Forest Ranger I/II

Job Posting Title

Forest Ranger I/II

Agency

040 DEPT OF AGRICULTURE FOOD & FORESTRY

Supervisory Organization

AG, Food & Forestry – SE Area–Oklahoma Forestry Service

Job Posting End Date (Continuous if Blank)

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the posting end date above.

Estimated Appointment End Date (Continuous if Blank)

Full/Part-Time

Full time

Job Type

Regular

Compensation

Level I: $30,842.00 annually
Level II: $34,706.00 annually

Job Description

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) is seeking a full time Forest Ranger in the Forestry Division. This position (PIN #04000094) is in state government, located in Pickens, OK. The State of Oklahoma offers a comprehensive Benefits Package, including a generous benefit allowance to offset the cost of insurance premiums for employees and their eligible dependents. The annual salary for this position is up to $34,706.00 based on education and experience.

Position Description:   This position fights wildfire in arduous terrain and under conditions that can be hazardous to personal safety. Will also perform maintenance of vehicles, equipment, facilities, and perform other task associated with forestry practices and educational programs. They will work closely with landowners for prescribe burns and other professionals on wildfires.
 

Must reside with a 15-mile radius of designated hiring point:

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

100 MAIN ST., PICKENS, OK 74752

34.40 N, 95.01 W

Typical Functions:  

• Engages in initial attack and extended attack wildland fire suppression, prescribed burning operations and activities; provides fire suppression and prescribed burning assistance to employees, partner agencies, volunteer, and other assisting fire crews.
• Utilize basic Geographic Information System (GIS) skills and equipment to gather wildland fire and prescribed fire data, including but not limited to acres involved, fire area latitude/longitude, and/or GIS .shp files of fire perimeters.
• Prepares and submits Forestry Division wildland fire and prescribed fire activity reports for state and national fire reporting systems; collect wildland fire information from partner agencies as needed for state and national fire reporting systems.
• Provides wildland fire and prescribed fire training to employees and partner agencies.
• Supervises or participates in the construction and maintenance of Forestry Services Division facilities and projects, such as roads, bridges, towers, buildings, and grounds.
• Operates and maintains assigned equipment, including pickup trucks, fire engines, bulldozers, and other related equipment; supervises and performs preventive maintenance; performs or schedules repairs to assigned equipment after consultation with supervisor.
• Applies basic investigative skills to determine fire causes, preserves evidence and assists law enforcement agents in law enforcement activities related to wildland fire.
• Presents fire prevention information and education programs for schools, groups, and the general public; participates in organizing and training rural fire departments.
• Presents and demonstrates wildfire preparedness information and education, including defensible space planning, to schools, civic groups, and the public.
• Inventories state and private forest lands by measuring and recording forest data, such as tree species, stem diameters and heights; maps forest stand boundaries and calculates acres; determines volume of merchantable timber within given timber stands; assists foresters in the development of forest management plans for landowners; distributes forest management information to landowners.
• Marks trees for harvesting purposes; designates boundary lines for cutting operations, timber stand improvement work, and timber sales; computes timber volume for use in bid requests.
• Distributes forest management and fire prevention information to landowners.
• Uses GPS and GIS technology to record property location and boundaries, identify stands, and develop forest type and ownership maps.
• Uses various plot-sampling techniques to collect data on forest conditions and timber volumes; develops forest stand and stock tables.
• Analyzes aerial photographs, satellite images, topographic maps, soils maps and other resources and collects appropriate data for use in forest management planning and technical assistance programs; may use GIS technology to display data in electronic form for use by professional foresters.
• Performs related work as required and assigned.

Level Description:

• Level I: This is the basic level of this job family where employees are assigned responsibilities, which primarily involve participating in the prevention and suppression of wildland fires, the operation and maintenance of firefighting equipment, and the maintenance & construction of forestry facilities. Some responsibilities may also be assigned for providing training and assistance or guidance to volunteer fire crews or serving as Single Resource Boss or as the Incident Commander for low complexity wildland fires.
• Level II: This is the career level of this job family where employees are assigned to serve as the Incident Commander in the suppression of moderately complex wildland fires, to serve a leading role while conducting fire prevention activities and for the operation and maintenance of equipment or the construction of facilities. In this role employees have responsibilities to plan an appropriate and safe strategy for suppressing wildfires, ensure the safety of personnel and volunteer fire fighters assigned to the fire and to assign work related to the resources on the fire. Other duties may include serving in a leading role on various fire prevention and facilities/equipment maintenance activities.

Education and Experience:

• Level I: Requirements at this level consist of one year of forestry-related work, or fire prevention and suppression work, or experience operating heavy equipment or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Level II: Requirements at this level consist of completion of training and qualification as a National Wildfire Coordinating Group Type 4 Incident Commander and two years of experience in forestry or wildland fire suppression or completion of an approved, agency directed Forest Technician training program or an equivalent combination of education and experiences.

Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities:

• Level I: Ability is required to manage a single resource such as a bulldozer, wildland engine or fire crew; to troubleshoot equipment malfunctions in the field; to encourage community support of volunteer wildland firefighting organizations; to write reports; and to read and interpret maps; and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Level II: Requirements at this level include knowledge of wildfire suppression principles and techniques; of recordkeeping procedures; of the operation and maintenance of assigned firefighting equipment; of state wildland fire laws and policies; of fire prevention practices; of the principles of fire behavior; of normal building and grounds maintenance; and of incident management techniques. Ability is required to manage a single resource such as a bulldozer, wildland engine or fire crew; to troubleshoot equipment malfunctions in the field; to encourage community support of volunteer wildland firefighting organizations; to write reports; and to read and interpret maps; and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.

Physical Demands and Work Environment: This position works outdoors 90% of the time or in a shop setting. They will work closely with landowners and other natural resources personnel. Field work sometimes occurs in extreme environmental conditions, such as: high/cold temperatures; high winds; smoke; and dust. Subject to call after regular duty hours as needed during fire season. Travel could be up to 75% during extreme fire seasons.

Additional Information: Wildland fire fighting and heavy equipment operation skills are necessary to complete these dangerous tasks. Incumbent must be willing and able to fulfill all job-related travel normally associated with this position. Must be able to pass the Firefighters Work Capacity Test once each year. Incumbent must pass an agency established pre-hire physical examination and must take and pass a drug test prior to appointment, administered through the appointing agency.

Some agencies may have determined positions in this job family to be safety sensitive as defined by 63 O.S. § 427.8.

Equal Opportunity Employment

The State of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of genetic information, race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability.

Current State of Oklahoma employees must apply for open positions through their Workday account. Go to Careers app on WD home screen>Click on ‘Find Jobs-Internal State of Oklahoma’.