*U. S. Forest Service Native American Professional Development Research Assistantship*
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), through partnership with The Wildlife Society, is sponsoring a professional development program for Native American students. The program will facilitate mentoring opportunities for USFS Research & Development (R&D) scientists with the students and promote student advancement and training for careers in natural resource and conservation-related fields. The USFS uses a science-based approach to make informed decisions on the multiple-use management of the National Forests and Grasslands. A short-term assistantship is available for Native American students interested in wildlife and forest resources and excited to learn and work with an interdisciplinary team of researchers. Applicants must be members of a Native American, First Nations, or Indigenous Tribe. Applicants should be either currently enrolled as an upper-level undergraduate (junior/senior) or graduate (M.S. or Ph.D.) student at an accredited academic institution, be taking classes in non-degree status, or a recent graduate with intent to pursue graduate school. A bachelor’s or master’s degree in wildlife biology, ecology, forestry or other closely related natural resource discipline is preferred. Potential project topics include: *1. **Restoring California black oak to support tribal values and wildlife habitat in the Sierra Nevada* *Project Objectives*: To gather and systematically organize information regarding traditional management of California black oak in mixed conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada that can inform ecological restoration treatments. Black oak acorns are a traditional food source for California Native people and provide habitat to a variety of wildlife species. The project would develop an ethnoecological database, maps of historical oak areas managed by tribes, and a scientific manuscript for publication. *2. **Tracking post-emergence movements of Myotis spp. to uncover habitat preferences and potential migratory routes* *Project Objectives*: To better understand seasonal habitat use of *Myotis* spp. on the Ottawa National Forest (NF), student will: (1) record and analyze acoustic activity of *Myotis* spp. from spring emergence to mid-summer at and surrounding multiple hibernacula; (2) analyze acoustic data to determine differences in activity level among timber stand types; (3) identify areas for summer mist netting; and (4) use radio telemetry to locate summer maternity roosts of northern long-eared bats. *3. **Examining long-term changes in stream habitats on Dzil Ligai Sian (Mt. Baldy)* *Project Objectives*: To evaluate changes in aquatic habitat over a twelve year period in streams on Dzil Ligai Sian (Mt. Baldy), the ecologically and culturally preeminent peak of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. These streams are the ancestral habitat of the Apache trout, a threatened species and important resource for the Tribe, as well as many other animals (including amphibians such as leopard frogs) and plants of cultural significance and rarity. Working with Tribal staff, we will collect physical habitat data at a series of streams that were previously surveyed in 2003 to examine how they have changed and to relate their conditions to wildlife populations. The mid-term objective is to build tribal capacity to evaluate changes in these critical habitats owing to climate change, wildfires, and other stressors. This information will help to understand how stressors including fires and climate change are affecting different streams and their riparian habitats, which can help to guide restoration and conservation efforts by determining which streams are most degraded or at-risk and which ones should be most resilient. The mid-term objective is to build tribal capacity to evaluate changes in these critical habitats owing to climate change, wildfires, and other stressors. *4. **Kings River Fisher Project - Ecology and Habitat Requirements* *Project Objectives*: To fill gaps in our current understanding of fisher (*Pekania pennanti*) ecology and habitat requirements and address the uncertainty surrounding the effects of timber harvest and fuel reduction on fishers and their habitat. Specific objectives include: (1) document population demographic parameters and identify potential limiting factors; (2) overlap multiple research techniques to improve parameter estimates and identify habitat requirements for foraging, resting or denning habitat; and (3) document the responses of fishers to changes in forest structure and composition, both natural and management-related to better understand the long-term viability of fishers in a heterogeneous, managed landscape. Projects are anticipated to begin March – August 2015 and last approximately 4 months in duration depending on the project. For more information and instructions on how to apply, please visit *http://www.wildlife.org/Native-American-Program-Assistantship <http://www.wildlife.org/Native-American-Program-Assistantship>*. The deadline for applications is *October 20, 2014*. Katherine Edwards, Ph.D., Certified Wildlife Biologist ® The Wildlife Society Professional Development Coordinator 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 200 Bethesda, MD 20814 (301) 897-9770 ext. 303
