Jill Seymour

Recovery Coordinator for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga, which numbers less than 350 individuals and is one of the agency's ten highest priority species for recovery, and acting supervisor and trainer.

• In 4 years, have received merit-based pay raises amounting to over $30K, in addition to over 14 performance awards.
• Coordinate with > 30 partners from local, State, and Federal agencies, Alaska Native Tribes, industry, non-profits, U.S. aquaria, academia, local communities, and foreign researchers.
• Design and execute complex research projects to support species management and recovery.
• Oversee $2 million +/yr in agency research funding.
• Organize NOAA's largest outreach event, covering ~5 million acres, with attendance from ~3K people in person and 30K+ virtually.
• Regularly perform supervisory tasks to assist with an ever-expanding regional workload.
• Regularly present to political, scientific, and public audiences at a local and national level.

Recovery Coordinator for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga (CIB), which numbers less than 350 individuals and is one of the agency's ten highest priority species for recovery.

• Have been awarded 14 monetary awards for outstanding performance and contributions to improving the workplace.
• Have received bonuses and merit-based pay raises annually for my exceptional work, capping out at the maximum pay for my position within the first two years with the agency. This is the equivalent of being promoted from a Grade 12 Step 6 to a Grade 12 Step 12, a process that typically takes 13 years.
• Coordinate with > 30 partners from local, State, and Federal agencies, Alaska Native Tribes, industry, non-profits, U.S. aquaria, academia, local communities, and foreign partners on recovery work.
• Manage field coordination and media inquiries for complex emergent events, e.g., emergency response to entanglements and mass live strandings.
• Design and execute complex research projects to support management and recovery of Cook Inlet beluga whales.
• Organize and execute NOAA's largest 1-day outreach event, covering ~5 mil acres, with attendance from ~3K people in person and 30K virtually. This event requires year-long coordination and >100 volunteers.
• Oversee $2 mil +/yr in agency funding for beluga research.
• Engage in all annual funding processes, e.g., development and presentation of proposals/contracts, report review, budget tracking.
• Co-lead the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Recovery Implementation Task Force, a diverse multi-party group that identifies and advises NOAA Fisheries and the State of Alaska on recovery priorities.
• Author and provide input on regulatory documents and processes related to Cook Inlet belugas, including reports to Congress and ESA Section 7 consultation responses.
• Act a Branch Chief/Supervisor as needed and regularly perform supervisory document review/clearance tasks to assist with an ever-expanding regional workload.
• Provide early coordination and Section 7 consultation services on top priority and high-profile projects such as the Johnson Mine Easement Conveyance, West Susitna Access Road, DoD's Arctic Edge 25, Alaska LNG Project, American Tidal Energy Project, Eklutna Dam, federal oil and gas lease sales, port modernization projects, and highway expansions.
• Am a mentor for NOAA's Hollings Scholar undergraduate internship program, a project supervisor for NOAA's internal professional development program, and an agency ambassador at public events throughout the US.
• Regularly present on Cook Inlet beluga recovery topics to political, scientific, and public audiences at a local and national level, including briefings for agency leadership and congressionals, and live radio, live TV, and print media.

GS-12 Senior Fish and Wildlife Biologist and protected species subject matter expert for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Region 8, Ecological Services, Sierra-Cascades Division, which manages protected species and habitat across the Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascades region of California.

• Plan and conduct ecological investigations on a wide variety of complex land and water resource development projects and proposals to determine their effect on the survival, distribution, and abundance, fish and/or wildlife resources and habitats including species listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
• Conduct consultations pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, including management and implement of complex, large-scale (regional, state, and nation-wide) programmatic consultation processes such as the Nationwide Aerial Application of Fire Retardant on National Forest Service Lands.
• Lead the development and implementation of Conservation Strategies and Recovery Plans, including management of a 70+ person, multi-stakeholder Strategy implementation group for mountain yellow-legged frogs and coordination of multiple working groups aimed at recovery of the species.
• Developed and co-lead the first in-field emergency disease outbreak response team for chytrid fungus of its kind in California.
• Coordinate the development and continued support of amphibian captive rearing programs at multiple zoos in California.
• Serve as an agency sponsor for multiple successful state- and federally-funded recovery projects, including species translocation, captive rearing, and habitat creation and restoration.
• Review grant and funding applications for species conservation and recovery as well as habitat creation and restoration.
• Provide technical assistance to project proponents, i.e., Federal, State, and local jurisdictions, regarding proposed projects and opportunities to mitigate, minimize, or avoid impacts to natural resources.
• Work with species and resource experts to develop species monitoring programs and habitat restoration methodologies that inform the project design of future federal actions.

Senior Fish and Wildlife Biologist, subject matter expert, and acting supervisor on protected species and habitat across the Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascades.

• Planned and conducted ecological investigations on complex land and water resource development projects to determine their effect on fish and/or wildlife resources and habitats.
• Led the development and implementation of Conservation Strategies and Recovery Plans, including management of a 70+ person team for mountain yellow-legged frogs recovery.
• Developed and co-led California's first in-field emergency disease outbreak response team for chytrid fungus.
• Coordinated the development and continued support of amphibian captive rearing programs at multiple zoos.
• Worked with experts to develop species monitoring programs and habitat restoration methodologies that inform future federal actions.
• Conducted consultations pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, including for complex nation-wide actions, and trained other staff on this process.

Fish and Wildlife Biologist and subject matter expert on protected species and habitat in the San Joaquin Valley, California.

