Fishery Observer I (Seasonal)

Use Your Powers for Good.

We are looking for individuals who are interested in working directly with fisheries and able to travel to one of four hydroelectric projects run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, or McNary Dams).

Our Story

Four Peaks Environmental Science & Data Solutions, LLC (Four Peaks) is an environmental science and engineering firm helping solve environmental challenges in our rivers, lakes, and oceans. We apply our expertise in data science, aquatic research, water resource management, and regulatory compliance in order to equip our clients with the information they need to make important decisions. Our projects have included work on salmon recovery and Clean Water Act compliance, and we take pride in the positive impact our projects have on our communities.

We work with state and federal agencies on enumerating fish passage at hydroelectric facilities throughout the Northwest. Specifically, we hire fishery observers to quantify fish passage rates throughout the Columbia River Basin, while working on updating fish count databases and promoting more efficient counting solutions in our Fish Count Services team.

The Opportunity

The successful candidate will be someone willing and able to use custom-made software to record fish passage at count stations across the Columbia River. The candidate will work as a fishery observer identifying and counting endangered salmonid species of the region. Work would require travel to the count station at Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, or McNary, federal hydroelectric projects run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Willingness to use desktop computers and digital video recorders (DVRs) is required. Familiarity with identifying Columbia River salmon and steelhead is preferred, but not required. Pay is hourly and counting occurs from April 1 to October 30. Counting occurs either in front of count station windows and is done live, or done from reviewing video, and all counts are entered electronically and delivered the following day.

Must Haves

• Ability to travel to the federal hydroelectric project on a regular basis and work in count stations for 8-hour shifts


• Ability to use simple custom-made computer software


• Ability to perform light arithmetic
  

Nice to Haves

• Ability to identify Columbia River salmon and steelhead


• Experience working at U.S. federal facilities and familiarity with security protocols
  

What We Offer

Four Peaks is committed to positively impacting our local, regional, national, and global communities—those same communities in which we live. We also offer the following benefits for this position:

• $22.63/hour starting compensation (base rate plus hourly health and welfare benefit) * Base rates and health and welfare benefits are subject to change under Federal Wage Determination No. 2004-0287 Rev. 44. Please ask the hiring manager for more details


• Paid federal holidays


• Accrued sick and vacation time
  


• Opportunity for development to additional counting projects and advancement


• Experience working directly in conservation efforts for local endangered species
  

Hiring Process

Qualified applicants will briefly meet, online or in-person, with the Fish Count Services team. Applicants will then be referred to complete on-boarding with Kate Harrington at Partners in Diversity, which includes a background check. Finally, in-person meetings with count supervisors and other fishery observers will be required prior to facility access and is expected to occur in-person at the project location. 

Please send any questions to [email protected].