The Avian Biologist will be responsible for assisting Audubon’s Associate Director of Freshwater Conservation, other Audubon staff and Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) staff in field and office activities associated with conservation and monitoring of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (SWFL) and their habitat in New Mexico. This is a full-time position providing field, analytic and outreach support for NRCS Farm Bill Programs associated withSouthwestern Willow Flycatcher habitat projects in New Mexico (e.g. Working Lands for Wildlife, Environmental Quality Incentive Programs, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program). In coordination with NRCS staff, the Avian Biologist will work to restore SWFL habitat on private and public lands by identifying potential projects, developing restoration plans and enrolling landowners in Farm Bill programs. The Avian Biologist will also work to ensure the effectiveness of SWFL conservation efforts by collecting and analyzing bird habitat data that can be used to inform future project delivery.
- Identify potential Farm Bill SWFL projects in NM and assist NRCS with implementation.
- Provide outreach and education to potential Farm Bill program participants and improve program delivery by providing specialized technical guidance for SWFL projects.
- Gather, document, and compile an inventory of relevant information for informing best management practices and geographically focused management plans for SWFL conservation in New Mexico.
- Work with NRCS staff to develop a set of general best management practices (BMPs) for SWFL and riparian habitat projects associated with irrigation districts in New Mexico.
- Implement a variety of bird monitoring techniques including point and transect counts, nest searching, mist-netting, and radio telemetry and input bird data into databases.
- Analyze data and report conclusions to advance Audubon New Mexico’s and NRCS’s conservation priorities.
- In collaboration with the Associate Director of Freshwater Conservation and others, lead and assist in the writing of technical reports and scientific manuscripts.
- Cultivate and maintain productive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders including other Audubon offices and chapters, state and federal agencies, other non-governmental organizations, and community and government leaders.
- Computer skills including GIS (ESRI products) and Excel required. Database and statistical programming skills desired.
- Experience with working with private landowners on conservation projects.
- Experience with working with government conservation programs. Experience with NRCS Farm Bill Programs desired.
- 1-3 years of applied field experience is required; understanding and respect of the scientific method is paramount.
- Knowledge in the identification and ecology of a variety of songbirds, waterbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and marsh birds, as well as proven experience using statistical techniques for analyzing bird data (e.g., distance sampling, capture-mark-recapture, other demographic modeling approaches, spatial and movement analyses, etc.).
- Experience and working knowledge of New Mexico’s diversity of habitats, especially riparian and wetland habitats.
- Excellent work ethic, a team-focused attitude, and the ability to work well independently in the field.
- Willingness to work long hours in field settings. Ability to walk long distances (at least two miles) while carrying field equipment (e.g., tripod and spotting scope) and/or other materials. Ability to lift and carry over short distances at least 40 pounds, with or without accommodation.
- Regularly travel within the state of the New Mexico to field sites, often for several days at a time. Some work on weekends is necessary.