Wildlife Biologist III

The Wildlife Biologist III position at the State of South Carolina involves coordinating environmental reviews and overseeing projects related to the impacts on waters and protected species. The role requires a master's or bachelor's degree in relevant fields and experience in wildlife management. Responsibilities include reviewing permits, attending interagency meetings, and staying updated on environmental regulations. The job is based in West Columbia or Charleston, SC.
About the position

This position may be located in either the SCDNR Headquarters in Lexington County or at SCDNR's campus in Charleston County. This employee will coordinate and oversee a variety of projects, requiring environmental review for the agency involving impacts associated with impacts to waters of the United States and the state protected species, while providing leadership, advice and guidance on matters related to alterations of natural systems predominantly in the inland or freshwater areas of the state.

Responsibilities
• Coordinating and preparing detailed review of permits, environmental assessments, environmental impact statements and the associated mitigation plans for impacts to waters of the United States and/or other natural resources for submission to the appropriate regulatory agency in a timely manner, meeting deadlines.
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• Representing the agency with emphasis on the Interagency Review Team facilitating the development of stream and wetland mitigation banks or in-lieu fee programs.
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• Reviewing mitigation documents including Prospectuses, Mitigation Banking Instruments, Post-Construction/Monitoring Reports and other guidance needed for streamlining the process of development.
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• Attending and actively providing comments and feedback in the Interagency Review Team site visits.
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• Learning and continuing to engage in the assessment of wetland hydrology and stream geomorphology through workshops, webinars, courses and conferences.
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• Keeping abreast of all federal, state and local environmental programs, regulations, policies and procedures, and maintaining technical competency relevant to the agency's environmental review process.
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• Conducting necessary investigations and research to provide a sound scientific basis for making recommendations on projects under environmental review.

Requirements
• A master's degree in biology, chemistry or wildlife management and two (2) years of experience in fish, wildlife or marine management or research programs; or a bachelor's degree in biology, chemistry, wildlife management or related technical area and four (4) years of experience in fish, wildlife or marine management or research programs.

Nice-to-haves
• Experience in environmental evaluation programs.
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• Thorough understanding of ecological principles and fish/wildlife biology as applied to impact assessments and protected species' habitat requirements.
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• Understanding of potential ecological responses to habitat as a result of physical alterations of the landscape.
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• Knowledge of human natural resource recreation needs.
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• Familiarity with regulatory processes and environmental laws and regulations in South Carolina involving the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Mitigation Rule and the Charleston District Guidelines for Compensatory Mitigation, SC Mining Act, SC Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act; State Navigable Waters.
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• Knowledge of hydrology, wetlands and fluvial processes.
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• Current field sampling techniques, data analysis and environmental study design.

Benefits