*UTAH:* http://crcareers.thegreatbasininstitute.org/careers/careers.aspx?rf=ECOLOG&req=2016-RAP-068
*WYOMING*: http://crcareers.thegreatbasininstitute.org/careers/careers.aspx?rf=ECOLOG&req=2016-RAP-015 *UTAH:* Member will provide national service at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a host site for Great Basin Institute’s AmeriCorps Program. The ecological monitoring program at GBI serves as an excellent professional development opportunity for burgeoning natural resource professionals looking for experience in botanical, soil, and rangeland surveys. This program is a component of our well-established Research Associate Program, which focuses on the conservation of natural resources in the Intermountain West. As an element of this program, participants will implement the Bureau of Land Management’s national Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) strategy, which is targeted at collecting standardized inventory and long-term ecological data at multiple scales across the Western BLM districts. In accordance with this strategy and through a partnership with the BLM, GBI’s ecological monitoring program is dedicated to providing college graduates and emerging professionals with hands-on survey, inventory, monitoring, and reporting experience in natural resource management. This video highlights the BLM’s AIM strategy for landscape-scale data capture across the western states. Description: In cooperation with the BLM-Utah, Kanab and Escalante Field Offices, GBI is recruiting up to two (2) Field Technicians to work cooperatively with BLM Resource Managers and a GBI Vegetation Monitoring Field Lead. Each field crew (one Lead and two Technicians) will characterize field samplings plots using the Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring (AIM) protocol and Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health (IIRH). Training for AIM will be provided by the Jornada Experimental Range in Monticello, UT. Training for IIRH will be held in Phoenix, AZ. Duties include following established field protocols to conduct vegetation sampling and field data collection on new and existing monitoring sites within the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument (GSENM). Field work includes maintaining safety awareness and practices, navigating off-trail to sampling sites, establishing sampling plots and transects, identifying and describing soil horizons, collecting vegetation data (including species inventory, forb frequency, sagebrush shape, foliar cover, canopy gap, and herbaceous and woody heights), making qualitative range assessments, and taking photo-points. During these periods of field work, camping will be required. Additional duties include entering data into an Access-based database, employing QA/QC techniques, and aiding with field logistics. Field data will be used by BLM Natural Resource Specialists to inform decisions regarding range management and other land management issues of the area. Location: This position will require significant amount of travel across the monument between the two bases of operations in Kanab and Escalante. Kanab, UT is southwest of the monument and Escalante, UT is located to the north. The field sampling will be performed across the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument, which comprises 1.9 million acres of southwestern Utah. GSENM is the first national monument to be managed by the BLM and the first area to be designated as part of the National Landscape Conservation System. Terrain and climate of the survey region is typical of the Colorado plateau and Utah Canyonlands. Compensation: o $5,585 Living Allowance o $1,515.55 AmeriCorps Education Award o Student loan forbearance and interest accrual o $75/week Housing Stipend o Camping per diem o Health Insurance provided (ACA-compliant, eligible on first day of service) *AmeriCorps Education Award may be used for past, present or future education experiences, including payment of qualifying federal student loans. Loan forbearance and accrued interest payment on qualifying student loans is also available. Timeline: o 9 May - 12 August 2016 (14 weeks) o Full-time, 40 hours per week minimum Qualifications: Technical requirements: • Bachelor’s Degree in Life Sciences, such as: Botany, Wildlife Biology, Range Ecology, Natural Resources Management, Environmental Resources or related subject; • Coursework in plant taxonomy and/or systematics (transcripts may be requested); • Experience identifying plants in the field and using a dichotomous key; • Familiarity with native and invasive plants of the Great Basin and Colorado Desert and associated natural resource issues preferred; • Experience in describing and identifying soil horizons; • Experience conducting plant surveys using various monitoring protocols, including standard rangeland monitoring protocols, photo plots, and site observations; • Experience with data entry and management; • Ability to read, interpret and navigate using topographic maps; • Experience navigating and collecting coordinates with hand-held GPS units; • Experience creating maps and performing basic functions with GIS software (ArcMap); and • Experience with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access). Additional requirements: • Valid, state-issued driver’s license and clean driving record; • Experience operating 4WD trucks on paved and unpaved roads, often in narrow or sandy areas; • Ability to work productively as part of a team to accomplish mutual goals; • Ability to work independently; • Ability to communicate effectively with team members, agency staff, and a diverse public; • Excellent organizational skills; • Familiarity with best practices for field safety and low impact principles; • Experience in and willingness to spend multiple days camping in the field; • Willingness to work irregular hours (e.g., early mornings, late nights); and • Ability to work in harsh and rapidly changing environments, work in all types of weather conditions, traverse uneven terrain, carry upwards of 40 pounds in a backpack, and otherwise maintain good physical condition. • Meet AmeriCorps eligibility requirements: (1) U.S. citizenship or legal resident alien status, (2) eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award (limit of four in a lifetime or the equivalent of two full-time education awards), (3) pass National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) and federal criminal background checks, (4) adhere to the rules, regulations and code of conduct as specified in the Member Service Agreement; and (5) will not engage in any prohibited activities as listed in the Member Service Agreement. How to Apply: http://crcareers.thegreatbasininstitute.org/careers/careers.aspx?rf=ECOLOG&req=2016-RAP-068 This AmeriCorps positions is made