Who's applying? WDFW hiring 2 more wolf trappers.

[AspenBud]

The way it reads is that an applicant is required to have:  1) HS degree or GED and 2) Associates Degree in wildlife or fisheries and 3) 6 mo's min experience in trapping

my bad, thanks for the correction Curly

No problem.  I still think it is good that you applied even if you don't meet all their minimum quals.  You never know how many applicants they will get and their qualifications are.  You at least have a shot if you apply.  I hope you get it.

 

State and higher education job postings are usually written by a bureaucrat who really doesn't know what they are looking for so they ask for the moon.

Apply to the job. If they need someone bad enough they will call.

[danderson]

 

[Humptulips]

It would be a great "foot in the door" type of job. Not only that, but you'd be getting paid to have fun. It would be like getting paid to go hunting.

I hope you at least get an interview. Unfortunately, I bet competition for the job will be fierce.

it would be a great opprotunity, politics aside i would not mind making a career out of dfw, and yeah it would be awesome to get paid to do catch and release hunting all summer long. yeah i bet they get a couple hundred apps the position is taking apps until the 10th im kind of hoping that my background in GIS and GPS gains me a few ladder rungs but i got a feeling that cover letter thing is going to be the death of my application. outdoor skills are pretty easily taught compared to data analysis, i already know how to hunt and track animals (decently) learning to shoot a tranq gun or set a trap wouldnt be all that difficult.

There's the problem right there. See this all the time "Anybody can set a trap, easy peasy" Always voiced by someone that has never trapped.
Trapping wolves especially is not easy. There are very few that are actually good at it and to start from scratch it'll probably take longer to get good at it then to get your Phd in wolfology at Evergreen.

so enlighten me how much more difficult setting a trap is than earning a BS degree. trapping anything is not easy (ever been out played by mice around the house and have the peanut butter stolen but no dead mouse?) and how is a guy supposed to learn how to trap wolves when wolves are a federally protected and listed species    Learning how to trap the wolves is part of on the job training and is the easy thing to learn how to do, yeah successfully capturing a wolf alive and unharmed may be difficult but learning how to do so isnt all that difficult especially for anyone that has any decent amount of experience in the outdoors. if my old man could teach himself how to trap when he was a teenager by reading books and magazines like fur fish and game, im sure i could do the exact same. have you meet some of the people the state hires for jobs like this? not exactly Einstein like rocket scientists

To begin with wolves are not a federally listed species through out their range. If you have some experience trapping them in AK, ID or MT so much the better but your attitude implies I'll just go out and learn. That will take time and in the meantime you are not going to be catching wolves if that is your job. In fact you will probably be educating them about traps which will make it all the more difficult.
Go take some, one on one training in the field from an experienced wolf trapper but don't think for one minute that qualifies you as a wolf trapper. Time and experience might make you a good one.
There is a big difference between trapping a mouse or beaver and muskrats or even coyotes and going after wolves.
Coyotes are generally considered to be the toughest to trap in the lower 48 and there are a ton of guys chasing them but there are damn few ever get to be really good at it. Wolves are a step up from there.
You'll learn but the first lesson will be how little you know.

I think with tracking collars (enable patterning) and trapping near denning sites early summer pretty much anyone could do it with basic trapping knowledge 


No it wouldn't make a good "fair chase" trapper, but it'd suffice for WDFW's purpose.

Not even sure what a fair chase trapper is.  I'm just trying to get across that trapping is not as easy as some people think. I hear it all the time about "lazy trappers" and "any one can set a trap". When in fact succesful trappers are some of the hardest working most knowledgeable people in the woods. You don't get to be a good trapper in a season or two.
Wolves are notoriously hard to trap. A trapper in AK or Canada that shows off a half dozen wolf hides in a year is looked on with admiration. These wolves in WA are going to be a lot more spread out, can't use snares and you will have people to deal with. It will not be easy and if you make a mistake and you educate the wolf you will really be playing catch up.
Sounds like trapping will be a minor part of the job and I hope they don't send someone who has never trapped before out with a dozen traps and a two day course on trapping. That will be a recipe for failure. 