• Planned and conducted ecological investigations on a wide variety of complex land and water resource development projects and proposals to determine their effect on fish and/or wildlife resources and habitats.
• Conducted consultations pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and prepared habitat conservation plans.
• Participated in complex problem solving sessions with project proponents regarding habitat conservation projects and opportunities to mitigate impacts to natural resources.

GS-11 Fish and Wildlife Biologist and protected species subject matter expert for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Region 8, Ecological Services, San Joaquin Valley Division, which conducts Endangered Species Act consultations on proposed projects, plans and programs, and provides technical assistance to action agencies and others with regards to protected species and habitat.

• Plan and conduct ecological investigations on a wide variety of complex land and water resource development projects and proposals to determine their effect on the survival, distribution, and abundance fish and/or wildlife resources and habitats including species listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
• Conduct consultations pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and prepare habitat conservation plans.
• Participate in complex problem solving sessions with project proponents, i.e., Federal, State, local jurisdictions, and private entities, regarding habitat conservation projects and activities and opportunities to mitigate, minimize, or avoid impacts to natural resources.
• Prepare report on progress and completion of studies with recommendations for changes, elimination, or improvement of operations and program plans.

Wildlife Biologist and protected species expert for the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf and adjacent terrestrial habitat.

• Received multiple acknowledgements from agency headquarters for my contributions to development of the agency's national program.
• Was offered a Merit Promotion to the position of NEPA coordinator for the first U.S. Arctic Federal offshore oil development and production project.
• Advised the agency's regional and national leadership on complex legal, regulatory, and policy issues pertaining to the region's highest profile protected wildlife resources.
• Prepared and reviewed National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act consultation documents for national and regional programs and project-specific activities.
• Used GIS datasets to identify important fish and wildlife habitat areas for mitigation or exclusion from energy development activities.

GS-11 Wildlife Biologist and protected species subject matter expert (SME) for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Alaska OCS Region, Office of Environment, Environmental Analysis Section I, which produces NEPA and ESA documents for proposed projects, plans and programs.

• Received an exceptional (5 out of 5) rating at my annual employee evaluation.
• Received multiple acknowledgements from agency headquarters for my contributions to development of the agency's national program, including review and recommendation of potential important habitat areas for exclusion and protection.
• Was recently recommended for a Merit Promotion to the position of section NEPA coordinator, in which my first project would be the NEPA analysis for the first U.S. Arctic offshore oil development and production project located solely in Federal waters.
• Performed all of the impact analyses for the region's two most high-profile protected species: polar bears and Pacific walruses.
• With little (less than 1 day) to no notice, informed and advised BOEM's national and regional directors on complex legal, regulatory, and policy-related issues pertaining to protected wildlife resources, particularly as they related to controversial proposed actions and to the agency's programs.
• Prepared and reviewed National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents (e.g., environmental impact statements (EISs), environmental assessments (EAs)), conducting Endangered Species Act (ESA) for national and regional programs and project-specific plans.
• Identified and analyzed potential impacts/environmental consequences of complex proposed actions on fish and wildlife resources and associated habitat.
• Synthesized information on the abundance and distribution of species, identified important habitat areas, and integrated relevant findings into NEPA and ESA documents to inform impact analyses.
• Identified important fish and wildlife habitat areas for mitigation or exclusion from proposed action activities.

Senior scientist and subject matter expert on protected species and habitat, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

• Prepared and reviewed NEPA documents, biological assessments, literature reviews, study reports.
• Identified fish and wildlife resources present in project areas and evaluated potential impacts from proposed development projects.
• Reviewed and synthesized fish and wildlife resource information from published and gray literature, databases, and geospatial platforms for use in evaluating potential impacts of proposed projects.
• Developed and led protected species surveys and monitoring programs, including logistical planning, budget management, and personnel training.

• Senior scientist and subject matter expert for projects and documents relevant to special status species (e.g., state- and Federally-listed threatened and endangered species, candidate species, proposed species, marine mammals) and associated habitat, including designated critical habitat.
• Subject matter expert in interpreting and referencing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and other environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
• Prepared and reviewed environmental documents, including environmental impact statements, environmental assessments, environmental impact assessments, and study reports.
• Prepared biological assessments (BA) and letters requesting concurrence for formal and informal ESA Section 7 consultations, including a BA of a complex and controversial development project for which multiple alternatives were analyzed because cooperating agencies could not resolve conflicting views about which alternative should be preferred.
• Identified fish and wildlife resources present in project study areas, including seasonal abundance and distribution, and evaluated potential impacts of proposed development projects and alternatives on wildlife resources.
• Reviewed and synthesized fish and wildlife resource information from published and gray literature, databases, and geospatial platforms for use in evaluating potential impacts of proposed development projects.

Instructor for 'Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy', an upper division course with 1-hour lectures twice a week and a 3-hour laboratory twice a week.

• This course is required for all undergraduate students pursuing degrees in wildlife biology and provides a foundation in understanding the anatomy of cartilaginous and bony fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
• Was hired for the position while concurrently a full-time graduate student.
• Supervised 1 graduate student teaching assistant.

• Instructor for 'Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy', a 4-credit, upper division course capped at 20 students with 1 hour lectures twice a week and a 3 hour laboratory twice a week.
• This course is required for all undergraduate students pursuing degrees in wildlife biology and provides a foundation in understanding the anatomy of cartilaginous and bony fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
• Was hired for the position while concurrently a full-time graduate student.
• Developed and presented all lecture powerpoints, handouts, and exams.
• Planned all laboratory exercises.
• Graded all exams.
• Directly supervised one laboratory teaching assistant.