ACE: Vegetation Monitoring Team Members, Vale District Office
Summary: The American Conservation Experience, a nationwide Non-Profit Conservation Corps based in Flagstaff, AZ and Salt Lake City, Utah in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management Vale District is seeking Two Monitoring Team Members to dedicate 18 weeks to assist in vegetation monitoring.
This opportunity is intended for enthusiastic young professionals with a deep interest in advancing their career goals in land management.
Start Date: May 9, 2022
End Date: 18 weeks from official start * minimum 18-week commitment is required *
Location: Vale, OR ( Malheur Field Office)
Vale, OR has a rich ranching and rural history; there are ample rodeos and county fairs to attend during the summer. Nearby Weiser, ID annually hosts the national old-time fiddle competition in June. Outdoor recreation near Vale is expansive with public lands surrounding the area ranging from arid desert to montane ecosystems. Although abundant, facilitated trails and access are limited, with just a few established hiking trails, most recreation requires horses or all-terrain vehicles for access. It is 1.5 hours driving to the W, N or E to reach forested recreation. Shopping is limited in Vale (grocery store, hardware store, and gas stations), but Ontario OR, 16 miles to the E provides a larger selection including a natural foods store. If you are willing to travel 1 hour you are in the Boise area with unlimited cultural events and shopping opportunities. There is no public transportation in the Vale area, if you want to venture outside of Vale you will need a car.
Project Website:
For more information on the BLM Vale District, please visit: https://www.blm.gov/office/vale-district-office
Living Allowance: The member should anticipate serving 40 hrs/wk and will receive a living allowance of $570/wk for food and incidentals, dispersed bi-weekly. Per-diem is available for a flat field rate of $38/day
Housing: The member will be responsible to find their own housing. However, a Housing Allowance is included of up to $100/week. There is limited no public bus service within the Vale area. A car is necessary if you want to venture outside of Vale
COVID-19:
- ACE Members must verify that they are fully vaccinated for Covid-19 or have requested and been granted a medical or religious exemption to vaccination by the time they start their term.
- Responsibility to act in the best interest of the communities in which we work: We travel and work in many rural communities that should feel confident we are not bringing Covid-19 with us. We do not intend to increase the burden on rural healthcare providers, emergency services and search and rescue personnel and believe that ensuring the safety of our members and staff extends to the communities we work for, and interact with.
Public Land Corps Special Hiring Authority:
ACE Members serving under this agreement may be eligible for a special hiring authority upon completion of their term.
Position Description:
The ACE Team Members will work with the Vale District monitoring team lead to accomplish vegetation monitoring throughout the Vale District.
Duties include establishing and revisiting post-fire monitoring sites to assess the success of natural recovery, seedings, herbicide treatments, and shrub plantings. Site visits will entail navigating to pre-identified coordinates in remote locations, which may entail 1-3 mile hikes on rocky terrain. Pre-determined monitoring protocols will utilize a variety of monitoring methods including line-point-intercept that will be used to assess the vegetation. Vale District will provide vegetation monitoring training for methods and data recording. Data will be collected on paper and electronic forms. Due to the remoteness of some locations overnight camping may be necessary. Other field duties include, but are not limited to, collecting and drying vegetative material to assess live fuel moisture, as well as assisting with flagging fuel treatment unit boundaries. In office work will include downloading data, filing data in electronic files, and labeling photos. There may be opportunities to assess the data and assist with annual monitoring reports.
Project Background and Objectives:
Monitoring is essential to assess the recovery of the vegetation communities post-fire. This information is used to assess the success of any treatments that were implemented to assist in the recovery, or to assess the success of the vegetation recovering on its own. This information also helps inform future treatments by showing what was successful and what was not.
Position responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Conduct monitoring and collect data on vegetation in burned areas.
- Conduct Quality Assurance/Quality Control on the data.
- Enter data in appropriate databases and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
Qualifications:
ACE Requirements:
- Members must be US Citizen or Permanent Resident, as required to comply with U.S. government contracts.
- ACE is a drug free workplace and reserves the right to drug test at any time
- Ability and willingness to undergo a federal criminal background check is required
- Must have a valid driver's license, clean driving record with ability to provide required documentation; (Driving record checks will be completed during on-boarding process.
- Ability to drive an [Agency or ACE] vehicle is required for this position. ACE will conduct a driving record check upon on-boarding and members must be cleared by ACE to drive.
Required for Position:
- Willing and able to represent ACE and the BLM in a professional, positive, and enthusiastic manner.
- Ability to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation .
- Proven ability to be both self-directed/work alone, and be a positive, contributing member of a group.
- Must be able to communicate clearly and concisely with resource professionals
- Ability and willingness to hike long distances on rugged terrain in temperatures that may exceed 100℉ and work 10 hour days.
Preferred:
- Applicants for the position must hold or be pursuing a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree and/or have relevant experience in subject areas such as ecology, botany, or natural resource management.
- Knowledge of vegetation monitoring.
- Deep interest in ecology, fire ecology, or rangeland management.
- Experience with ArcGIS and database management.
The member must be willing to represent ACE and the BLM in a professional, positive and enthusiastic manner.
To Apply:
Please submit a resume, cover letter, and 3 professional references using the APPLY NOW section located on the upper right hand corner of the position listing on our website here: https://usaconservationepic.applicantpool.com/jobs/
Note:
Early consideration will be given as applications are received. This position may close at any time. If you have any questions regarding this position, please feel free to contact Celia Demers, Member Manager at cdemers@usaconservation.org
EEO:
American Conservation Experience provides equal employment opportunities (EO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, American Conservation Experience complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities.