Careers with Game and Fish

The next generation of wildlife and habitat conservation professionals will face many challenges. If you want to help solve these issues, consider a position with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and become part of one of the premier wildlife agencies in the country.

Accounting

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The Accounting section manages all fiscal functions for the entire department. It provides a central location for each division for assistance with all financial processes. All revenues and expenditures are recorded, analyzed, and reported. The department creates annual budgets, which are coordinated by the accounting section. Performing accounting skills for our department is a distinctive career as all transactions related to conservation efforts within Wyoming. Employees work independently, prioritizing workflow to address cash management, cost accounting, fund accounting, accounts payable, etc. Since all transactions occur within the accounting section, it provides a tremendous opportunity to learn and be a member of an exclusive group of people dedicated to conserving wildlife and serving people.

 

An accounting job with the WGFD is dynamic. We are not number crunchers but problem solvers. All divisions within the WGFD rely on our support for all questions, from filling out travel vouchers to researching fiscal information. Each employee contributes to ensuring proper reconciliation of funds by working independently and as part of a team. Our accounting employees celebrate this enormous task when accounts are balanced, and all funds are correctly reported. The accounting jobs at WGFD are fascinating, and downtime is rare. The accounting employees at WGFD are fast-paced decision-makers who perform various ever-changing functions.

 

Ensuring adequate internal controls, manual and automated system documentation, workflow processes, and procedures for all accounting systems helps provide timely and accurate information on more than $60 million annually, including approximately 1 million individual transactions. Accounting duties involve overseeing all the agency's purchasing, accounts payable, inventory, fixed assets, vehicle management, contracts, grants, arrangements receivable, and federal funds. We ensure audibility and sound accounting practices in all of the multiple internal financial systems for vehicles, payments, and cost accounting that serve as subsidiaries of the state accounting system. Our responsibilities include performing complex, specialized accounting, planning, and analysis of an accounting system; assisting subordinate staff in preparation and investigation of technical accounting and budget work; receiving, discussing, and resolving questions and problems; developing and installing accounting systems, records, methods and procedures to address changes in requirements; recommending fiscal policy and practices for improved operations; reviewing and analyzing accounting records to identify sources of financial report discrepancies and resolving problems; planning and analysis requiring judgment in applying established accounting procedures and regulations; and developing, installing and maintaining fiscal/accounting system for the agency and individual work units.

Aquatic Biologists

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If you're an angler or enjoy recreating on streams and lakes, you can turn your passion for the outdoors into a career in fisheries management. One week you might find yourself in a forested stream, working to restore native cutthroat trout or assessing the impacts of stream flows on a popular rainbow trout fishery in one of Wyoming's many tailwaters. The following week you might be conducting a survey of habitat conditions on a prairie stream or setting nets to assess the survival and growth of fish stocked in a large reservoir or high mountain lake. Aquatic biologists have many diverse responsibilities in addition to managing important sport fisheries. Biologists also strive to improve habitats and minds and restore populations of native nongame fish, amphibians, reptiles, snails, and mollusks. Biologists specialize in conducting studies to understand how wildlife populations respond to changes in fish stocking programs or angling pressure, modifications to habitat, disease outbreaks, or the appearance of invasive species.

 

Management biologists put this information to use in the field, where they implement projects to conserve or improve fish populations and fishing opportunities for anglers. Included in these practices are fish stocking, stream flow and water level manipulation, vegetation control, development of fishing regulations and access areas, in-stream and off-stream habitat improvement projects, management of exotic species, and conducting environmental impact assessments. A crucial part of any biologist's job is working with the public. Biologists must be willing and able to give presentations to angling organizations, children, and other biologists on all sorts of topics.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department employs a variety of Aquatic Biologists with different duties. These biologists share a joint mission to conserve and enhance aquatic wildlife populations for future generations.

