Careers in Wildlife

Services

Wildlife Damage Management

Because wildlife is a valuable and publicly owned

resource, Federal and State governments are

responsible for maintaining healthy, stable wildlife

populations. When wildlife causes damage, government also has an obligation to control that damage

on behalf of the public. Responsibility at the Federal

level has been legislatively delegated to the U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) through its Wildlife

Services (WS) program.

Role of WS

Maintaining a balance between a range of cultural,

environmental, and economic factors and the needs

of those directly affected by wildlife damage requires

sensitivity. If government specialists do not provide

reasonable and prudent solutions to damage loss situations, affected individuals may attempt a solution

on their own that could be ecologically harmful. By

providing a sound, efficient response to wildlife damage complaints, WS helps to reduce the frustration

felt by the person suffering wildlife damage, promotes

tolerance toward the offending species, and avoids

the likelihood of ecologically unacceptable control

attempts. WS strives to strike a balance in

human–wildlife conflicts through:

• Collection, evaluation, and dissemination of 

information,

• Training of wildlife management professionals, 

and

• Cooperative wildlife damage management 

programs that are supported by a strong 

commitment to environmental sensitivity.

Your Career in WS

For some wildlife species, the need for damage

management is at the highest level in decades.

Efforts toward conservation are paying off with higher

population levels of some animals. But increased

suburbanization and the conversion of land to developed uses have created greater and more frequent

conflicts between animals and people.

By selecting a career with WS, you will have a

unique opportunity to help people and, at the same

time, conserve and improve America’s natural

resources for future generations. You will work with

many different wildlife species and communicate with

a wide range of people. Access to the latest technology is provided by WS’ well-known research branch,

the National Wildlife Research Center. Interaction

with other Federal, State, and local agencies will

keep you up-to-date on the latest developments in

the wildlife field.

Education is also an important component of the

WS program. In addition to providing recommendations and information to individuals who sustain damage, WS employees give lectures and demonstrations to farmers, ranchers, homeowners, university

classes, and other interested groups.

APHIS encourages its employees to maintain professional affiliations and makes education and training available through workshops, seminars, and onthe-job educational programs. A career with WS may

be full-time, part-time, or temporary. Depending on

your education and interests, you may be qualified to

work for WS in one of these challenging assignments:

Wildlife Specialists are assigned to specific

projects to ensure that control methods are being

used correctly and to record the effect a particular

method has on reducing or preventing damage.

These specialists conduct operational duties, including the trapping and relocation of birds and mammals

that cause damage to agriculture, natural resources,

or property.

Wildlife Biologists are responsible for the dissemination and/or implementation of proven or newly

developed methods of reducing wildlife damage.

They may also work on developing management

plans to increase the success rate of any given technique. For example, wildlife biologists in Nebraska

help protect the endangered interior least tern and

the three-lined piping plover while biologists in Ohio,

Texas, and Vermont help stop the spread of rabies in

wildlife.

Wildlife Biologists (Research) work to develop

or improve methods of reducing damage caused by

wildlife species in a wide variety of damage situations. These specialists conduct experiments on

such wide-ranging subjects as the effectiveness of

wildlife contraception delivered by vaccination and the

use of repellents, electronic trap-monitoring devices,

and habitat modification to control wildlife damage.

Computer Assistants maintain a data base of

wildlife damage complaints, operational projects,

instructional sessions, surveys, assessments,

exhibits, and information requests. They may also

assist in office support situations.

Factsheet

Wildlife Services November 2001

APHIS
Budget Assistants/Analysts compile and maintain budgetary data. They analyze expenditures and

other information for use in annual work planning and

coordinate daily office administrative functions.

Internships and Summer Volunteers fill paying

but time-limited positions in a wide range of WS disciplines.

Sources of Career Information

The WS program provides careers that are interesting and rewarding. If you are interested in learning

more about the USDA/APHIS/WS program, please

contact one of the WS offices listed below or visit the

APHIS Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

USDA/APHIS/WS

Eastern Regional Office

Suite 200

920 Main Campus Drive

Raleigh, NC 27606

(919) 716-5636

USDA/APHIS/WS

National Wildlife Research Center

4101 LaPorte Avenue

Fort Collins, CO 80521

(970) 266-6000

USDA/APHIS/WS

Western Regional Office

Suite 204

12345 W. Alameda Parkway

Lakewood, CO 80228

(303) 969-6560

You may also contact the nearest branch of the

U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to

receive information about vacancies nationwide or to

become familiar with the requirements of a particular

position. OPM maintains a Web site with a listing of

all Federal civil service jobs currently vacant. Go to

http://www.opm.gov to search the job listings electronically.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to

all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative

means for communication of program information (Braille, large

print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of

Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964

(voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and

employer.

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture