The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is hiring a seasonal technician in Alpine to help monitor deer and other animals for chronic wasting disease across West Texas.
The seasonal Fish and Wildlife Technician I will work under the direction of a regional wildlife health specialist and collect tissue samples from white-tailed deer, mule deer and other cervids for CWD testing.
The position is part of TPWD’s ongoing effort to track the fatal neurological disease, which has become an increasingly important wildlife management issue in the Trans-Pecos and other parts of Texas.
Chronic wasting disease affects members of the deer family and is caused by abnormal proteins known as prions. Infected animals may spread the disease before showing visible symptoms, making testing and surveillance important tools for determining where the disease is present and limiting its spread.
The Alpine-based technician will help collect the biological samples needed for that surveillance work, putting the employee directly in the field as wildlife officials monitor deer populations across the region.
TPWD recently highlighted CWD as one of several wildlife diseases being closely watched in West Texas. The agency conducts testing of harvested and other deer as part of its statewide surveillance program and has established special monitoring and containment rules in areas where the disease has been detected.
The seasonal Alpine opening is listed as Job ID 103255. Applications are being accepted through Sept. 4.
The position is listed through the state’s CAPPS employment system under “Seasonal Fish and Wildlife Technician I — Wildlife Region 1 CWD Technician.”