Aquatic Habitat Biologist

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If you enjoy a challenge, you might be an aquatic habitat biologist.  If you can think "big" and look at an entire watershed while trying to understand why a fish has poor habitat....you might be an aquatic habitat biologist.  If you can see the long-term implications of land management actions on fish and wildlife communities...you might be an aquatic habitat biologist.  If you are concerned about big-picture processes like vegetation succession, fire influences, stream channel changes, runoff patterns, and stream flow changes, you might be an aquatic habitat biologist.  If you enjoy solving problems and have the patience to observe habitats, implement projects, and watch to see if you did any good...you might be an aquatic habitat biologist.  If you are impatient with perspectives focusing on a single species or location, you might be an aquatic habitat biologist! 
 

Aquatic habitat biologists have very diverse job duties. They work with wetlands, fisheries, wildlife, habitat restoration, watershed assessment, water quality monitoring, and native plant re-vegetation.  They often work cooperatively with private landowners, other agencies, and organizations, including the National Park Service, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, Regional Land Trusts, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and County Conservation Districts.

Conservation Education

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The Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Conservation Education program strives to create awareness in youth and adults of the importance of conservation and management of conserving and managing Wyoming's wildlife and their habitats within their specific ecosystem.   

 

Wyoming has about 600 species of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, mollusks, and crustaceans. These species occupy virtually every nook and cranny found in Wyoming's aquatic and terrestrial environment. Wildlife management and wildlife stewardship is the practice of conserving habitat and wildlife populations and helping people better coexist and share their habitat with wildlife. Wildlife management is essential to environmental conservation, assisting people to coexist with nature and its broad array of habitats.

 

Education and communications outreach play an increasing and expanding role in wildlife management for several reasons; perhaps the most significant reasons are that society will no longer accept leadership through legislative or court mandate as the considerable way of resolving problems and that as human populations increase, they place greater demand on finite natural resources and space, increasing competition. Because of this and the economy, the emphasis will change to grassroots problem-solving of environmental conflicts. This means people will have to communicate, build trust, share ideas and learn from each other, resolve problems, and set more beneficial goals for all interests. Youth and families spend less and less time outdoors, leading to apathy towards issues involving wildlife and wild places. 

Conservation Engineering

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Working in the Conservation Engineering section with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department involves continued study and learning toward conserving our natural and renewable resources in preservation and recreation. Conservation Engineering is an allied group of personnel with experience in environmental or civil engineering, surveying, water law, drafting, and mapping with specialized interests in fish, wildlife, parks, forests, and related conservation/recreation fields.

 

These jobs offer the ability to solve problems statewide for various diverse working groups and programs. Associated with this are engineering & construction projects involving fish hatcheries, boating access areas, fish passages, Wildlife Habitat Management Areas, regional offices, employee housing, and various other department-owned or controlled facilities and lands.

Fish Hatcheries

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Do you enjoy working outdoors? Are you looking for a job with a variety of challenges? Are you interested in a career that allows you to use your abilities and education? To work independently? If so, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's fish culture system (fish hatcheries and spawning operations) may be the perfect fit.

 

Working at one of Wyoming's hatcheries or rearing stations offers the opportunity to work outdoors in some of the most beautiful areas of Wyoming. It also means you're producing a product that can make a difference. Whether restoring native cutthroat in a small stream, stocking fish in wilderness lakes by helicopter, spawning trout at one of our many brood locations, or stocking a fish that will be a child's first trophy, the rewards of a career in the fish hatchery system are many.

 

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department maintains and operates ten fish hatcheries or rearing stations in some of the state's most beautiful areas (one is actually in Idaho). Six of the ten facilities are hatcheries, where eggs can be incubated and hatched. Four facilities are rearing stations, where small fish are transferred from other stations. Wyoming's fish culture system fosters and stocks rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, lake trout, and golden trout, as well as four subspecies of cutthroat trout. Splakes, the cross between brook and lake trout, are also raised and stocked in Wyoming, along with grayling and kokanee salmon. Eggs from all of these species are collected from broodstocks within Wyoming. Collecting kokanee salmon eggs from the New Fork River or spawning Yellowstone cutthroats at the Ten Sleep Fish Hatchery are only two of many unique opportunities.

