Careers in Wildlife Biology

Career Information for a Wildlife Biologist

Do you enjoy working outdoors? Do you want to be part of a team that makes a difference? Do you have a desire to care for and manage our Nation's precious wildlife resources and their habitats? If so, a career as a wildlife biologist in the Forest Service may be just what you're looking for!

The Work Environment

Forest Service biologists work in all types of environments - offices and mountains, deserts and wetlands, forests and prairies--we have it all. As a wildlife biologist, you will work alongside other resource professionals managing the 191 million acres of national forests and grasslands. These lands provide important habitat to more than 3000 species of wildlife, including deer, songbirds, wolves, and salamanders. More than 80 percent of all elk, bighorn sheep, and mountain goat habitat in the Nation is found on national forests and grasslands, as well as nearly 12 million acres of wetlands and waterfowl habitat and homes for more than 200 threatened and endangered species. You will also work in the most scenic places in the Nation--places set aside and managed not just for their natural resources, but also for their natural splendor.

Operating on the Job

Your main responsibility as a Forest Service wildlife biologist will be wildlife habitat--managing, protecting, rehabilitating, and enhancing it. Working on a team with recreation, range, minerals, rare plants, engineering, and timber management specialists to plan national forest management is an exciting and important part of the position. The duties of individual wildlife biologists are varied and can include such projects as building waterfowl nesting islands, cutting willow for moose browse, prescribed burning for deer and turkey, and more! You will work with sophisticated equipment and technology. As a wildlife biologist, you will provide the technical expertise to conserve the biological diversity of national forests and grasslands and work to protect and recover endangered species. You will also work with the public and forest users who hunt, fish, birdwatch, and vacation on national forests and grasslands.

Forest Service wildlife biologists often work as partners with state wildlife agencies, conservation organizations, and special interest groups to manage wildlife habitat and populations. Good interpersonal skills and a working knowledge of economics and social and political trends are desirable. Good technical, biological, quantitative, and communications skills are a must.

Being a wildlife biologist is challenging and the job is not only varied but also stimulating, important, and satisfying. The Forest Service provides its employees with the training and a wide variety of job experiences they need to do their jobs well.

Career Paths and Requirements

Wildlife biologists are hired at many different grade levels. Recent college graduates may be hired at the GS-5 or GS-7 grade level. They spend up to 2 years in training and developmental positions, and then may be noncompetitively promoted to the GS-9 grade level. You may also be hired initially for higher grade level positions if you meet higher education and/or experience requirements. Promotion opportunities at GS-11 and above are competitive, but opportunities are good; about 35 percent of wildlife biologists are at the GS- 11 grade level and an additional 23 percent are at higher grades.

Basic Qualifications for Non-research positions:

• Requires a bachelor’s degree in biological science that includes at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects (mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research courses in the field of wildlife biology); and at least 12 semester hours in zoology (general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology, parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects); and at least 9 semester hours in botany or related plant sciences.
• Excess courses in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where appropriate.
• For the 0486, a bachelor’s degree will qualify a person to start at a GS05.
• A person may also qualify to start at a GS-07 with at least 1 year of related graduate education—natural resources management, Series Description and Basic Qualifications conservation, environmental management or environmental management or environmental policy, etc. Most of the specific qualifications are met with an appropriate undergraduate degree.
• Challenge to consider: Many general biology majors apply to the 0486, often lacking wildlife and plants credit.

Basic Qualifications for Research positions:

• Requires a bachelor’s degree with major in wildlife biology, zoology, or botany that included at least 30 semester hours of course work in biological science and 15 semester hours in the physical, mathematical, and earth sciences. This course work must have included:
  • At least 9 semester hours of training applicable to wildlife biology in such subjects as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, principles of population dynamics, or related course work in the field of wildlife biology; and
  • At least 12 semester hours in zoological subjects such as invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy of the vertebrates, embryology, animal physiology, entomology, herpetology, parasitology, and genetics; and
  • At least 9 semester hours in the field of botany and related plant science; and
  • At least 15 semester hours of training in any combination of two or more of the following: chemistry, physics, mathematics, statistics, soils, and/or geology
• Office of Personnel Management Qualifications for Series 486