BLM GIS Intern-Norman, Oklahoma

Start/End Date: August 17, 2020 – August 13, 2021 (anticipated)

Salary: $500/week (+Education Award)

Term: 52 weeks

Reports To: Carolyn Russell (BLM-Oklahoma Assistant Field Manager, Resources)

Location: Oklahoma Field Office (201 Stephenson Pkwy, Suite 1200, Norman, OK 73072)

Status: 1700-hour AmeriCorps Service Term, Full-time, Seasonal, Exempt (75% office work and 25% field work)

Benefits: AmeriCorps Education Award $6,095, Public Lands Corps Certificate*; both with successful completion of the internship. The Corps Network health insurance provided by Cigna, AmeriCorps child care assistance. 

Conservation Corps New Mexico, a program of Conservation Legacy, aims to continue the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930's. CCNM is focused on connecting youth, young adults, and recent era military veterans with conservation service work projects on public lands. CCNM operates programs across southern New Mexico and western Texas that engage individuals and strengthen communities through service and conservation. CCNM has a program office in Las Cruces. 

 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oklahoma Field Office is providing an opportunity for one qualified individual to be brought on for 52 weeks to work closely with the BLM’s cultural resources staff and GIS staff. The GIS intern will contribute to the Oklahoma Field Office's (OFO) cultural resources program. This position will involve managing spatial data for a variety of projects that involve cultural resource inventories, compiling and interpreting collected information, and cultural resource record management. The data generated from these projects and tasks will advance the landscape-scale, science-based management of cultural resources within the OFO management area. The GIS intern will work in an interdisciplinary team setting with OFO resource specialists to determine the most effective strategies to managing impacts to cultural resource sites affected by OFO undertakings.

 Essential Responsibilities and Functions:

·        Assist the Oklahoma Field Office archaeologists in creating, editing, and attributing geospatial data that involve cultural resource inventories. 

·        Assist with the review of cultural resource inventories to identify data gaps in geospatial representations.

·        Assist with general data cleanup/quality control and maintenance of the Oklahoma Field Office’s geospatial data.

·        Assist with the identification of opportunities for landscape-level mitigation. 

·        Assist BLM GIS staff in UAS operations, primarily in the role of Visual Observer.  

·        Digitize or geo-reference spatial products. Complete other GIS projects as assigned.

·        Applicants should have an undergraduate degree in natural resource management, environmental policy, geographic information science (GIS), or a related field.

·        Minimum 1 year of experience in a related field or specific duty as outlined above.

·        Applicant must have strong written and oral skills and be proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite and ArcGIS.

·        Applicants should demonstrate strong organizational skills, have experience working as part of a team, be able to work well with others in a professional setting, and be self-motivated and able to work independently with limited supervision after the initial training period.

·        Applicants must pass a DOI security background check, and should possess a valid driver’s license with a clean driving record.  

·        Master’s degree or completing post graduate education in one of the academic fields listed above.

·        An understanding of federal land resource management policies, including NEPA.

·        Teamwork oriented with clear, direct communication and interpersonal skills. 

 

·        To successfully perform essential functions, the individual is required to sit, stand, walk, speak, hear, etc… May be required to stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl for significant periods of time and be able to safely lift 50 pounds on a routine basis. He/she must be able to operate office equipment, telephone, and computer and reach with hands and arms.

·        Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

·        Work effectively as a member of a team despite potentially stressful and difficult conditions. This may require problem solving on an interpersonal or group level as well as a willingness to accept differences. 

·        Contribute to a safe learning environment; no harassment of others for any reason.

·        Willingness and ability to complete all aspects of the program including conservation projects, education, training, and national service. 

·        Effectively communicate ideas and concerns as they arise directly to supervisors, colleagues, and organization staff. 

·        Appropriately represent the program and AmeriCorps to the public and partners at all times.

 

·        Effectively communicate danger to others in the form of either a warning of danger others may be encountering or a notification of personal distress, injury or need for assistance.

·        Effectively perceive, understand, and follow direction by others so that you will be able to successfully execute techniques to manage hazards. 

·        Stay alert and focused for several hours at a time while traveling and working in varied weather conditions. 

·        Respond appropriately to stress or crises.

·        If taking prescriptions medications, participants must be able to maintain proper dosage by self-medicating without assistance from others.

 

A DOI background clearance must be completed before the selected candidate may report to duty. The BLM will provide instructions for completion of the clearance after an intern has been selected and will notify them when they have been cleared to start the internship. This process will determine the internship’s exact start date.

Interns will have access to government facilities and systems, and will be supplied with access to gov’t vehicles, equipment, and materials needed to work on the projects and activities as outlined above. Interns must adhere to all government regulations and policies for operating equipment, vehicles, security awareness, and safety. 

*To be eligible for a Public Lands Corps certificate, interns must be between the ages of 18 – 30, inclusive, at the time the individual begins the term of service.

·        In accordance to a drug free workplace, alcohol and drugs are prohibited while participating in AmeriCorps and program activities and while on organization property. 

To Apply: Please submit an updated resume and cover letter along with the online application at corpsnm.org/individual-placement-openings.

 

For more information about Conservation Corps New Mexico, please visit www.corpsnm.org. Conservation Corps New Mexico is a program of Conservation Legacy.