 

Our personnel stock fish in various locations throughout the state from early spring to late fall. Whether it is nine-inch rainbow trout in Pathfinder Reservoir on the North Platte River or a one-inch grayling in Squirrel Lake in the Wind River Mountains, our fish culture stations benefit fisheries in virtually every region in Wyoming. Most stocking is done by trucks with specialized tanks for transporting fish, but we also stock by boat, helicopter, horses, ATVs, and backpacks. Stocking fish after raising them can be one of the most rewarding experiences in the department.

 

The fish culture system in Wyoming also allows many opportunities for career advancement. Two positions above the entry-level culturist position are available at all ten of Wyoming's fish culture facilities, plus the chance for other career paths within the department. Options are also available for experience at multiple stations in other areas of Wyoming and to obtain additional training and education to expand your professional expertise. One unique bonus is that department housing is provided at each location, free of rent or utilities. We always allow personnel to transfer to other stations throughout their career to gain experience and tackle new challenges. 

 

What does it take to become a member of our team? A Bachelor of Science or Arts degree in fisheries biology or a closely related science degree is the preferred minimum qualification to apply for an entry-level fish culturist position. Three to four years of progressive work experience in the field may be evaluated as a substitute, but a degree is encouraged. If you are in school and looking for a summer job, seasonal positions are available to gain experience and get to know us. Helpful background for these positions includes math and computer skills, knowledge of biological and physiological processes for animal husbandry, experience operating various power tools, experience using a variety of vehicles and equipment, and a positive ability to work with other people and the public.

 

Do you have the desire to be part of a close-knit team of professionals dedicated to restoring and enhancing Wyoming's fisheries and fishing experiences? If so, consider a career with the fish culture section in the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. This is an enriching yet challenging experience in some of the most beautiful locations.

Game Warden

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A game warden's job is appealing because of its diversity and flexibility. Each day presents different challenges. One day a warden may conduct angler checks along a stream, and the next day works with a landowner to prevent elk damage to crops. A game warden can work in a manner that he feels will best solve their challenges. This is no "8-to-5" job. If a game warden feels that work must be done to curb an illegal spot-lighting problem, they get out after dark and may work until the sun rises. A game warden tailors the day to best fit the situation – each day is different than the last. Game Warden positions offer a challenging career with many job duties while working with a diverse and abundant wildlife resource. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department currently employs over 60 Game Wardens, Wildlife Investigators, Game Warden Trainees, and Wildlife Technicians all over the State.

 

Game Wardens in Wyoming are the local public and department liaisons. They enforce fish and wildlife laws, deal with human-wildlife conflicts, and actively manage Wyoming's wildlife. Game Wardens receive department housing and a competitive salary with state employment benefits.

 

One of the most rewarding aspects of a warden's job is preventing or solving some of the most egregious wildlife crimes. Wanton destruction (illegally killing a big or trophy game animal– often only taking the horns or antlers) is one of those violations. Being able to prosecute the violators and keep them from doing the crime again is hugely gratifying. Another satisfying part of the warden's job is creating and setting big game seasons. A compelling big game season can increase opportunities for athletes and alleviate game damage problems while keeping animals and their habitats healthy.

 

Game Wardens perform numerous duties, including enforcing game, fish, trapping, and boating laws. To effectively perform these tasks, the warden has to spend time in the field. Getting to the area involves using trucks, snowmobiles, boats, horses, 4-wheelers, and boot-leather. Wardens also collect biological data on the game herds they manage. Wardens often fly over areas in fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters; other times, they spend hours in a truck looking through binoculars and spotting scopes. Game Wardens work with landowners to gain access for hunters and fishermen. Landowners may also experience damage to their crops from big game animals or loss of livestock from trophy game animals. The warden must respond to these calls – sometimes trapping the offending lion or bear or chasing deer and elk off agricultural land. Responding to injured and nuisance wildlife calls is another essential duty. These calls are often in apparent areas and the public eye. These situations call for quick, diplomatic, and accurate decision-making by the warden.

Habitat and Access Maintenance

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If you enjoy working with your hands, providing great places for hunting and fishing, and love working outdoors, then a Habitat and Access Specialist is the job for you. These Specialists are the people who manage the lands and access areas that are owned or leased by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. The Specialists ensure the sportsman's measurements are well taken care of and managed adequately for wildlife. These jobs have many responsibilities, from operating heavy equipment while maintaining irrigation ditches or roads to monitoring vegetation for forage production and utilization.

