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The State Water Projects Bureau (SWPB) is located in the Water Resources Division, DNRC.  The Bureau, acting as the owner for the State of Montana, is responsible for the management and oversight of 18 active water storage projects, mostly built between 1935 and 1942.  The projects consist of 22 dams, 20 of which are classified as high hazard (reservoirs range in volume from 513 acre-feet to 79,071 acre-feet).  The Bureau manages nearly 2000 water marketing contracts, providing over 300,000 acre-feet of water a year to irrigators across the state; is responsible for the management and oversight of over 250 miles of supply and delivery canals; manages recreational cabin sites, agricultural and grazing leases; and is responsible to protect and enhance water rights associated with the projects.  The Bureau also owns and manages one 10-MW Hydroelectric facility, of which the net proceeds from power sales are used to help fund the ongoing rehabilitation and maintenance efforts for our projects. The Bureau accomplishes these responsibilities through the actions of the Rehabilitation Section; the Hydropower program; the canals program; and the administrative section which includes all water measurement, water right actions, land issues, water marketing, and overall master planning and management. The Rehabilitation Section has the responsibility for overseeing and maintaining the DNRC owned dams to insure their continued safe operation.  This includes performing annual inspections, managing periodic maintenance and repair activities, and managing a long-term, ongoing rehabilitation program to bring all the dams into compliance with applicable state and federal dam safety regulations. This position is responsible for supervising and managing the Project Rehabilitation Section which provides engineering and technical support services to facilitate the continued safe and reliable operation of Department owned dams.

Position open until filled.

Montana Dept. Natural Resources and Conservation Regional Engineers perform a broad variety of engineering analyses and technical duties for all programs within the DNRC Water Resources Division, including the engineering analysis and hydrologic information/services needed for dam safety regulation, floodplain administration, and state water project management. The incumbent will also assist with engineering analysis needed to make water right administration decisions. This position performs an enjoyable mix of in-office technical analysis and field work.

The Havre engineer primarily serves counties along the Hi-Line, from the eastern slopes of Glacier National Park and the Rocky Mountain Front to the prairies and badlands of the North Dakota border. 

This position has the opportunity to work on statewide projects and tasks in other areas, depending on interest, skills, and need. DNRC is committed to providing training and career advancement to staff, including attendance at state and national conferences, state-of-the-art modeling courses, and support to pursue professional interests.

This position is supervised by the Regional Engineer Supervisor and works closely with other DNRC regional engineers; with Floodplain, Dam Safety, and State Water Projects engineers and staff; and with DNRC hydrologists and water rights staff. Under the direction of the Regional Engineer Supervisor and Program Managers located in the central Helena office, the Regional Engineer enjoys diverse work experiences, including:
Working one-on-one with high hazard dam owners.
Using dam breach models to evaluate hazards below dams.
Reviewing hydrologic and hydraulic studies associated with floodplain mapping.
Assisting local communities with floodplain permit applications.
Providing engineering support and construction oversight on state-owned dam and canal rehabilitation projects.
Conducting field investigations and analysis to support wise local water right decisions.
The opportunity to make a difference and a genuine impact in the communities you serve.

This position requires travel, up to 25% of the time, which often involves field work. 

Position open until filled.

This is a modified position, and the recruitment is open to Training and Temporary Duty Assignments. If you are a recent Engineering Degree graduate, Engineer in Training (EIT), or Engineering Intern (EI) that does not meet all of the minimum qualifications we encourage you to apply.  We will consider hiring a candidate with lower experience or education on a Training or Temporary Duty Assignment on a case-by-case basis.

The incumbent is responsible for directing, managing, and implementing the Floodplain Engineering Technical Assistance program.  The position oversees, performs, and coordinates floodplain permit engineering technical reviews along with developing program policy, procedures, and guidelines.  In coordination with FEMA and FEMA’s contractor’s, the incumbent manages and performs processing and engineering evaluation of mapping revisions and amendments.  Additionally, the incumbent supports the Floodplain Mapping program by providing hydrologic and hydraulic subject matter expertise and consultation, along with performing technical evaluations of new mapping studies. The position is supervised by the Water Operations Bureau Chief. 

 Location: The preferred location for this position is Helena. The location may offer some flexibility for a qualified candidate, limited to DNRC Regional Offices in Missoula, Bozeman, Billings, Kalispell, or Lewistown.

Position open until filled.

Swan Valley Connections is seeking an experienced executive director to lead their organization into its next chapter, and to strategically guide it into a sustainable future. The ideal candidate will be committed to upholding their mission, vision, and values; be passionate about collaborative conservation, education, and partnerships; recognize the value of the Swan Valley within the Crown of the Continent ecosystem; proactively strive for equity and inclusion internally and externally in programming; thrive on creating organizational excellence; and have demonstrated experience in relationship building, nonprofit fundraising, human resource management, and leading an organization to grow its impact.

This is a year-round, full-time, salaried exempt position, which includes 13 paid holidays, paid vacation and sick leave, retirement match and health insurance. Salary range is $70-90k DOE (negotiable).

SVC is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the heart of the Swan Valley, a wild and working landscape nestled between the Bob Marshall and Mission Mountains Wilderness complexes in Northwest Montana. The mission of SVC is to inspire conservation and expand stewardship. SVC does this by offering educational opportunities for people of all ages, identities, and backgrounds; working with private landowners to bring them technical expertise and cost-share assistance; collaborating with public land managers to conduct research, monitoring, and project coordination; and providing community and visitor services.

