Deer Capture Technician

This position will assist a graduate student in studying the transmission dynamics of various diseases in both mule deer and whitetail deer in northern Colorado. The individual will assist in capturing deer via clover traps, drop nets, and darting. The individual will be responsible for the collection and processing of biological samples, ear tags, collar placement, and other aspects of capture workups. This study has a large recapture component; thus, the individual must have extensive experience locating and darting collared deer.The individual will also be responsible for other tasks, including landowner relations, trap and equipment maintenance, supplies management, volunteer coordination and supervision, mortality investigation/collar retrieval. The individual will be organized, meticulous, and confident working alone and in groups.

Work hours can be irregular and vary by season. During winter and early spring, the individual will be responsible for checking traps for deer in the morning daily. The individual will also dart and drop net deer depending on trap success and deer movement. In late spring and summer, trapping will discontinue due to heat exhaustion for deer, and does will not be captured due to fawning. Thus, the individual will focus on capturing and recapturing bucks in early mornings and cool evenings. Summer will be slowest and capture efforts will be lowest and mortalities likely highest. During this period, the individual will spend more time on trap maintenance, gaining access to new properties, planning for next captures, mortalities, and other tasks. There may be a chance to assist other grad students with other projects. In fall, the individual will focus again on capturing and recapturing both bucks and does. The individual will not work more than an average of 40 hours/week, although workloads will be higher in winter and lower in the summer.

Requirements:

• BS/BA in Natural Resources or a related field and 2+ years of wildlife experience
• Ability to work independently and part of a team.
• Ability to frequently lift heavy objects (50+ lbs.) and navigate difficult terrain in extreme weather.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license.
• Experience driving 4×4 vehicles in varying weather conditions, including snow and ice.
• Experience handling wild deer in field settings.
• Experience in capturing and handling mule and whitetail deer, including the use of ground darting and clover traps.
• Extensive animal capture experience using dart guns.
• Experience locating animals via vhf telemetry receiver and antenna