possible by a generous grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service. *WYOMING: *The vegetation/habitat monitoring program at GBI serves as an excellent professional development opportunity for burgeoning natural resource professionals. This program is a component of our well-established Research Associate Program, which focuses on conservation and management of natural and cultural resources in the Intermountain West. As an element of our vegetation/habitat monitoring program, participants will implement the Bureau of Land Management’s national Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) strategy, which is targeted at collecting standardized inventory and monitoring data at multiple scales across the Western BLM districts with the purpose of informing multiple-use management. In accordance with this strategy and through a partnership with the BLM, GBI’s vegetation monitoring program is dedicated to providing college graduates and emerging professionals with hands-on survey, inventory, monitoring, and reporting experience in natural resource management. This video highlights the BLM’s AIM strategy for landscape-scale data capture across the western states. Description: In cooperation with the BLM-Wyoming Lander and Rawlins Field Offices, GBI is recruiting up to five Field Leads to work cooperatively with BLM Biologists and Resource Managers, and GBI Vegetation Monitoring Field Technicians. Each Field Lead will coordinate a field crew (one Lead and two Technicians) to characterize vegetation using the Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring (AIM) protocol and Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health (IIRH), for which training will be provided by the Jornada Experimental Range in Rock Springs, WY. Duties include following established field protocols to conduct vegetation sampling and field data collection on new and existing monitoring sites within Wyoming. Field work for this position includes maintaining safety awareness and practices, navigating off-trail to sampling sites, establishing sampling plots and transects, identifying and describing soil horizons, collecting vegetation data (including species inventory, foliar cover, canopy gap, and herbaceous and woody heights), making qualitative range assessments, and taking photo-points. During these periods of field work, camping will be required. Additional duties include coordinating field logistics, scheduling, entering data into and managing an Access-based database, employing extensive QA/QC data checks, and reporting. Depending on the field office, the objective of the 2016 AIM sampling season is to collect comprehensive vegetation and rangeland monitoring data. This data will be summarized and analyzed at the end of the field season to inform future management of sagebrush ecosystems, Resource Management Plans, and grazing permit renewals. Funding for the full duration of this work is pending. Locations: Lander BLM Field Office: Based in Lander, WY, the Lander Field Office manages 2.5 million acres of multiple-use public lands within central Wyoming. These lands offer a wide diversity of resources including the National Historic Trails, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, historic mining areas, rock climbing, hiking, mountain biking, hang gliding, livestock grazing and wild horse management. The area also contains a diversity of landscapes: mountains, badlands, canyons, and plains. The town of Lander is situated along the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River at the foot of the Wind River Mountains. The area experiences a semi-arid climate with impressive thunderstorms throughout the summer. Rawlins BLM Field Office: Based in Rawlins, WY, the Rawlins Field Office manages over 3.5 million acres of public lands within southeast Wyoming. This region straddles the Continental Divide and waters originating within the field office flow into three basins--the Mississippi, the Colorado, and the Great Divide Basin. The area also contains a diversity of terrain and vegetation ranging from high mountains, high plains, to high deserts. Compensation: o $1,360 bi-weekly salary o $15.00 Camping per diem o $75/week housing stipend Timeline: o 9 May - 30 Sep 2016 (21 weeks)* o Full-time, 40 hours per week minimum *Duration of position is contingent upon funding Qualifications: Technical requirements: • Leadership experience; • Bachelor’s Degree in Life Sciences, such as: Botany, Wildlife Biology, Range Ecology, Natural Resources Management, Environmental Resources or related subject; • Coursework in plant taxonomy and/or systematics (transcripts may be requested); • Experience identifying plants in the field and using a dichotomous key; • Familiarity with native and invasive plants of the sampling area and associated natural resource issues preferred; • Experience in describing and identifying soil horizons; • Experience conducting plant surveys using various monitoring protocols, including standard rangeland monitoring protocols, photo plots, and site observations; • Experience with data entry and management; • Experience with technical writing and/or producing written project summary reports; • Ability to read, interpret and navigate using topographic maps; • Experience navigating and collecting coordinates with hand-held GPS units; • Experience creating maps and performing basic functions with GIS software (ArcMap); and • Experience with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access). Additional requirements: • Valid, state-issued driver’s license and clean driving record; • Ability to complete a Department of Interior (DOI) Background Investigation (BI) and submit paperwork to BLM human resources prior to beginning position indicating that an active and fully adjudicated BI has been started or completed; • Experience operating 4WD trucks on paved and unpaved roads, often in narrow or sandy areas; • Ability to work productively as part of a team to accomplish mutual goals; • Ability to work independently; • Ability to communicate effectively with team members, agency staff, and a diverse public; • Excellent organizational skills; • Experience leading a field crew; • Familiarity with best practices for field safety and low impact principles; • Experience in and willingness to spend multiple days camping in the field; • Flexibility with position location within field district offices • Willingness to work irregular hours (e.g., early mornings, late nights); and • Ability to work in harsh and rapidly changing environments, work in all types of weather conditions, traverse uneven terrain, carry upwards of 40 pounds in a backpack, and otherwise maintain good physical condition. How to Apply: http://crcareers.thegreatbasininstitute.org/careers/careers.aspx?rf=TAM&req=2016-RAP-015
