Wildlife Refuge Management
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Wildlife Refuge Management occupation series (code 0485): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Biological Sciences Group family, Wildlife Refuge Management counts 394 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged up from the prior period; pay averages $113,356, which pays near the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- +0.8%
- Pay change
- -0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 20 yrs
- Rank in family
- #16 of 31
What the Numbers Say About Wildlife Refuge Management
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Headcount moved up versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
The Biological Sciences Group family (code 04) groups Wildlife Refuge Management together with 30 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Wildlife Refuge Management postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Biological Sciences Group family. Across the Biological Sciences Group family, 67,961 employees work in 31 occupations; Wildlife Refuge Management is 0.6% of that headcount.
Salary Context
How Wildlife Refuge Management pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$113,356
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-3.4%
Where Wildlife Refuge Management ranks on federal pay
Wildlife Refuge Management earns more on average than 62% of federal occupation series (338 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Wildlife Refuge Management sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Wildlife Refuge Management.
Related Occupations in Biological Sciences Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences | 23,662 | $124,641 | 14 yrs |
| Forestry Technician | 11,090 | $61,659 | 8.7 yrs |
| Wildland Fire Management | 9,667 | $64,457 | 7 yrs |
| Biological Science Technician | 5,212 | $56,618 | 8.9 yrs |
| Soil Conservation | 4,101 | $89,391 | 13.8 yrs |
| Wildlife Biology | 1,868 | $95,468 | 16.3 yrs |
| Fish Biology | 1,629 | $116,550 | 16.2 yrs |
| Microbiology | 1,629 | $143,306 | 16.3 yrs |
| Forestry | 1,626 | $88,902 | 15.1 yrs |
| Ecology | 989 | $122,664 | 16.1 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Wildlife Refuge Management outside the Biological Sciences Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (394 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($113,356 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Wildlife Refuge Management pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Biological Sciences Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Wildlife Refuge Management postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.