The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has a full-time, contract-funded opening for an assistant ecologist. The primary emphasis of this position is to conduct inventory and monitoring studies at a number of National Parks. The position will be based in Middletown, PA (near Harrisburg), at the Middletown office of the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, a part of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
Duties include inventory and monitoring of grasslands within Valley Forge National Historical Park, developing of a monitoring protocol for the herbaceous strata of forest stands within the nine parks of the Eastern River and Mountain Network of the National Park Service, and assisting with various other state and federally-funded research and inventory projects. Requirements: A minimum of a bachelor's degree in landscape ecology, field ecology, conservation biology, botany or related field, plus experience; masters degree preferred. Knowledge of Pennsylvania and/or mid-Atlantic/Midwest regions' flora, including invasive species. Experience in the design and implementation of field studies, ecological research techniques, community ecology, and natural community classification. Position requires the ability to traverse rugged terrain, spend long hours out-of-doors on extended field excursions, and travel to work in remote locations within Pennsylvania. Must be able to work well independently and with others. Valid drivers license required. Candidates should be proficient with geographical information system software (i.e., ArcView, ArcGIS) and global positioning systems (GPS). Other desired skills/experience include interpretation of aerial photography, report writing, and public speaking. This position may also assist in several projects involving predictive modeling of rare or invasive species where expertise in programming language R, and ecological niche models such as MaxEnt, DOMAIN, GARP, CART, and RandomForest are desired. We offer a competitive salary and excellent fringe benefits. If you are interested in this position, please send your resume, a cover letter, and salary expectations to: WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY Senior Director, Human Resources Box R, Mill Run, PA 15464 [EMAIL PROTECTED] E.O.E.
