Natural Resource Specialist 3 pay range
State of Washington · class code 523U
- Class code
- 523U
- Salary range
- 54
- Pay unit
- Year
- State
- Washington
- The State of Washington published pay range for Natural Resource Specialist 3 is $61,332 to $82,440 per year.
- Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) keys this classification as class code 523U.
- This is the range the plan authorises, not the salary of any individual employee.
Step progression
Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) assigns this class to salary range 54 in the General Service Salary Schedule. The range pays 13 steps; a step is normally earned on a periodic increment date, not negotiated.
| Basis | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $61,332 | $62,880 | $64,512 | $66,072 | $67,704 | $69,348 | $71,136 | $72,900 | $74,748 | $76,608 | $78,504 | $80,496 | $82,440 |
| Monthly | $5,111 | $5,240 | $5,376 | $5,506 | $5,642 | $5,779 | $5,928 | $6,075 | $6,229 | $6,384 | $6,542 | $6,708 | $6,870 |
| Hourly | $29.37 | $30.11 | $30.90 | $31.64 | $32.43 | $33.21 | $34.07 | $34.91 | $35.80 | $36.69 | $37.60 | $38.55 | $39.48 |
Steps as published. The monthly and hourly rows are the state's own, not conversions of the annual row.
Class specification
The OFM classified job specification for this class is published by Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM). The passages below are quoted from it as published, not paraphrased, and cut to their opening sentences; the full specification is the authority on duties and qualifications.
What the state says the job is
Positions serve as a senior level professional in a natural resources program area. Examples of a natural resource program area include, but are not limited to, land management, timber sales, agricultural leases, shellfish and public tideland recreation, forest practices, reforestation and stand management, derelict vessel management, aquatic lands restoration, and/or environmental education.
Examples of the work
Serves as the region land management specialist responsible for lease administration and land management activities primarily involving non-forested lands; Serves as a unit forester responsible for development and implementation of the unit’s forest management plan, including the supervision of professional foresters and coordination of other agency specialists in timber sale layout and design, timber sale administration and compliance, silviculture prescriptions and road maintenance; Serves as the Shellfish Program Coordinator responsible for state wild stock geoduck assessment, tracking and allocation and representing the agency in developing tribal shellfish management plans with Puget So ...
Minimum qualifications
A bachelor’s degree involving major study in forestry, agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, geology, biological science, environmental science, real estate, land use or environmental planning, public policy, recreation, or related natural science and two years of professional experience in a natural resource program area. For some positions, paraprofessional or technical experience in natural resources may substitute for the professional experience; three years of paraprofessional or technical experience to two years of professional experience. Some position must have dive instructor level certification. Some positions may require a class A Commercial Driver’s License.
Quoted from the OFM classified job specification, read 2026-10-21.
Where this comes from
Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) publishes this figure in Classified Job Listing joined to the OFM salary schedules effective July 1, 2026. Every number on this page is read from that document; nothing is estimated, modelled or averaged.
The dollar figures come from the salary schedule the listing assigns this range to.