 

The positions require diverse knowledge and abilities, including construction, land management, and wildlife biology. The Specialists are not only responsible for making sure that public facilities are adequately maintained and cleaned, but they are also responsible for improving and developing wildlife habitat on the Commissions lands. The improvements include prescribed burns, mechanical or herbicide treatments, and weed control. The jobs are very diverse, and one day you may be working on repairing a boat ramp with a backhoe, and then the very next day, you could be creating a plan to develop a wetland for waterfowl.  By managing and maintaining the public access areas and wildlife habitat management areas, these Specialists provide places for fishing and hunting while maintaining essential wildlife habitats for generations to come.

Hunter Education

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The Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Hunter Education program is ideally suited for individuals who have a passion for safe, responsible, and knowledgeable hunting and those interested in enhancing hunting traditions and values throughout Wyoming.

 

The Hunter Education staff works with a wide variety of young and older adults interested in the full range of hunting opportunities throughout the state. These education professionals provide a positive learning environment and work to meet the needs of those who want to obtain their state hunter safety certification, which is accepted as proof of hunter safety/firearms handling proficiency nationally and internationally.

 

The Hunter Education staff functions as a component of the Conservation Education section, which allows the team to work with the public on a broader spectrum of wildlife education activities, including the Youth Hunter Education Challenge, 4-H State Shoot, Shooting Sports Clinics, and Workshops, Youth Conservation Camp, Becoming and Outdoorswoman Camps, O.R.E.O. Educator Camps, and The Wyoming Hunting and Fishing Heritage Exposition.

 

The most rewarding aspects of the Hunter Education professional's jobs come from recruiting new hunters and retaining those who have already been introduced to the sport and need guidance on how to further their interest in hunting. There is no greater sense of satisfaction than watching the smiles and glow of pride in youth after earning their HE card and listening to the plans for upcoming hunts. Other rewards include dispelling misinformation about the safety of sport hunting and educating the public about the dramatic reduction in hunting-related accidents and violations since legislation was enacted requiring hunter education.
 

The Hunter Education Coordinator's duties are to administer, train and monitor the efforts of the more than 300 volunteer Hunter Education instructors, including game wardens, volunteers in all state regions, and professional educators. These instructors certify an average of 3,500 students per year via traditional or Internet Field Assessment days class offerings. The supplies and materials needed to conduct practical classes come through the coordinator and align with the International Hunter Education Association HE standards. Other duties for the Hunter Education personnel include administering clinics and workshops to promote safe, responsible, and knowledgeable behaviors in shooting sports.

Information and Publications

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Providing accurate and timely information to the public is critical to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's mission. An informed public cares about the state's wildlife, understands the issues affecting our wildlife resources, and takes action to help conserve those resources.

 

The department's Information and Publications programs provide information and education in almost every imaginable way.

 

The department publishes Wyoming Wildlife magazine, an award-winning monthly publication that celebrates the state's wildlife and examines many of the critical wildlife-related issues in the state. 

 

The department's video program produces weekly TV and radio spots broadcast throughout the state. Other video projects help illustrate the beauty and complexity of Wyoming's wildlife like no other medium can.

 

Working with external media like newspapers, TV and radio stations, and new electronic media reaches thousands worldwide. The department distributes regular news releases, hosts press conferences, field trips, and special events to use the power of the media to inform the public about Wyoming's wildlife and their habitats.

 

The department is also getting the message out through its website, electronic newsletter, special publications, presentations to community groups, and more.

 

Understanding public attitudes and opinions is an essential component of this work. Through social science research and extensive public input, the department makes management decisions informed by the wants and needs of its constituents.

 

A job with the department's Information and Publications section can be exciting and rewarding for those who enjoy the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and working with people. People with a passion for wildlife and skills in publications, writing, public relations, video production, graphic design, customer service, or social science research enjoy tremendous satisfaction in these positions.

