Job Description

Forest Ranger

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) is seeking a full time Forest Ranger I in the Forestry Division. This position (PIN #04000 193) is in state government, located in Colcord, 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 hourly pay for this position is up to $19.41 based on education and experience. This position is considered a hazardous duty position that will include an additional hazard pay of $4,000.00 per year for a total annual pay of $44,327.80.

Position Description: This position is assigned responsibilities in the suppression and mitigation of wildfires and in the operation and maintenance of firefighting equipment to support work related to the delivery of the Division's cooperative forestry programs. This is an arduous-duty position fighting wildfires statewide in adverse terrain under conditions that can be hazardous to personal safety and may require extended periods away from the assigned home unit.

Selected candidate must reside with a 15-mile radius of designated hiring points:

Junctions of Hwy 10 and 116, west of Colcord, OK

Typical Functions:

• Engages in initial attack and extended attack wildland fire suppression, prescribed burning operations and fuels mitigation activities; provides fire suppression, prescribed burning and mitigation assistance to employees, partner agencies, volunteers, and other assisting fire crews.
• Utilizes 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 files of fire perimeters.
• Prepares and submits Forestry Division wildland fire and prescribed fire activity reports for state and national fire reporting systems; collects 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.
• Apply 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 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: 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.

Education and Experience: Requirements at this level consist of a high school diploma or GED and one year of farm equipment or heavy equipment operation, or forestry-related work, or fire prevention and suppression work or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities: Requirements at this level include knowledge of the operation and maintenance of heavy equipment; reading and interpreting maps; facilities repair and maintenance; and basic recordkeeping procedures. Ability to assist with presenting fire prevention and education programs; to learn basic Geographical Information System (GIS) skills for fire reporting; to manage a single resource such as a bulldozer, engine, or crew; to write reports and emails; to prevent, mitigate and suppress wildfires; and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.

Physical Demands and Work Environment: This position works outdoors 90% of the time occasionally working in a shop setting. This position will be working closely with landowners and other natural resources personnel. Field work can be in extreme environmental conditions, such as hot/cold temperatures; high winds; smoke; and dust; this position will be on call, after regular duty hours as needed, especially during fire season requiring travel up to 75% of the time.

Additional Information:

Must be able to pass an agency physical and drug test prior to hiring.

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

Must be able to pass the Arduous Level of the Wildland Firefighters "Work Capacity Test" each year.

Must possess a valid driver's license at time of employment and maintain throughout employment.

Must currently possess or obtain Class A CDL within 6 months of employment and maintain throughout employment.

This position is subject to a twelve-month probationary period.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry has determined that some positions in this job family are safety sensitive as defined by 63 O.S. § 427.8.

Reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities may be provided upon request.

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.

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