Chronic Wasting Disease Technician

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is working with Westaff to recruit several Wildlife Field Technicians across the state of Montana!!

Term: October 15th – December 6th

Schedule: 40 hrs/week, hours and days vary depending on location, all weekends required for many locations

Pay: $20.11/hr

Duties of a Chronic Wasting Disease Technician:

• Work at a CWD sampling station to collect biological samples from hunter-harvested and road-killed animals to assist with surveillance and monitoring efforts
• Record accurate field data
• Label and maintain accountability for all samples
• Enter sample data into a database
• Organize and package samples
• Submitting samples in a timely manner to the appropriate testing facility
• Sanitize sampling tools after each test
• Assemble CWD sampling kits
• Maintain accountability and inventories of equipment and check station supplies
• Make trips to regional dumps to dispose of deer carcass parts as needed
• Assist with the distribution of CWD-related educational materials to various groups/locations
• Assist with educational outreach with hunters and members of the public
• Perform other duties as needed

Qualifications:

• Experience with accurately collecting samples, labeling data, and data entry
• Ability to be comfortable around unpleasant smells and dead animal carcasses
• Ability to be outside for the majority of the day in inclement weather
• Ability to work in rural areas
• Some travel required
• Ability to effectively communicate and work with others
• Ability to lift heavy objects (50+ lbs)
• Must have ability to coordinate/pay for lodging for the entirety of the assignment

Benefits:

• Weekly pay!
• Benefits offered
• Amazing state opportunity

Special Information:

• Work will involve field, laboratory, and office activities that require adaptations and re-organization of work schedules, travel, and lifting heavy objects.
• The work schedule may be variable from week to week, at times demanding long hours (e.g. 10-12 hour shifts), extensive travel to and from check station locations often in poor weather conditions, and up to 10% overnight travel.
• Work areas and dutiesinclude hazards and require a commitment to exercise caution and follow rigorous protocols to ensure safety.
• Exposure to potentially harmful biological and chemical agents and offensive sights and smells are routine.
• Occasional exposure to outdoor hazards such as severe weather, work along roadways, and heavy lifting of dead animals is expected.
• The CWD Technician will be expected to communicate with a wide variety of individuals including the Regional CWD coordinator, sportsmen/women, taxidermists, processors, landowners, professional biologists, wardens, personnel from other state and federal agencies and professional scientists from laboratories conducting testing procedures for the Wildlife Health Program.
• The technician must be knowledgeable about CWD and the agency’s plan for surveillance and management and be able to effectively communicate with FWP staff and the public.
• The frequency of contact varies but some type of public engagement will be required on a daily basis.

Day in the life of a Chronic Wasting Disease Technician: A chronic wasting disease technician for the state of Montana is responsible for collecting and submitting CWD samples collected from harvested deer, elk, and moose during the general hunting season. Most technicians will be working on the weekends at one of our field sampling stations. At the beginning of each workday the technician will go to their assigned sampling station location and open it up for the day. This is usually some designated time early in the morning and the station stays open and ready for sampling until around sunset each day. The station opening involves setting up equipment for the day, opening signs, prepping for the cleaning of used sampling equipment and setting up a trash can. During the day the technician either working on their own, with a partner or alongside other FWP staff will be available to sample any suitable harvested animal that is brought in by the public.

For each animal, the technician will fill out a field survey on an iPad to collect harvest information from the hunter. The technician will then extract the retropharyngeal lymph nodes from the head of the animal, a tooth and muscle tissue sample from each animal, putting the samples in that animal’s designated sampling kit. The technician will give the hunter a card from the sampling kit that will provide them with information on how to look up their test result. Technicians will also have to clean and disinfect all equipment that was used to collect the sample, after each animal is tested. Samples will need to be organized and stored in a cooler or freezer. Technicians will also be trained to understand chronic wasting disease and answer questions about CWD that hunters might ask. If working at a field sampling station, the technician will have to drive their collected samples to their supervisor each week and help prepare samples  for shipment to the testing lab. At which time, they will also pick up any additional supplies they need for the following week.

*Please check our website to see which locations are still available or call/text us at 406-443-7169*

Apply today for IMMEDIATE consideration for our Wildlife Field Technician positions!

Military & Veterans encouraged to apply