FOREST RESOURCE PROTECTION SPECIALIST

BASIC PURPOSE:

Positions in this job family are assigned responsibilities in the prevention and suppression of wildfires and in the performance of technical forest management work related to the delivery of the division’s cooperative forestry programs.

TYPICAL FUNCTIONS:

The functions within this job family will vary by level, but may include the following:
•    Participates in forest fire suppression operations and activities; provides training, and assistance to employees, partner agencies, volunteer, and other assisting fire crews.
•    Supervises or participates in the construction and maintenance of forestry 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 and minor repairs to assigned equipment.
•    Presents fire prevention information and education programs for schools, groups and the general public; participates in organizing and training rural fire departments.
•    Inventories private forestry lands by measuring and recording forest data, such as tree species, volume of merchantable timber, topographical features and tree seeding mortality; assists foresters in the development of forest management plans for landowners; distributes fire prevention and forest management information to landowners.
•    Assists landowners in technical aspects of tree planting operations; performs follow-up inspections to determine if proper planting techniques were used and evaluate tree survival and mortality rates; gathers tree seeds from superior stock for use in planting operations.
•    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.
•    Develops fire response plans and dispatches fire suppression resources during periods of fire occurrence.
•    Maintains inventory records in an assigned area.

LEVEL DESCRIPTORS:

This job family consists of four levels which are distinguished based on the complexity of assigned duties, the level of expertise required to complete assigned work, and the responsibility assigned for providing leadership to others.

Level I:                    Code:  L23A            Salary Band:  G

This is the basic level of this job family where employees are assigned responsibilities, which primarily involve participating in the prevention and suppression of forest fires, the operation and maintenance of fire fighting equipment, and the construction of forestry roads and 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 forest fires.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required at this level include knowledge of wildfire suppression principles and techniques; of record keeping procedures; of the operation and maintenance of assigned fire-fighting equipment; and of state forest fire laws and policies.  Ability is required to manage a single resource such as a bulldozer, wildland engine or fire crews; to trouble-shoot equipment malfunctions in the field; to encourage community support of volunteer forest fire fighting organizations; to write reports; and to read and interpret maps; and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.

Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of one year of forestry-related work or experience operating logging, earth-moving or farm equipment or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Level II:                Code:  L23B            Salary Band:  H

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 forest 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.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required at this level include those identified in Level I plus knowledge of basic road construction techniques, of normal building and grounds maintenance, and of incident command techniques.  

Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of required training as a National Wildland Coordinating Group Type 4 Incident Commander and two years of experience in forestry or in operating logging, earth-moving or farm equipment or completion of an approved, agency directed Forest Technician training program or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Level III:                Code:  L23C            Salary Band:  I

This is the specialist level of this job family where employees are assigned to perform technical forestry work on state-owned lands and lands of cooperating private landowners. Employees are expected to conduct standing tree inventories, calculate volumes, mark standing timber, locate property lines, distinguish and map timber types, diagnose common insect and disease problems, conduct seedling survival surveys and perform other technical forestry work as assigned. Employees at this level will also be assigned as Incident Commander for complex forest fires managing multiple resources, strike teams and/or task forces in the suppression of forest fires. Other responsibilities include providing supervision to other employees, volunteer fire fighters, and others in various fire prevention activities.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required at this level include those identified in Level II plus knowledge of technical forestry principles, practices, and terminology related to timber management, wildlife habitat management, forestry best management practices and mapping; of business mathematics. Ability is required to use forest management tools.

Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of those identified in Level II plus an Associate’s degree in forest technology, forestry or forest management; or completion of three courses in forestry at the college level and required training as a National Wildland Coordinating Group Type 4 Incident Commander and two years of experience in forestry or in operating logging, earth-moving or farm equipment; or completion of an approved, agency directed Forest Technician training program; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Level IV:                Code: L23D            Salary Band: J

This is the leadership level of this job family where employees are assigned responsibilities for planning, organizing and directing fire prevention and suppression or related work in an assigned district. In this role they will be responsible for assisting in planning and directing division activities to meet assigned goals and objectives for the district, organizing and directing rural volunteer fire departments, supervising and inspecting various district projects and operations, assisting in the preparation and administration of the district budget, developing fire response plans and procedures, dispatching fire suppression resources during periods of fire occurrence, coordinating operation of the communication system within the assigned area of responsibility, preparing building plans and material lists for new construction and maintenance projects, conducting inventories of supplies, materials, automotive, and fire fighting equipment and other accountable property, and coordinating the control of fire protection personnel during fire occurrence.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required at this level include those identified in Level III plus knowledge of budget preparation; of administration procedures; of communications and supply systems; of two-way mobile radio communications; of the methods of maintaining buildings, structures, machinery, tools, and equipment; and of the principles of training. Ability is required to conduct forestry employee training programs; develop community support for forest fire prevention; to operate a radio communications system; and to operate computer applications including geographic information systems (GIS).

Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of those identified in Level III and one additional year of experience in forestry, wildlife or soil conservation programs.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must be willing and able to fulfill all job-related travel normally associated with this position.

Applicants must pass an agency established prehire physical examination and must take and pass a drug test prior to appointment, administered through the appointing agency.

Applicants for level I, II, and III must be willing and able to report to the designated reporting/work site to which the employee is assigned within fifteen minutes of notification.

Some positions may require possession of a valid Oklahoma commercial driver’s license, Class A or B, with appropriate endorsements referenced in United States Department of Transportation Title 47, Chapter 5, Section 101 et seq., at the time of appointment.  Persons appointed to such positions in the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture must obtain a class A commercial driver’s license no later than five months after the date of appointment.  Employees subject to this requirement will be subject to random drug testing administered by the appointing authority.