 

Employees in the department's Information and Publications section help make a daily difference for the state's wildlife. An informed public is a motivated public. Seeing your name in print in one of the department's publications, placing an article in statewide or national publications, or bringing a critical issue to the public's attention can be tremendously rewarding.
 

Information and Publications staff are often on the "front lines" of department activities, covering important wildlife activities and issues for the public. This may involve covering a bighorn sheep transplant for Wyoming Wildlife magazine, interviewing aquatic invasive species for the department's TV show, organizing a media tour of critical wildlife habitat areas, conducting a study on hunter attitudes towards deer management, or talking to a community group about ways to keep their town "bear-safe."

Information Technology

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The Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Information Technology (IT/GIS) Branch keeps the agency running smoothly. The branch is administered by an IT Manager and section supervisors who oversee the day-to-day activities of each work unit.

 

Work units consist of an Application Development team that writes both Windows and Web Based applications using the latest .NET and SQL server technologies; an IT Operations team that develops and maintains server and communications infrastructure, in addition to Help Desk personnel who assist over 500 users and 170 License Selling Agents in 8 regions across the state; and Geographic Information System section that uses the latest ESRI software for analyzing statewide data to produce maps for various wildlife and habitat projects.

 

Some intangible benefits of working in the Wyoming Game and Fish IT Branch include flexible working hours, a casual dress code, working with cutting-edge server farm technologies, and working on various applications that most state agencies cannot build and maintain.
 

Licensing

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The Wyoming Game and Fish Department's License Section plays a primary role in the department's mission of conserving wildlife and serving people. Responsible for the issuance of fishing and hunting licenses, the License Section completes a multitude of tasks. Employees are directly involved with the public daily, requiring general knowledge of hunting and fishing within the state.

 

The Electronic Licensing Service (ELS) provides the technology necessary to handle the issuance of over 200 types of licenses. The modules within ELS are the Draw Application Service, Internet Point of Sale (IPOS) System, and the Online Licensing System. These systems were internally developed and, as a result, are configured to meet our needs. Each design offers a specific opportunity or product for hunters, anglers, and license-selling agents across the state and worldwide. License Section employees gain extensive knowledge about all department functions, resulting in daily new learning opportunities and exciting tasks.

 

Providing customer satisfaction and assistance is one of the most rewarding aspects for License Section employees. Whether it is from selling a fishing license, processing draw applications, researching questions, or educating the general public, license section employees receive gratification constantly. Employees use their innovative ideas to resolve problems and refine processes. Using accounting knowledge and system application knowledge, employees work in a fast-paced, continually changing environment. In addition, learning more about conserving Wyoming's unique resources and even assisting in the conservation effort is a gratifying part of working for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Seasonal Positions

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Seasonal and Intern positions at the Game and Fish are a great way to begin your career and get into your desired field. Each year we have numerous opportunities for students in Wildlife Management, biology, recent graduates, or any other qualified candidate.
 

FISHERIES TECHNICIANS

Fisheries Technicians perform technical work in the field of fisheries biology. As team members, they assist biologists in collecting various species of fish and other aquatic life, testing water quality, helping with stream habitat surveys, conducting angler surveys, collecting other fisheries data, formatting data for reports, and performing routine maintenance on equipment. Many fisheries technician positions involve extensive gillnetting and electrofishing. These positions generally assist the biologist during periods of the year when activity is most significant. Applicants must have a high school diploma and typically are enrolled in a university fisheries/biology program.
 

 

NONGAME BIOLOGISTS  

Nongame Biologists perform technical work in the field of wildlife biology. As team members, they assist the Nongame Mammal and Bird Biologists in collecting data on various species of terrestrial Nongame wildlife, Species of Greatest Conservation Need, assist with avian and mammalian surveys, conduct distribution, abundance, and trend counts, collect other morphometric and demographic data, format data for reports and perform routine maintenance on equipment. Many positions involve extensive fieldwork, working nights, and long days in adverse weather conditions. These positions generally assist biologists during periods of the year when activity is most significant. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in wildlife or biology program and one year of experience.

