Wildlife Biologist III

Job Responsibilities

This employee will coordinate and oversee a variety of projects, requiring environmental review for the agency involving impacts associated with impacts to waters of the United States and the state protected species, while providing leadership, advice and guidance on matters related to alterations of natural systems predominantly in the inland or freshwater areas of the state.

Job Duties Include

• Coordinating and preparing detailed review of permits, environmental assessments, environmental impact statements and the associated mitigation plans for impacts to waters of the United States and/or other natural resources for submission to the appropriate regulatory agency in a timely manner, meeting deadlines.
• Representing the agency with emphasis on the Interagency Review Team facilitating the development of stream and wetland mitigation banks or in-lieu fee programs.
• Reviewing mitigation documents including Prospectuses, Mitigation Banking Instruments, Post-Construction/Monitoring Reports and other guidance needed for streamlining the process of development.
• Attending and actively providing comments and feedback in the Interagency Review Team site visits.
• Learning and continuing to engage in the assessment of wetland hydrology and stream geomorphology through workshops, webinars, courses and conferences.
• Keeping abreast of all federal, state and local environmental programs, regulations, policies and procedures, and maintaining technical competency relevant to the agency's environmental review process. This includes participation in DNR meetings for information such as the Fisheries or Wildlife Biologist Meetings, the MRD Conference, monthly WFF staff meetings.
• Conducting necessary investigations and research to provide a sound scientific basis for making recommendations on projects under environmental review.
  
  

Minimum And Additional Requirements

A master's degree in biology, chemistry or wildlife management and two (2) years of experience in fish, wildlife or marine management or research programs; or a bachelor's degree in biology, chemistry, wildlife management or related technical area and four (4) years of experience in fish, wildlife or marine management or research programs.

Preferred Qualifications

A master's degree in biology, chemistry, wildlife management, natural or physical sciences, and two (2) years of experience in environmental evaluation programs; or a bachelor's degree in biology, chemistry, wildlife management, natural or physical sciences and four (4) years experience in environmental evaluation programs.

This employee should have a thorough understanding of: 1) ecological principles and fish/wildlife biology as applied to impact assessments and protected species' habitat requirements; 2) potential ecological responses to habitat as a result of physical alterations of the landscape; 3) human natural resource recreation needs; 4) regulatory processes and environmental laws and regulations in South Carolina involving the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Mitigation Rule and the Charleston District Guidelines for Compensatory Mitigation, SC Mining Act, SC Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act; State Navigable Waters; 5) hydrology, wetlands and fluvial processes; 6) current field sampling techniques, data analysis and environmental study design; In addition the employee must have the ability to use: 1) Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.); 2) LIDAR and ArcGIS; 3) effective oral and written communication skills in order to present technical information to peers and supervisors and regulators; The employee should be efficient and well-organized.