[KFhunter]

I guess I coined the phrase "fair chase trapper" 



I simply meant it would be a whole lot easier to trap wolves if you had a live GPS map marking their locations 24/7

[AspenBud]

One of the new hires for the wolf tracking collaring, not sure what his title is, program came out of the Cat project, a cougar study that took place Kittitas County, and ended a few years ago, the study focused on locating cougars, tranquilizing them taking a tooth sample, blood, weight, vital measurements, sex, and fitting them with tracking collars, the program lasted for around 10 years and was a joint effort with Cle Elum Roslyn Middle School, 8th grade students got to take part along with a few chosen parents to participate, it showed each cats home range through gps way point marking every day or so, I'm not sure, the map  provided the department with good information on how male and female cats ranges overlapped, My guess would be that wildlife heads would hire out of the many qualified folks with a proven track record with in there already existing pool of potential hires.

This is a good point. A lot of times governmental agencies will advertise positions because they legally have to, but really already have someone in mind internally.

[gaddy]

that was my thought also. they probably have their people lined up. they posted the job with certain requirements & lower wage so they didn't have to deal with tons of applicants that they had to tell no. & theres the possability they could find someone that fits a little better into their plan.

[danderson]

   A lot of the success's that came out of the Cat Project were from  collaring kittens still not fully developed and easier to catch up with, one can only assume that they would use the  same technique to collar wolfs, although I'm just speculating, they did collar a good number of adult males one weighing over 190 pounds, granted there's a big difference between wolfs and cougars and in a lot of ways wolfs will be easier to locate, but harder to collar. I'm sure the biologists have a wealth of data to work with by now with the ones that have been collared to date, if some of the reports are true there's been an active collaring program going on for some time.

[Special T]

I would think that if they were "serious" about actually trapping wolves they would hire an experienced done as a consultant, to educate the wet behind the ears bios and such how to do it/ do it for them.  to me this is just a another "going through the motions" to appease the hunters. 

[bobcat]

Special T-  how do you know they don't already have an experienced trapper working for them? I would assume they have at least one employee who has experience. Otherwise how would you explain all the wolves running around with collars?

[Special T]

Ahhh. But that is not the same thing... If you want to hire an experienced trapper you just go get one... If you want to hire another "bio for the cause" then you post an add like the one presented...

I like to compare the difference, however slight, from an order taker to a salesman... An Order taker, takes your info and then punches the appropriate buttons to order said merchandise.  A Salesman  asks questions, determines the best use and then directs you to the products that are available to fill your need.

Anyone that has been to a auto parts store that talks to an ex mechanic knows the difference. We don't need some one who WANTS to help, we need some one who ALREADY has the chops to get it done.... Even IF there is already a "Pro" on staff. 

[Curly]

I doubt that these 2 positions that they are hiring for will be doing much trapping.  Probably more setting trail cameras and such.

[bobcat]

Special T,  that's quite a lot of nothing but speculation on your part. It's kind of hard for us to determine what the WDFW needs, when we're on the outside looking in. Unless you have some sort of inside source of info that you're not telling us about?

Or perhaps you have a degree in Wildlife Management?

[JLS]

I'm sure no one that works for state wildlife agencies is capable of trapping.  Condescending?

[jackelope]

I would think that if they were "serious" about actually trapping wolves they would hire an experienced done as a consultant, to educate the wet behind the ears bios and such how to do it/ do it for them.  to me this is just a another "going through the motions" to appease the hunters. 

I think his name is Carter Niemeyer....aka "wolfer".

[Special T]

Umm No,  i have no inside info on this subject. I hope my speculation is wrong, However the WDFW had the opportunity to hire some very experienced wolf trappers before and decided to get some one with a degree instead... The school of hard knocks is not an accredited institution so i would bet that an "experienced trapper" that also holds a degree is not likely.

If the WDFW actually has a "consultant" on staff then they really need 2 more, not 2 more bios... They need to accelerate their "documentation" of wolves not hire more people to study them.