 

NATIONAL ELK REFUGE CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE TECHNICIAN

Collect lymph nodes from harvested deer and elk within the Jackson elk herd unit using a scalpel and forceps. Contact hunters in the field and at check stations. Collecting and recording data specific to the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance program. Collecting and recording other harvest information (i.e., species, age, and sex of harvested animals). TechnicianThe: The technician is also responsible for familiarizing themselves with CWD and its distribution in Wyoming to respond to hunters' questions and inquiries effectively and enter field data into CWD databases. Applicants must have a high school diploma and typically are enrolled in a university fisheries/biology program.
 

RESEARCH TECHNICIAN

This position assists the brucellosis management team with ongoing research, surveillance, and management projects in the Jackson/Pinedale area. Duties include capturing elk on winter feed grounds for collecting biological samples, tracking and recovering radio transmitters using radio telemetry, habitat data collection, and data entry. Applicants must have a high school diploma and typically possess an undergraduate degree in biology or a closely related field.

Terrestrial Biologists

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If you're a hunter or wildlife enthusiast, you can turn that interest into a career in terrestrial wildlife management as a biologist. Biologists manage wildlife populations and their supporting habitats for others to enjoy. A career in this field can take several directions. Biologists specialize in evaluating or studying the status of wildlife populations, the effects of environmental impacts, species distribution, habitat requirements, behaviors, disease, and more.

 

Terrestrial Wildlife Biologists conduct assessments of game, non-game, and endangered wildlife populations and their habitats. Management biologists put this information to use in the field, designing management strategies to conserve best or improve wildlife populations and opportunities for hunters and other enthusiasts. These strategies include data collection and analysis, formulating hunting season recommendations, inventorying habitats, designing and implementing habitat improvement projects, and conducting environmental impact assessments. A crucial part of any biologist's job is public speaking. Biologists must be willing and able to interface with the public for whom they are managing the wildlife resource. Biologists must be comfortable giving presentations on wildlife ecology and hunting season recommendations. Positions require independent fieldwork in a variety of settings, along with interaction with the public. Terrestrial Biologists receive a competitive salary with state employment benefits.

 

Wyoming’sWyoming's wildlife resource is second to none. As stewards of Wyoming's wildlife resources, Biologists are committed to conserving and enhancing all wildlife and their habitats for future generations through scientific resource management and informed public participation. The opportunity to be responsible for preserving this state's variety and abundance of wildlife provides many rewards, including the chance to "give something back" to the resource.

 

Terrestrial Biologists study and analyze the behavior, diseases, genetics, population dynamics, and life processes of wildlife and their habitat. They specialize in game and nongame wildlife research and management, including collecting, analyzing, and reporting biological data to estimate population and habitat trends and environmental effects of present and potential uses of the land. They make recommendations to minimize negative impacts. Biologists participate in research projects and population surveys regularly involving aerial surveys. These positions may have some input into setting a budget and are responsible for staying within an assigned budget. Biologists must be able to communicate in both written and oral formats effectively. They are generally accountable for achieving project goals and acting with little direct supervision. Some positions are located remote from supervisors.  The biologists work outdoors to enhance habitat for a wide range of wildlife species such as big game, upland game birds, nongame, and waterfowl.  The positions have a lot of flexibility in partnering with landowners, other agencies, and conservation groups within large areas of responsibility to improve habitat for wildlife.  Individuals keenly interested in wildlife habitat requirements, ecology, and vegetation enjoy these positions.  Significant activities include working with landowners and managers on conservation easements, grazing management plans, riparian improvements, aspen regeneration, prescribed burning, shrub enhancements, wetland, wildlife habitat mitigation, habitat assessments, project monitoring, and land management planning.

Terrestrial Habitat Biologist

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If you enjoy the outdoors, support wildlife, and are knowledgeable about plants, then a terrestrial habitat biologist may be your job. Habitat biologists are determined to maintain healthy ecosystems to provide Wyoming's wildlife with the necessities of life – food, cover, water, and space. Nature can only be as abundant as the habitat allows. 

