Job Detail

Transmission Sustainability Forester

Location: Seattle, WA
Salary: $42-$63/hr

Position Description

Seattle City Light, a department of the City of Seattle, is one of the nation’s largest municipally owned utilities in terms of the number of customers served, and is a recognized national leader in energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. 
 
City Light’s Transmission Rights of Way (TROW) span urban, suburban and rural landscapes as well as remote protected watersheds. Historically, TROW maintenance practices have focused on removing incompatible vegetation, maintaining access on/off the ROW, and corridor infrastructure maintenance. Modern TROW maint. objectives expand that focus to promoting compatible plant communities, providing/improving quality habitat, engaging external stakeholders in mgmt. opportunities, and addressing factors which contribute to the expanding threats from wildfire, invasive species, established and emerging pathogens and other impacts of global climate change.  
 
As stewards of these public assets, Seattle City Light has a duty to manage the TROW to the greatest public good. This duty has grown more complex as the challenges, opportunities and understanding of our maintenance activities’ impacts have evolved and expanded. This position will play a key role in implementing a paradigm shift in how the TROW is managed, broadening the narrowly focused operational perspective into a more holistic, inclusive, and ecologically sustainable one.  
 
In keeping with this shift, the position will also support City Light’s Natural Resources and Hydro Licensing Division in implementing the measures in City Light’s hydro project licenses which relate to the TROWs. These multi-decadal operating licenses are issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and developed in negotiations with other federal agencies, state agencies, tribes and local community stakeholders.

Job Responsibilities

This position will report to the Manager of the Powerline Clearance and Landscapes (PLC&L) Organization Unit, which is comprised of TROW Management, Distribution Power Line Clearance, Landscapes and Substation Maintenance and Urban Forestry groups. This position’s purview overlaps with all four groups to some degree, most directly with the TROW Management and Urban Forestry. While the position carries no formal supervisory responsibilities, it will be responsible for collaborating with and guiding the TROW Maint. and UF staff and contractors in scoping, planning and supporting the implementation of best management practices.

Objectives for the position include:
 

• Guide implementation of Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) practices on the TROW to promote compatible plant communities which suppress incompatible species, improve habitat conditions for native plants and wildlife and minimize the establishment and spread of non-native species.
• Partner with TROW crews to establish, document and implement prescriptive maint. regimes that continue to maintain Federal (NERC and FERC) and local compliance mandates and SCL reliability objectives. 
• Engage, explore and collaborate with internal City Light stakeholders, tribal entities, and other local/community stakeholders to develop sections of the TROW corridors that leverage their status as managed green spaces to more holistically serve and reflect the needs/interests of those stakeholders.
• Work with ecologists in City Light’s Environment, Land and Licensing Business Unit to implement measures in the utility’s hydro project licenses aimed at restoring, improving and/or maintaining native species habitat in TROWs through public, private, and City-owned land.
• Guide TROW vegetation management practices, especially those in Critical Areas, wetlands, riparian areas, and steep slopes, for compliance with all state and local regulations.
• Facilitate organizational change and implementation of the Vegetation Management Compliance Software (VMCS) project, including transitioning field staff from manual systems to mobile/digital platforms, technology adoption and changes to long-standing workflows. 
• Guide implementation of Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) practices on the TROW to promote compatible plant communities which suppress incompatible species, improve habitat conditions for native plants and wildlife and minimize the establishment and spread of non-native species.

 

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Plant Ecology, Restoration Ecology, Natural Resource Management, Forestry, or related field. A comparable combination of formal/traditional education and practical life/work experience will be considered in lieu of a degree from an accredited institution.
 

• Experience with tree risk identification, either through the International Society of Arboriculture TRAQ qualification, USFS Tree Risk Assessment process, or a comparable tree risk evaluation methodology
• Extensive knowledge of Utility IVM practices/principals and a minimum of three years’ experience implementing and/or directing IVM techniques in the field.
• Experience and proficiency working with GIS, GPS and LiDAR technologies, both on a PC and on mobile devices in the field. 
• Proficiency with Micosoft Office suite of applications, including Teams, SharePoint, Word, Excel, and Power Point.
• Demonstrated excellence in written and oral communication, and the ability to tailor communication appropriately to specific audiences.

Certification/License:

• WSDA Pesticide Public Applicators License or the ability to obtain one within 6 mo. of hire.
• Valid WA State driver’s license, or the ability to obtain one within 6 mo. of hire.
• ISA Certified Arborist certification
• ISA TRAQ qualification, or the ability to obtain one within 6 mo. of hire. 

Desired Qualifications: 

• Knowledge of native and invasive trees and shrub species in the North Cascades, Puget Lowlands and Northern Rocky Mountain ecoregions.  
• Experience working directly with community groups and stakeholders to identify common management objectives and co-create implementation plans in support of those objectives. 
• Experience with organizational change management, specifically related to mobile technology adoption and/or vegetation management software implementation
• Experience working independently in remote locations, with minimal direct oversight.
• Ability to work across divisions and groups in a large bureaucracy, as well as with external stakeholders unfamiliar with bureaucratic institutions. 
• Demonstrated ability and experience with visioning, inspiring and implementing change 
• Advanced education in Forestry, Sustainability, GIS, or other relevant field. 
• Experience with GeoDigital Inc.’s WorkStudio software suite or similar platform
• Ability to handle multiple and varied assignments.
• Demonstrated experience in working with agencies, tribes and community groups
• Working knowledge of and experience working with Arc GIS.

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