Watershed Forester

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enriches the environment and protects public health for all New Yorkers by providing 1.1 billion gallons of high quality drinking water, managing wastewater and stormwater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. DEP is the largest combined municipal water and wastewater utility in the country, with nearly 6,000 employees. DEP’s water supply system is comprised of 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes throughout the system’s 2,000 square mile watershed that extends 125 miles north and west of the City.

The Bureau of Water Supply seeks to hire an Associate Project Manager I for a position with the Forestry Program, Natural Resources Division, Source Water Protection Directorate, located in Carmel, New York.

The Forestry Program is tasked with managing City-owned watershed forests to maintain and enhance water quality protection. Forest management work is based on the NYC Watershed Forest Management Plan that documents the extent and characteristics of the City’s forest land and establishes goals for the forest over the long term to best protect water quality. DEP foresters evaluate City-owned forest land, develop long-term strategies and management plans, and design and oversee implementation of forest management projects to achieve plan objectives.

Under general supervision, of the East of Hudson Regional Forester, the Associate Project Manager I will serve as Watershed Forester and will be responsible for designing, planning, coordinating and directing the implementation of wholistic forest restoration projects and contracts including multiple components (such as invasive species control, planting forest vegetation, commercial timber harvesting, forest stand improvement, thinning operations, and deer exclusion) in compliance with the goals, milestones and requirements of the City’s Filtration Avoidance Determination, the 1997 NYC Watershed Memorandum of Agreement, and the City’s 2010 Water Supply Permit.

Specific duties include:

• Designing and developing forest management and restoration projects in accordance with the NYC Watershed Forest Management Plan and directly oversee implementation through a variety of mechanisms including contracts, use of DEP staff, partnerships, inter-governmental agreements or any other approved method.
• Performing forest planning work, including development of forest compartment plans, design and collection of forest inventory and other forest assessments, analysis and interpretation of data from multiple sources, and incorporation of stakeholder input.
• Directly evaluating the condition of City-owned forest land in assigned region by collecting, analyzing, and compiling information through on-site inspection and from available remotely-sensed data, orthophotography, or other relevant data sets.
• Overseeing contractor performance for adherence to approved forest project plans, quality of work, water quality protection goals, and health and safety compliance.
• Developing regulatory submissions and secure internal and external approval, as appropriate, to ensure compliance and timely delivery of projects.
• Reviewing and processing invoices, contractor approvals, and vendor insurance for City-funded contracts.
• Acting as a subject matter expert to the Bureau and Agency on forest-related questions and issues.
• Preparing and submitting written reports pursuant to specific deliverables and requirements of the Filtration Avoidance Determination.
• Communicating and collaborating with local watershed stakeholders, program partners, and Federal/State agencies to support program goals.
• Supporting other programs within the Directorate and Bureau on projects that require forest and tree knowledge and expertise, including reviewing construction projects for tree- and forest-related impacts and assisting with research on City-owned land.
• Representing the Forestry Program to advisory boards, coalitions, associations, public meetings, workshops, or tour groups.

(This is a brief description of what you might do in this position and does not include all the duties of this position.)

Physical Effort/Work Environment:
Some of the physical activities performed by Associate Project Managers and environmental conditions experienced are: walking to and from inspection sites and during the course of inspections; climbing and descending ladders or stairs to get to areas to be inspected, including exposed heights and confined spaces; standing for extended periods of time; distinguishing colors; bending, stretching, and stooping during inspections; communicating orally; climbing over and around various objects; walking in areas that may be damp, moldy, dark, dusty, smoky, vermin infested, noisy, acrid, or containing fumes, emissions, extreme heat and cold, lead dust, asbestos, or other potentially hazardous material; and working outdoors in all kinds of weather.

Special Working Conditions:
Associate Project Managers may be required to work shifts including nights, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

Preferred Skills:

• Abilility to obtain and maintain a Driver’s license valid in the State of New York.
• Ability to travel to meetings, work facilities, and field locations throughout the 2,000 square mile upstate watershed (both east and west of the Hudson River) and in New York City, using a DEP vehicle.
• Knowledge and proficient use of Microsoft Office products such as Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Knowledge and proficient use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and workplace collaboration applications.
• Strong computer skills.
• Experience with GPS software, hardware, data collection, and processing. Experience with ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) ArcGIS Pro software.
• Knowledge of ecology, mensuration, silviculture, stand dynamics, and dendrology of northeastern US forests.
• Knowledge of invasive species ecology, biology, and control.
• Ability to synthesize information about forest condition at multiple scales from disparate sources to determine the best forest restoration and/or silvicultural options at the stand, basin and landscape scales to achieve NYC Watershed Forest Management Plan objectives.
• Ability to design statistically-valid forest inventories and to accurately collect forest inventory data.
• Ability to use statistical analysis to process forest inventory data to generate meaningful insights into forest condition.
• Ability to identify northeast US native, invasive and common escaped ornamental tree, shrub and herbaceous species in field conditions year-round.
• Ability to navigate effectively off trail in forested conditions using only a map and compass with no available GPS signal.
• Ability to use a GPS unit to navigate and collect data, and to download data for use in GIS.
• Ability to work alone outdoors in harsh environmental conditions, including extreme temperatures and precipitation, over rough terrain in remote locations, sometimes with limited means of communication.
• Ability to carry up to 30 lbs. while navigating in forested conditions over rough and uneven terrain.
• Ability to use a chainsaw, brush saw, string trimmer, loppers, hand pruners, paint gun, hammer, hatchet, shovel, and other similar hand tools.
• Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written expressions, to prepare and use charts, graphs, and tables, to communicate technical forestry concepts to non-technical audiences, and to use independent judgment.

Hours and Shift:
35 Hours per week. May be required to work shifts including nights, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

Work Location:
1286 US 6
Carmel, NY 10512
Carmel is a town in Putnam County, New York approximately 60 miles north of New York City.