 

Habitat biologists try to improve all habitat types across the state, including grasslands, sagebrush steppe, aspen communities, forests, and riparian areas. By coordinating with other agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service and private landowners, habitat biologists conduct an array of improvement projects, including prescribed burns, mechanical and herbicide treatments, and weed control. Habitat biologists also monitor annual vegetation to evaluate forage production and utilization to ensure wildlife is not damaging plants. Biologists assist private landowners interested in enrolling their property in a conservation easement. Biologists coordinate with federal and state agencies and private landowners to develop grazing management systems to improve wildlife habitat. By protecting and enhancing habitat, Wyoming's wildlife will have a home for generations.

Wildlife Forensics & Fish Health Lab

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For over 50 years, the Wyoming Game and Fish Laboratory in Laramie has provided top-notch services to the department and other state and federal agencies. The main focus of the laboratory is fish health and wildlife forensics. Additional duties include aging of big game teeth using a technique called cementum annuli analysis. The laboratory is one of the few state laboratories in the country that is both a total service fish health and wildlife forensic laboratory. Both programs are recognized nationally.

 

LABORATORY DIRECTOR

Applicants will be interested in this type of position because of the wide diversity of duties and knowledge base and the high level of responsibility and expectations this position has daily. This position requires a high degree of expertise in numerous areas, including forensics, bacteriology, fish health and considerable game tooth aging. This position works every day towards the department's mission of Conserving Wildlife, Serving People.

 

Many rewards come with the Laboratory Director's position. This position works at a national and international level to protect the resources of not only this state but much of the western United States by assisting with forensics, fish health, and tooth aging. The position includes watching your staff grow and expand to their most excellent potential daily. You can also be hands-on throughout the three laboratory areas, so this person is kept from being behind a desk all day.

 

Duties of this job include supervising the maintenance, operation, and functions of the Wyoming Game and Fish Wildlife Forensic and Fish Health Laboratory, according to the strategic plan, and guiding the workflow throughout the laboratory. Duties also include supervising and approving activities of technical experts, biologists, and lab technicians in the fish health, forensics, and analytical services. One of the more exciting duties includes working with law enforcement officers to make a case against suspected poachers using advanced DNA technologies for matching and a minimum number of animals.

 

This position also includes being an American Fisheries Society-certified Aquatic Animal Health Inspector. This includes going to all the state, private, and wild aquaculture facilities and identifying them as disease-free. It is also necessary for the person in this position to prepare, implement and monitor annual budgets; review and approve payment vouchers, requisitions, yearly work plans, project funding requests, job descriptions, and performance appraisals; and conduct all hiring, supervising an,d training of laboratory specialists, biologists, forensic scientists, and technicians.
 

WILDLIFE FORENSIC PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Applicants will be interested in this position because of the uniqueness of the job and the ability to assist with conserving resources using science. This position is responsible for running the wildlife forensics program for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The Wildlife Forensic Program Coordinator is a person that is very active in all aspects of the national wildlife forensic science field.

 

Rewards are plentiful in this position and come in many forms, such as completing a tough case or assisting with a local investigator. This job is gratifying because the person in this position works closely with law enforcement and the judicial system to ensure that the convicted poacher gets his reward. This position brings satisfaction when you mentor undergraduate/graduate students to give them experience in the forensics world.

 

This position's job duties include Identifying blood, meat, and biological fluids collected in wildlife law enforcement and other biologically oriented cases for the department and other state wildlife agencies. This includes maintaining an evidentiary chain of custody and storing, inventorying and returning evidentiary items, and determining family and species level identification based on enzymatic and serologic analyses. Determine if an animal is poached often requires determining the gender of submitted samples using genomic DNA and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and performing microsatellite DNA testing of blood, tissue, horn/antlers, bone, feathers, and hair for matching and a minimum number of animals present for mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, pronghorn, turkey, moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain lion.

 

A critical aspect of the job is training other laboratory and law enforcement personnel in areas of expertise, including sample submission, analyses and crime scene investigations. It travels to testify in court as needed.
 

FISH HEALTH PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Applicants will be interested in this position because they work closely with fish health and disease control problems and solutions. This position comes with many responsibilities and expectations in fish health on both a state and national level. The place is very hands-on and includes work in the field as well as in the laboratory.

