Range Conservation Scientist - Land Use Specialist

Overview

Job Description - Range Conservation Scientist 1 - Land Use Specialist )

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's mission is to help ensure that Montana's land and water resources provide benefits for present and future generations.

The DNRC believes employees are their most important asset. The DNRC empowers employees to exercise professional judgment in carrying out their duties. Employees are provided with the training and tools necessary to achieve the mission. Both team effort and individual employee expertise are supported and sustained.

Core Values: The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s Forestry and Trust Land Division recognizes that building a collaborative, professional, and inclusive work environment is critical to fulfilling our mission of managing, protecting, and promoting stewardship of Montana’s forests and lands for the benefit of current and future generations and our trust beneficiaries. We hold ourselves to these high standards as we are accountable to the people of Montana.

• We value and respect each other.
• We create collaborative work environments.
• We build and maintain strong relationships.

We celebrate our successes and take pride in our work.

Work Unit Overview: The unit manages approximately 1.3 million acres of School Trust Lands, including lease administration for grazing and agriculture, forest management, oil and gas permitting, mining, easements, land use licensing, and recreational access. The unit also provides wildfire suppression support for all private and state lands within its boundaries.

Job Overview: The Lewistown Land Use Specialist manages assigned natural resource programs and field activities within the Lewistown Unit. This position involves professional planning, implementation, and evaluation of land use practices aligned with DNRC objectives.

These job functions are the essential duties of the position and are not all-inclusive of all the duties that may be assigned to the incumbent.

Range/Agricultural Management: Coordinates preparation of lease forms; listing of leases up for renewal; requisitions acreage data from county Farm Service Agency (FSA) and county Clerk & Recorder’s offices, soils data from Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) offices and Soil Survey publications; procures aerial and topographical coverage of tracts and delineates state ownership on each.

Conducts field evaluations on expiring state land leases prior to lease renewal which involves detailed analysis of approximately 130 tracts of land per year, providing detailed and comprehensive descriptions of each tract including: classification in regard to its highest and best use, improvements and developments, mineral activity or potential, access availability, recreation potential, cultural sites, determination of the overall resource health and condition, current or potential secondary/special uses, problem areas regarding tract management and unauthorized uses as mandated by the Montana Legislature.

Assesses effectiveness of lessee management and performs comprehensive pasture and rangeland inventories using artistic and scientific principles of Soil and Range Science. Edaphic attributes, physiographic region and average annual precipitation are employed to determine range sites. Species composition by weight is determined by ocular reconnaissance and comparatively evaluated with that of potential for each site to appraise range condition and thereby determine proper stocking rates.

The degree of forage utilization by livestock is also assessed during the survey. Interpolation of data is frequently required as information under consideration may be uncertain and is often ambiguous or distinct.

Evaluates management and crop production for agricultural tracts of Trust Land to ensure that each is farmed to its productive capacity. Identifies limiting biological, physical, and managerial problems or constraints such as noxious and other competitive weed infestations, blights, insect pests, and other types of agricultural pestilence, saline seep, low soil fertility, excessive soil erosion and ineffectual…