Conservation Coordinator

Position Summary:

The Conservation Coordinator will assist and support in the design and implementation of fish and wildlife regulations throughout the Quapaw Nation Jurisdictional Area. This position will initially focus on coordinating collaborative efforts to increase wildlife and forest resilience across tribal lands and toward accelerating natural habitat restoration of Quapaw Nation tribal lands. The Conservation Coordinator will be instrumental in the strategies for expanding and protecting fish and wildlife species and their habitat including the improvement of codes.

Essential Job Functions:

• Development of the Quapaw Fish and Wildlife Conservation Plan. The Plan will take approximately 12 months to create and be adopted by the Tribal Business Committee. The Conservation Plan will expand on the Tribes Land Use Plan for the Tribes Reservation. It will be a generalized long-term guide for the Conservation Department to use to determine site appropriate conservation design criteria for all natural areas within the tribal reservation. It will also provide reasonable enforcement strategies for expanding and protecting fish and wildlife species and their habitat including the improvement of codes already being developed due to the Lawhorn and McGirt decisions.
• Development of management recommendations to enhance populations of species of greatest conservation need through improved habitat conditions or enhanced juvenile recruitment and conduct field studies to establish baseline population data/information.
• The Conservation Coordinator will be required to meet with and involve all the directors and other heads of related tribal departments and businesses. The meetings will familiarize the Conservation Coordinator with the daily operations and long-term goals of each tribal department and business that will directly affect the conservation efforts.
• The Conservation Coordinator will also ensure the other key staff have a clear understanding of how the strategies should be used for long-term implementation of the Plan.
• The development and adoption of policies and procedures will use the general guidelines of the Conservation Plan to improve regulations and enforcement criteria after adopting the Plan.
• Other potential policies and procedures will include the revision and improvement of enforceable hunting and fishing regulations. Potential new regulations will also allow the Tribe to improve the quality of recreational opportunities with proper conservation planning.
• The Tribes new Conservation Department and grant writers will also be able to assist the Environmental and Realty Departments with finding the resources to restore the land they are remediating in the Tar Creek area.
• Identifying fish and wildlife priorities through its planning process and establish a written management and recovery plan that doesnt officially exist yet. Processes to better document and track commonly known priorities (such as building up the bison herd, improving water conditions and wetland areas for fish, improving the diversity of birds and the restoration and appropriate reuse of the Tar Creek area) will also be established through the project.
• All other duties as assigned.

Non-essential Job Functions:

• May attend professional meetings and pertinent workshops and serve on organization-wide and professional committees.
• Some travel to various out-of-town meetings and/or training courses may be required.
• Perform simple equipment maintenance.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Must have a valid drivers license and be able to meet the minimum insurance requirements of the Quapaw Nations Motor Vehicle Policy.
• Ability to keep confidential records and perform routine tasks.
• Possess tact and courtesy, as well as sound judgment, have strong ability to work in a team environment, and display attention to detail.
• Knowledge of and ability to use a wide range of forestry methods, techniques, and precedents.
• Skills and judgment in applying a wide range of conventional approaches and solutions to unique situations.
• Ability to effectively communicate technical information, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to meet strict deadlines and project/grant deliverables.
• Ability to conduct spatial analysis of environmental information and trends.

Education & Experience:

Bachelors of Science in degree in Forestry, Environmental, Natural Resources or related field. Five (5) years of related experience or work in Environmental or Natural Resources activities.

Physical Abilities:

The incumbent must be able to sit or stand for prolonged periods of time and regularly reach above the shoulders; must be able to squat, push, pull, and lift up to and including 50 pounds without experiencing physical discomfort or pain. Excellent eyesight with or without vision correction is mandatory. Must be able to travel occasionally for attendance of seminars, lectures, etc.

Working Conditions:

Most work is conducted in an office environment; but a significant amount of time will be spent in the field at data collection and environmental sites. Fieldwork is performed outside so exposure to all types of weather conditions, including extreme heat and cold, is common.