The Habitat Bureau Chief is responsible for developing, administering, and implementing programs to restore, maintain, and protect native species and their habitats; and improve and protect fish and wildlife habitat so high-priority areas are conserved and connected at a landscape level to meet the current and future needs of the public.  The three essential elements of maintaining aquatic habitat are water quantity, water quality and physical habitat features.  A primary function of this position will be developing effective relationships and maintaining good communication with all stakeholders: the public, non-governmental organizations/business, and governmental parties within Montana.

Miles City Hatchery is a multi-species pumped facility. You will be required to safely run tractors, skid steer, mowers, 1.5-ton distribution trucks, ATVs, UTVs. You will help maintain the pumps and filter systems of the hatchery. The job is mostly outdoors, occasionally in inclement weather. Southeastern Montana can get very hot and dry in the summers and very cold in the winters. You will assist in the propagating, rearing and distribution of warm, cool, and cold-water fish species.

The work schedule is generally 7:30 am- 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. There are exceptions during our peak production months. Once you have been sufficiently trained, you will be added to the call rotation with the other hatchery staff. This means you will be responsible for the safety and security of the facility and fish after hours. You will be provided a shared call phone that will receive alarm pages from the hatchery during your on-call time.

This position does not include on-site housing.

“Emerging leadership” is when an individual steps into a leadership role in the conservation field with an innovative vision for the future of collaborative conservation and the motivation, passion, and collaborative mindset to work toward that vision.

The purpose of the Emerging Leadership Initiative is to assist emerging leaders in collaborative conservation. Conservationists stepping into leadership roles need support to become better facilitators, communicators, and collaborators through mentorship and capacity building initiatives. Crowd Conservation and the WCCN seek to connect emerging leaders with the mentors and resources they need, catalyze leaders’ skill development, and provide support in their conservation efforts. In order to assist emerging leaders, we must first understand best practices for developing leadership skills, mentorship practices, and identify barriers and solutions to those obstacles. This involves researching existing materials and articles, conducting focus groups, and interviewing key stakeholders.

The role of the Emerging Leadership Program Coordinator is to seek ways to coordinate support for emerging leadership in collaborative conservation at regional, national, and international scales, distill best practices, and communicate these efforts through multiscalar networks. The deliverable for this position at the end of the year of employment will be to create a mentorship best-practices toolkit.

Hours and duration: Up to 20 hours/week for one year upon hiring. Potential for extension contingent on funding as the partnership is working to secure funding for a second year.

Location: Remote position, with some travel required throughout the year. Preference to those living in a Western state in order to stay connected with the Western Collaborative Conservation Network’s mission.

This position provides a great opportunity to work in active grass-roots conservation with a non-profit organization in the Billings/Fort Smith Area. The Conservation Specialist will participate in all sectors of non-profit work but will have a primary responsibility to perform duties related to the function, execution, and growth of the BHRA Research Initiative program. The Conservation Specialist will work closely with the BHRA Research Chair, contractors, and volunteers to become well acquainted with current RI work programs, and learn the skills needed pertaining to data collection, equipment upkeep, monitoring efforts, and data entry/analysis to assume duties currently performed by contractors and volunteers. Applicants should be highly motivated individuals, with exceptional critical thinking skills and should have an interest/focus in the environmental sciences and the outdoors; have great interest in learning various methods of monitoring, with great attention to implementing proper execution of various monitoring techniques; have excellent communication skills; be able to work well alongside others; be physically able to work independently outside and in the river; have a valid driver’s license; be flexible to work on an array of projects; be comfortable learning and implementing various monitoring/data collection techniques, and have database organization and analysis skills. The Conservation Specialist will work closely with the BHRA Research Chair and Executive Director and collaborate with interagency partners, contractors, interact with the public, and work with staff, board members and volunteers within BHRA.

Screening of applications begins September 1, 2023; position open until filled. Preferred start date is April 1, 2024.

The Clark Fork Coalition seeks an exceptional leader to serve as its Executive Director. This position provides strategic vision and operational management while leading a high-caliber team to advance the cause for a healthy Clark Fork watershed. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced and dynamic individual to make a lasting impact on a renowned Montana river system and the people, fish, and wildlife it sustains.

The Executive Director is responsible for leading a strong team to execute the Coalition’s mission, implement our 5-year strategic plan, and inspire a culture of care for the river. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director provides strategic leadership and oversees all aspects of the Coalition’s programs, operations, and fundraising.

The Stewardship Director is responsible for a diverse workload and works closely with other RVCD employees, and provides support to other RVCD staff as needed.  This position in managed by the RVCD Board of Supervisors, but the ideal candidate can work effectively and efficiently with little day-to-day supervision.

The Stewardship Director will work with stakeholders to implement Ruby River WRP projects, oversee the Lower Ruby tributaries water quality-monitoring network, and manage outreach and education. Additionally, the Stewardship Director will work with landowners, agency personnel, and non-profit partners to identify conservation needs, as well as implement conservation projects and programs to address these needs. This includes various aspects of project management, fundraising and financial management, and community outreach and education. The Stewardship Director represents the RVCD in multiple partnerships and collaboration conservation efforts on the local, regional, and statewide scale.

Work Environment: This position requires 30% field work and 70% office work. The Stewardship Director works on average 40 hours per week. Occasional travel will be required for conferences, meetings, and trainings. This position is located in Sheridan, MT and is housed within the NRCS Sheridan Field Office at the USDA Service Center.