JOB OPPORTUNITY INVASIVE PLANT INVENTORY TECHNICIAN – February-April 2017
The Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition (ENLC) is currently hiring four (4) invasive plant technicians to work in the Southern Nevada District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Located in Ely, Nevada, ENLC is a non-profit conservation organization comprised of public, private, and non-profit partners dedicated to the restoration of the Western ecosystems through collaborative teamwork. The Southern Nevada BLM office is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the southern tip of Nevada. The Southern Nevada District encompasses 3 million public land acres in Clark and Nye counties. The area is within the Mojave Desert and is a blend of geologically diverse mountain ranges and wide valleys. The Lake Mead Recreation area is just southeast of Las Vegas and the western side of the Vegas Valley is bracketed by Mount Charleston (Forest Service) and Red Rock Canyon (BLM). Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada with over 2 million residents in the valley. However, if one travels twenty miles outside the city in any direction they will find themselves in very remote and beautiful Mojave Desert country. INVASIVE PLANT TECHNICIAN DUTIES: Field crews will work with ENLC’s staff ecologist and botanist in inventory and identification of invasive plants on public lands. Inventory duties include identifying invasive plant infestations, surveying, recording and managing data. The crews will be targeting their inventories on Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii), Malta Starthistle (Centaurea melitensis), and Green Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum) infestations, however, crews will be responsible for recording all noxious weeds they identify as they are inventorying any given area. All technicians will be responsible for driving large, 4-wheel drive pick-up trucks and hiking to and around inventory sites. Technicians are also required to wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Technicians must be comfortable with truck camping in the backcountry for up to 4 days at a time and MUST be physically able to hike while wearing a backpack over rough and steep terrain. EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE: Qualified applicants should have experience and/or education in invasive plant management, biological sciences, natural resources, plant identification or general plant taxonomy and the ability to follow directions and safety protocols. Applicants must be experienced with 4WD vehicles and should have a clean driving record for the past 3 years. Experience with utilizing GPS units and programs (Trimble units and ArcPad) are a plus. SALARY: $14.50-$15.50/hour, depending on experience (plus $34/day per diem when camping) SCHEDULE: Positions run from mid-February through April and follow a 10- hour day/four-day work week. Crews will return to Las Vegas if they are working close to the city in the evenings, otherwise they will camp out near the inventory sites for up to four (4) days at a time. Crew members are responsible for their own housing while working on this project. Applicants should email a cover letter, resume, and the contact information for at least three references to Julie Thompson at [email protected]. Materials should be emailed by January 20, 2017. Please put “S. NV Invasive Plant Technician” in the email subject line.
