emergency healthcare facilities are available in Conroe and Huntsville. Churches representing most denominations can be found within the area. In addition, the greater Houston area offers all of the cultural and social amenities of a large city, as well as professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer.

The Conroe and Huntsville areas provide employment opportunities with a myriad of businesses and the Houston metropolitan area is within commuting distance.

There is a wide range in the cost of housing depending on where you want to live. A small one bedroom apartment can be rented for as little as $600.  Rental homes can start as low as $700 in New Waverly but are quite a bit higher in Huntsville or Conroe.  The purchase price of smaller and older homes can start as low as $50,000 and new homes can start around $90,000. Information on housing availabilities and costs in the area can be found at www.har.com or through other internet searches. This and other information can also be obtained from the Greater Conroe Chamber of Commerce, 936-756-6644 or http://www.conroe.org/, and the Huntsville/ Walker County Chamber of Commerce, 936-295-8113 or http://www.chamber.huntsville.tx.us/

The Sam Houston Ranger District offers a great place to work and live. If you would like more information, please contact Bob Allen, Timber Management Assistant (boballen@...), or Warren Oja, District Ranger at 936 344-6205.