Job Information
PACIFIC STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION 820 Fisheries Technician 1 – Cowlitz Fish Passage Technician in Randle, Washington
Group Definition: Fisheries Technicians perform duties related to the protection, preservation, propagation, and sampling of fish species and the preservation or enhancement of their habitat. They use knowledge of procedural requirements and processes to support the technical work of their unit. They provide practical technical support to research, operations, or program administration efforts.
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Staffing of the Cowlitz Falls Fish Facility, Mayfield Dam Fish Passage Facility, and the Adult Fish Passage Facility. This position will fill a 5-day, 8-hour workweek that begins on Friday and ends on Tuesday. The incumbent may occasionally be asked to work outside of this schedule. This position has the potential to be extended, pending operational needs.
Locations: The Cowlitz Falls Fish Facility at Cowlitz Falls Dam in Randle, Washington; Mayfield Dam Fish Passage Facility at Mayfield Dam in Silver Creek, Washington; and the Adult Separation Facility at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery in Salkum, Washington.
Duties: This exciting position will provide a valuable opportunity to assist with both upstream and downstream fish passage on the Cowlitz River. Are you looking to gain or improve your experience handling juvenile and adult salmonids? Would you like to learn more about fish passage projects at hydroelectric facilities? If you answered yes, you are encouraged to apply for this position!
Work will take place at Tacoma Power fish facilities and is part of a cooperative project with Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC), who employs the incumbents, and Tacoma Power, who supervises the employees. Incumbents must be able to work days, including weekends, in inclement weather, exposed to noise, water and heights (in and outside of the facility) and must follow all safety rules.
The Cowlitz Falls Fish Facility is a key component of the program to re-establish anadromous populations of spring Chinook, Coho and Steelhead in the upper Cowlitz River watershed. Smolts collected at the facility are transported to the lower Cowlitz River and released to continue their oceanward migration. Typical job duties include daily fish workup, assisting with collection of biological information on a subset of fish, transporting fish throughout the basin, and participating in various studies designed to assess and improve fish passage.
The Mayfield Dam Juvenile Fish Passage Facility is a juvenile bypass system where salmonids are captured, enumerated, and coded-wire-tagged as they migrate out of the Tilton River basin. In the spring and early summer, outmigrant numbers increase significantly and additional help is needed to tag the fish safely and efficiently as they move out of the Tilton River system and into the lower Cowlitz River.
The Adult Separation Facility is part of a trap and haul program where adult salmonids are enumerated and checked for species, sex, marks, and tags, and distributed to either broodstock for hatchery needs or transported around the dams to spawn naturally. The progeny of the naturally spawned populations are subsequently collected at the Cowlitz Falls and Mayfield sites.
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