Position Title: Fisheries Conservation Steward - AmeriCorps

Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placements

Site Location: Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office; 500 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey, Washington 98503

Application Timeline: Preference given to applicants that submit application by January 1st, 2026

Terms of Service:

• Start Date: 03/02/2026
• End Date: 08/28/2026
• AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 900 hour, 26 weeks

Purpose:

Stewards Individual Placements (Stewards), a program of Conservation Legacy, provides individuals with AmeriCorps service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants serve with federal agencies, Tribal governments, and nonprofits to provide institutional capacity, develop community relationships, and support ecosystem health. Stewards partners with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to facilitate the WaterCorps Program to provide opportunities to federally enrolled Tribal Members seeking to gain experience in the water resources field. This WaterCorps position will be hosted at the Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office and will host a Fisheries Conservation Steward.

The Fisheries Conservation Steward is an AmeriCorps position that will support aquatic biological field research, population monitoring, invasive species removal, habitat projects, fish hatchery rearing, and fish hatchery evaluation efforts. In addition to supporting the mission of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, this Fisheries Conservation Steward will gain a wealth of diversified and career building field, lab, and hatchery experience. They will also gain exposure to the multiple federal, state, local, and tribal governments as well as non-profit conservation partners we collaborate with. This position also includes local and regional (WA, OR, ID, and HI) career development training that will prepare the participant to find and compete for relevant employment opportunities beyond this experience.

The mission of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is to collaborate with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Our office oversees a large variety of fish and aquatic projects in western Washington. This includes population monitoring projects, fish behavior studies, invasive species removal, habitat restoration, and hatchery evaluation. Our projects plays an important role in informing land and fisheries management decision making.

Description of Duties:

The following are common duties for typical field seasons.

· Biological field sampling in aquatic environments, including but not limited to minnow trapping, electrofishing, seining, gill and tangle netting in lakes and rivers, hook & line sampling(angling), and screw trapping.

· Fish identification and data collection (species, length, weight, scale samples, tag scans, genetics, etc.).

· Fish marking, tagging, and tracking (coded wire tags, PIT tags, floy tags, and radio telemetry tagging and tracking).

· Invertebrate and limnology sampling.

· eDNA water sampling.

· Amphibian trapping, identification, data collection, and monitoring.

· Abiotic data collection such as river substrate sampling, water salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature.

· Habitat surveys (wetted width, maximum depth, pebble counts, canopy cover, etc)

· Habitat Restoration: This can include native planning and invasive species removal in wetlands and riparian zones. Invasive plant removal may be physical and chemical.

· Collecting and entering field data into a database. Database management.

· Laboratory processing and data collection, including fish stomach sample identification and sediment sample analysis.

· Fish Hatchery Evaluation: Mass marking of juveniles, tag retention sampling, tag scans on adults, biological sampling of tagged adults, and tag extractions (lab) and linking tag number to biological sampling data.

· Supplemental Hatchery Support: fish rearing, spawning, and transfers. Raceway (tank) maintenance, water quality monitoring, fish health monitoring, and fish per pound size and growth tracking measurements.

· Supplemental support for education and outreach programming such as events and school activities such as Salmon in the Classroom. This includes tribal specific outreach programming.

· Supporting upkeep of sampling instrumentation used for core position functions.

· Conducting projects in and around rivers, lakes, and salt water. This includes wading and potentially motorized and/or human powered watercrafts.

Qualifications:

• A strong interest in a career in aquatic and natural resource conservation science
• Ability to lift at least 40 pounds
• Ability to hike at least 4 miles on uneven ground
• Ability to wade in water, including in and across rivers
• Ability to serve long days and in inclement weather
• Must be a member of a federally recognized Indian Tribe, Band, or Village; Alaska Native; or meet one of the following descriptions:
  • Persons who possess at least one-half degree Indian blood derived from Tribes Indigenous to the United States
  • Descendants of Members of Federally recognized Indian Tribes, Bands or Communities who were residing on any Indian Reservation on June 1, 1934 – shown by completing BIA Form 4432.
• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien
• Applicants must be between ages of 18-30 years old, or up to 35 for veteran, based on Public Land Corps Act of 1993 authorizing this AmeriCorps opportunity
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award
• Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check for Conservation Legacy and the host site

Preferred Qualifications:

• Relevant college degree or coursework is preferred but not required. Coursework could include biology, fisheries/aquatic science, forestry, wildlife biology, oceanography, ecology, and environmental science.
• Personal, educational, and/or professional experience capturing and handling aquatic organisms such as fish. Personal experience can include recreational and Tribal subsistence fishing. Professional experience could include commercial harvest of fish and other aquatic species.
• Boating experience. This includes human and/or motor-powered watercrafts in rivers, lakes, and/or saltwater environments.
• Swimming proficiency (for snorkel survey project activities and personal safety when conducting projects in and around water).

Additional Position and Community Information

· Our Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office is base out of Lacey, which neighbors Olympia and Tumwater. There are ample opportunities for local outdoor recreation, arts, entertainment, and cuisine. Finding affordable housing can be challenging, but our office assists in seeking out opportunities in the area for our members.

· Our Fisheries Conservation Steward must have their drivers license. It is preferred for the member to have a personal vehicle. Public transportation is an option but our field schedules are very dynamic with occasional early arrivals (5:45 am) as well as night shifts. It is vital for our Fisheries Conservation Steward to arrive on time.

Our Commitment:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full consideration of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential job functions. Physical requirements may include periodic overnight travel, non-traditional service hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. The ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Benefits:

• Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $3,697 (pre-tax)
• Living Allowance of $600.00 per week (pre-tax)
• Additional benefit of $100.00 per week (pre-tax)
• Healthcare Coverage (opt in)
• Childcare Coverage (opt in)
• Student Loan Forbearance, if eligible (administered by MyAmeriCorps, directly)
• Interest Payments, if eligible (administered by MyAmeriCorps, directly)

How to Apply
Find this position at https://stewardslegacy.org/open-positions. Open the Fisheries Conservation Steward position, review full position description, and click apply.

In addition to your resume, please submit a one page cover letter highlighting why you are interested in this position and how your background and experience will help you succeed in this position.

• If unable to attach a cover letter (pdf) to your application, please email your cover letter directly to Andre Nguyen (anguyen@conservationlegacy.org)

Application Timeline: Preference given to applicants who submit applications by December 1, 2024. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Position will close on January 15, 2025.

Supervisor Name and Contact Information:

• Program Contact information: Andre Nguyen, anguyen@conservationlegacy.org
• Service Site Contact information: Daniel Spencer, daniel_spencer@fws.gov

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodations due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Additional Details

Our Commitment:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full consideration of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential job functions. Physical requirements may include periodic overnight travel, non-traditional work hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. The ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Time Requirements:

• Typically, this position is expected to serve full time each week, but exact service schedules may vary according to project needs. Lunch breaks will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service hours.
• Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.

Orientation and Training:

• Member will receive an orientation that includes program expectations and AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities
• Member will receive job training for our field, hatchery, and lab methodologies and protocols. Field methods include electrofishing, minnow trapping, beach seining, invertebrate sampling, and snorkel surveys.
• Member will receive safety training. This includes staff led training as well as opportunities through outside sources. Professionally sourced safety training could include First Aid & CPR, Swiftwater Rescue, and/or Wilderness First Responder certifications.
• Member will receive professional development training. This includes resume building and counseling, job searches and applications, networking, interview preparation and strategies.

Evaluation and Reporting:

As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.

Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.