Natural Resource Specialist

The Bureau of Land Management is hiring a Natural Resource Specialist in Miles City, MT. The role involves managing natural resources, permitting surface activities related to fluid minerals, evaluating environmental impacts, and ensuring compliance with regulations. Candidates must be U.S. citizens and meet specific qualifications. The position is open to the public and may involve additional vacancies. This job is not remote and requires on-site presence.
Summary

Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our most precious resource.

This position is located in Eastern Montana/Dakotas District Office in Miles City,MT. Information about Miles City, Montana and the surrounding area can be found at Miles City Chamber of Commerce

We expect to fill 1 vacancy/vacancies at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

This job is open to
• The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens - No previous Federal Service is required.
CTAP and ICTAP candidates in the local commuting area.

Duties
• Applying natural resource management and environmental science principles to the execution of a comprehensive surface protection and compliance program dealing with fluid minerals in the Field Office.
• Permitting various types of surface activities in fluids minerals exploration and development.
• Reviewing stipulations on existing leases for applicability to proposed activities
• Evaluating the environmental impacts of proposed drilling operations, field development, and subsequent surface disturbing operations.
• Preparing appropriate documentation in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
• Reviewing notices of staking, applications for permit to drill, and sundry notices for compliance with various regulations, orders, and instruction memoranda.
• Monitoring construction, production, and reclamation activities to ensure compliance with environmental plans and stipulations.
• Inspecting items such as drill pad construction, access roads, production facilities and pipelines, water disposal facilities, abandoned well site rehabilitation and undesirable events such as oil spills.
• Coordinating reviews with other BLM resource specialists and other agencies.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Be sure to read the 'How to Apply' and 'Required Documents' Sections.
• You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
• Direct Deposit Required.
• Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
• Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
• May require a one year probationary period.

Qualifications

You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the qualification requirements. Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement or vacancy questions. Your resume MUST contain job title (include job series and grade, if federal), duties, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary. In addition, your responses to the questions must be adequately reflected in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

This position has a positive education requirement. See Education section for additional information. You must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. If your degree is from a Foreign Institution See Foreign Education.

In addition to meeting the positive education requirement, you must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level for the position being filled, that is similar in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples:

For GS-09: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level. Such experience must demonstrate a working knowledge of the theories, principles, and techniques of natural resource management related to developing and monitoring mitigation stipulations for surface use activities. Example: conducting compliance and monitoring of energy and non-energy development for the protection of public land resources.

- OR -

Two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree, if related.

- OR -

Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet total qualification requirements for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Creditable experience must demonstrate similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation.

For GS-11: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level. Such experience must demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of natural resource principles as they relate to developing and monitoring mitigation stipulations for surface use activities. Examples: analyzing and evaluating diverse environment conditions; analyzing biological components and processes in the context of ecosystems including environmental factors, physical-chemical and social relationships; and working as a member of an interdisciplinary team.

- OR -

Three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, if related.

- OR -

Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet total qualification requirements for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Creditable experience must demonstrate similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation.

If you are using education to qualify for this position, it must have provided you with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform natural resources duties on public lands.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Physical Demands: The work requires the incumbent to spend time performing both office and field work. The office work is primarily sedentary and may require walking, standing, and carrying light items, such as books, small instruments or samples, and other similar materials. While at the field office, the incumbent may occasionally lift materials such as fence posts, barbed wire, and seed bags, etc., requiring lifting of loads up to 50 pounds.

Field duties involve long hours of driving, hiking, climbing, and other forms of outdoor physical activities in remote locations. Occasional project construction work may be physically demanding, such as building or removing fences, constructing wildlife guzzlers, developing springs, etc. The incumbent is expected to operate a four-wheel drive vehicle in remote areas in complicated terrain. Other modes of transportation such as off highway vehicles may occasionally be used.

Work Environment: The work environment varies from an office setting where the incumbent has regular contact with work associates to a field setting where the incumbent is working alone for extended periods of time in remote situations. Field work will involve outdoor exposure, including some

discomfort in extremes of temperature or inclement weather. The incumbent may be subjected to hostile wildlife and physical hazards.

Education

Basic Requirements
• Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study or specific course requirements generally as stated in paragraph A in the individual occupational requirements.

Where specific course requirements are not indicated in paragraph A, the number of semester hours required to constitute a major field of study is the amount specified by the college or university attended. If this number cannot be obtained, 24 semester hours will be considered as equivalent to a major field of study. The nature and quality of this required course work must have been such that it would serve as a prerequisite for more advanced study in the field or subject-matter area. Related course work generally refers to courses that may be accepted as part of the program major.

OR
• Combination of education and experience: Appropriate combination of education and experience that is typically specified in paragraph B of the individual occupational requirements. The "paragraph B" method generally requires that an applicant possess a core of educational credit, such as described in paragraph A above, plus additional education and/or experience. The method of determining the number of semester hours required to constitute a major field of study is the same as described in paragraph A.

The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation.

Additional information

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 90 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service

Travel and relocation expenses will be paid consistent with the Federal Travel Regulation, Chapter 302, and Departmental policy. Selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. See "Other" section for additional information on 2017 Tax Cuts as related to PCS.

Tax Law Impact for PCS: Moving expenses reimbursement is a taxable benefit. However, the Federal Travel Regulation 18-05 issued by General Services Administration has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance and Relocation Income Tax Allowance to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individuals.

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Applicants who previously applied do not need to apply again to be considered, but may take this opportunity to update information/resume/responses or submit required documentation outlined in the vacancy announcement

This announcement is being advertised concurrently under number MTMP-25-12733842-JBC, which is open to all qualified persons. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.

This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GS-11. If selected at a lower grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, and the availability of higher-level work. Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied.
• Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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