A research opportunity is currently available with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Forest Service (USFS).

At the heart of the U.S. Forest Service’s mission is their purpose. Everything they do is intended to help sustain forests and grasslands for present and future generations. Why? Because their stewardship work supports nature in sustaining life. This is the purpose that drives the agency’s mission and motivates their work across the agency. It’s been there from the agency’s very beginning, and it still drives them. To advance the mission and serve their purpose, the U.S. Forest Service balances the short and long-term needs of people and nature by: working in collaboration with communities and our partners; providing access to resources and experiences that promote economic, ecological, and social vitality; connecting people to the land and one another; and delivering world-class science, technology and land management.

The selected participant will gain hands-on research experience while studying quantitative wildlife ecology aimed at informing natural resource management. The ORISE participants will engage in bioacoustics, avian, and amphibian research and technology development.

They will have opportunities to continue their research training/education, enhance their professional development in specific areas, and become familiar with the research areas and career opportunities within USDA. Participants will engage closely with USDA personnel to develop quantitative tools to support processing, interpretation, and use of large volumes of data, and will gain valuable experience in key aspects of the research process including analyzing ecological data and writing manuscripts.

Specific training opportunities include:

• Conduct literature reviews of wildlife-habitat relationships
• Assist with the development and maintenance of wildlife databases that interface with program R
• Analyze wildlife location data using advanced spatial analysis methods
• Fit hierarchical models to estimate wildlife occupancy and population demography
• Assist in the development of quantitative decision-support models for wildlife species
• Write reports on analyses conducted with the potential to convert these reports to peer-reviewed manuscripts

Citizenship Requirement: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and USFS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, USFS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email USForestService@orise.orau.gov and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a master’s degree in one of the relevant fields.

Eligibility Requirements

• Degree: Master’s Degree.
• Discipline(s):
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences
  • Mathematics and Statistics

Apply at https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/USDA-USFS-2022-0177