Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission is recruiting candidates to fill the openings for two Fishery Biologist 1 positions located in Klamath Falls at the USGS Klamath Falls Field Station. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position with an anticipated start date of January 4th, 2027.
Please review the required application materials and the closing disclaimer in the below sections.
PSMFC will not accept resumes or cover letters for any position once the job announcement has been removed from the Careers Page. PSMFC will begin reviewing submitted applications the week of November 16, 2026 and may begin interviewing as soon as the week of November 23, 2026. PSMFC reserves the right to remove a job announcement at any time for any reason or close the position prior to the posted close date once a sufficient number of applicants have been received.
The USGS Klamath Falls Field Station has been tracking individual Lost River and Shortnose suckers — two long-lived, endangered fish species — for more than two decades, and is growing an acoustic telemetry program to understand their movement and survival in real time. We're looking for a self-motivated, hands-on fishery biologist to join a field crew working directly on Upper Klamath Lake and Clear Lake Reservoir, helping catch, tag, and track suckers across both long-term capture-recapture and acoustic telemetry efforts. You'll spend your days on the water, running boats, operating nets and traps, maintaining telemetry receivers, and collecting the data that drives sucker recovery decisions in the Klamath Basin. If you like fieldwork, variety, and being part of a close-knit crew, we'd like to hear from you.
Group Definition: Fishery Biologists use professional knowledge and competence in the science of fishery biology to perform work: (a) developing, conserving, propagating, managing, and administering fishery resources; (b) evaluating the impact of construction projects and other socioeconomic activities that present potential or actual adverse effects on fishery resources and their habitats; and (c) producing and managing aquatic resources in their natural habitat and/or within facilities and systems that have been constructed for their benefit and public use.
Position/Project Specifics: The USGS Klamath Falls Field Station (KFFS) conducts research on rare and imperiled fishes in the Klamath Basin, helping managers make informed decisions about resource use in a sensitive arid ecosystem. The program has tracked long-lived endangered Lost River and Shortnose suckers for decades using PIT tags as part of a long-term capture-recapture effort and is growing an acoustic telemetry program to understand seasonal movement, survival, and habitat use.
This position works as part of a USGS field crew from the Klamath Falls Field Station, operating primarily on Upper Klamath Lake and Clear Lake Reservoir as part of a long-term monitoring program tracking survival and recruitment of adult and juvenile Lost River and Shortnose suckers using PIT tags. This position also maintains PIT tag detection equipment, including PIT antennas and associated field infrastructure, and supports the station's growing acoustic telemetry program, assisting with receiver array maintenance, fish capture for tagging, and telemetry data collection across multiple water bodies. This is a field-based, non-supervisory position.
The field season runs from February through November, generally scheduled as a standard 40-hour work week (a mix of four 10-hour days or five 8-hour days depending on seasonal need). Some winter night fishing is also required to capture adult suckers as they stage for spawning. Most fieldwork is conducted within approximately a 2-hour radius of Klamath Falls.
Knowledge Required by the Position:
Physical Demands: Demands can range from sedentary, to moderate --where there is walking, climbing stairs and ladders, reaching, lifting, and bending, to rigorous. In the latter case, the employee must be able to handle buckets of water or gear weighing up to 50 pounds. Long daily periods of hiking, carrying equipment, swimming, and/or standing may be required. Camping out for extended periods may be required. Some work requires the ability to maintain footing in fast-moving water.
Work Environment: Some work is performed in an office setting with adequate lighting, heating and ventilation. Some work may be performed in fish processing labs, fish holding areas, and/or in the field. Employees may work on narrow, elevated walkways and platforms that are over or adjacent to water. Field work involves exposure to all types of weather, slippery rocks or docks, trails, irregular terrain, insects, poison oak, rough or fast-moving water, or cold water temperatures. Work at high elevations or aboard boats may be required.
PSMFC is an EEO/AAP employer. We maintain a drug free workplace.
Minimum Qualification Requirements:
A range of education and experience may be presented. At the lower end of the range, candidates must present successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major in biological science with at least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects and at least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences. An equivalent combination of experience and education is also qualifying.
At the upper end of the range, candidates must present one year of Specialized Experience** OR a year of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position.
**Specialized Experience is experience that equips the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position being filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.
To work with USGS Data Systems, the Candidate must also meet the below minimum requirements:
Applications that do not include material listed under Requirement A and B will be considered incomplete.
Resume (max 6 pages) that clearly demonstrates relevant education and experience.
Explain your interest in this specific position and how your background and career goals align with the role, the long-term sucker dataset, and the KFFS research program. The cover letter should communicate your interest in contributing to endangered species recovery and informing management decisions, rather than restating your CV.
USGS Klamath Falls
Full-Year Employees working at least 30 hours a week are covered by the Company's Life, LTD and AD&D plan. They are eligible to enroll in medical, dental and vision insurance, as well as short term disability, voluntary Life, LTD and AD&D insurance, flexible spending and deferred compensation. An employee receives up to 120 hours of vacation during their first three years of service. After that, the amount of vacation increases every three years of service up to a maximum of 192 hours per year.
$19.58 - $31.54/hour/DOE
Established in 1947 by consent of Congress, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) is an interstate compact agency that helps resource agencies and the fishing industry sustainably manage our valuable Pacific Ocean resources in a five-state region. Member states include California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. Each represented by three Commissioners.
Mission
As stated by the governing compact, PSMFC's purpose shall be “to promote the better utilization of fisheries – marine, shell, and anadromous, which are of mutual concern, and to develop a joint program of protection and prevention of physical waste of such fisheries in all of those areas of the Pacific Ocean over which the compacting states jointly or separately now have or may hereafter acquire jurisdiction.”
PSMFC's primary goal is to promote and support policies and actions to conserve, develop, and manage our fishery resources in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. We accomplish this through coordinating research activities, monitoring fishing activities, and facilitating a wide variety of projects. We work to collect data and maintain databases on salmon, steelhead, and other marine fish for fishery managers and the fishing industry.