 

This job is rewarding because you are working closely with the resources to ensure the health of Wyoming's fish meets the preset requirements of the department. Rewards include but are not limited to the knowledge that you are helping to make the waters and fish in Wyoming healthy for the anglers who enjoy fishing our waters. There is also the reward of knowing you have the skills to diagnose the different types of diseases that come through the laboratory.

 

Job duties of this position include: Planning, coordinating, and executing the fish disease prevention and control program for the department by providing legally mandated veterinary disease inspections for hatcheries, free-ranging broodstocks, quarantine units, and private aquaculture facilities. Necessary duties include consulting and advising Fish Division administration, hatchery superintendents, and fish culture personnel on fish health concerns and testing results to minimize disease impacts and to prevent the spread of pathogens. While not a major significant part of the job, an important task provided by this position includes providing all aspects of veterinary diagnostic services for investigating fish disease problems and fish kills at hatcheries and for field operations and performing the appropriate diagnostic tests to determine the cause of fish disease or death and making chemotherapeutic recommendations to hatchery managers.

 

The person in this position also conducts in-service training to educate hatchery and fish managers about proper fish disease prevention and control strategies. This aspect of the job is essential to try and decrease losses in the incubators due to treatable disease conditions.

 

The Fish Health Program Coordinator will represent the department's interests at national fish health policy meetings and is required to network nationally with other fish health professionals to determine the disease status of fish stocks and establish standardized sampling protocols.

FORENSIC ANALYST

Applicants will be interested in this position because of the dynamic workflow. You can do the forensics work firsthand with the guidance of the Forensic Program Coordinator. You can use your schooling, knowledge of forensics, and skills first-hand. This position is excellent for experience in the field o forensic science and introduces you to the judicial aspect of the forensic world.

 

This job is rewarding for numerous reasons. These reasons include learning to apply forensic techniques to a case, working in a positive, encouraging work environment, and watching yourself improve and learn.

 

Job duties for this position include: Independently analyzing blood, meat, and biological fluids collected in wildlife law enforcement and other biologically oriented cases for the department and other state wildlife agencies. This includes maintaining an evidentiary chain of custody and storing, inventorying, and returning evidentiary items. The person in this position will also perform analyses that will determine family and species level identification based on enzymatic and serologic studies and determine the gender of submitted samples using genomic DNA and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This analyst is expected to independently set up microsatellite DNA testing of blood, tissue, horn/antlers, bone, feathers, and hair for matching and minimum number of animals present for mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, pronghorn, turkey, moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain lion and interpret those results.
  

AQUATIC ANIMAL HEALTH INSPECTOR

Applicants will be interested in this position because they will work directly with the Fish Health Program Manager to learn the areas of fish health and disease. This position will learn to process, examine, extract, and analyze fish samples independently. This position requires field work and laboratory work so that a person can experience both areas of expertise.

 

This position is rewarding because you gain the knowledge and experience to conduct fish health inspections throughout Wyoming. You gain experience and confidence in your disease diagnostics with the help of the program manager and mentor.

 

Job duties for this position include Processing, examining, extracting, and analyzing fish tissues and assisting with organizing and conducting fish health inspections at the state and private hatcheries and wild broodstock sites in Wyoming. An inspector conducts field sampling and laboratory necropsies of fish and applies standard microbiological techniques, including microscopic examination of tissues; cell culture; virus assays; staining, and biochemical testing methods for the identification of pathogenic bacteria; parasite identification; histological specimen preparation; and DNA preparation and testing necessary for the disease certification of fish and gametes.

Position responsibilities include: maintaining inventory and maintenance of laboratory equipment and supplies; directing and training of laboratory technicians, students, and field personnel in sampling procedures; writing technical reports, articles, and methods; attending agency activities and meetings; presenting disease information to public and department personnel; assisting with literature reviews; developing and conducting research projects on fish diseases; and frequently traveling to fish culture facilities. Position responsibilities also include recognizing aquatic nuisance species and bringing new DNA procedures online for testing confirmation of bacterial, viral, or parasitic organisms of interest to the fish health pathologist.