*Ecological Monitoring District Lead – * *Battle Mountain, NV and Winnemucca, NV*
*Great Basin Institute and Bureau of Land Management * 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 <https://www.thegreatbasininstitute.org/programs/research-associates/>, which focuses on the conservation of natural resources in the Intermountain West. As an element of this program, participants implement the Bureau of Land Management’s national Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) strategy, which is targeted at collecting standardized inventory and long-term vegetation data at multiple scales across 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 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LciTBPG2-Ss&feature=youtu.be> highlights the BLM’s AIM strategy for landscape-scale data capture across the western states. *Position Objectives: * The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the Nevada Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is recruiting three experienced ecologists to work as a District Lead on a three-person interdisciplinary field team. The overall objective of each team is to perform plot sampling to inventory and monitor public range lands and riparian systems within a designated BLM-NV District (see locations below). Biotic, hydrologic, and soil qualitative indicators are used in conjunction with quantitative data to inform conservation planning and adaptive management decisions. *Duties and Responsibilities: * General field duties include implementing standard sampling protocols (Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring [AIM], and Interpreting Indicators for Range Health [IIRH]), walking long distances over uneven terrain, maintaining safety awareness and practices, recording GPS points, taking photo points, backcountry navigation, and data organization. The District Lead will also coordinate with the Ecological Monitoring Program Coordinator, the Data Specialist, and the BLM Technical Adviser for project planning, field protocol and data QA/QC, team deployment and supervision, equipment organization and maintenance. This is a supervisory position, thus the successful applicant must have strong communication skills (both verbal and written) and exhibit strong leadership and organizational skills, and safety awareness. Office tasks include reporting on a quarterly basis, data management, data processing and QA/QC, post-processing GPS points, utilizing geoprocessing tools in GIS to create and edit polygons as well as point and line data, and creating reports with GIS maps, pictures, and concise field notes. This position requires advanced GIS skills in ArcGIS 10.x and related mapping software and will play a vital role in facilitating the effective and efficient collection of monitoring data and its delivery. This position will require regular travel and camping during the field season in order to ensure that all transects are successfully completed during the field season and may require long hours including early mornings and weekends. *Locations: * *Battle Mountain* – This small, rural community (pop. ~3,600) is located along I-80 in northern NV, and is situated in the high desert (~4,500 ft. elevation) where ranching/mining are the local economic drivers. The town is central to larger cities, including Winnemucca (60 miles west), Elko (70 miles east), and Reno (220 miles southwest). Numerous recreation opportunities in the region include hiking, fishing, hunting, hot springs, star gazing, biking, camping, backpacking, and exploring historical sites. The Ruby Mountains and Water Canyon, outside of Elko and Winnemucca, respectively, are beautiful places to visit nearby. Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park to the southwest and Great Basin National Park to the southeast are each within about a 4-hour drive of Battle Mountain. The District Lead position is based out of the BLM-NV Battle Mountain District Office, which manages over 10 million acres of public land typically of basin-and-range topography with Great Basin Desert/sage brush steppe in the north, and Mojave Desert in the southern part of the district. *Winnemucca* – Currently celebrating its centennial, Winnemucca is a small (pop. ~7,500) town in northwestern Nevada, approximately 2.5 hours east of Reno, NV and 2 hours west of Elko, NV on I-80, and 5.5 hours south of Boise, ID on State Highway 95. Nested in the basin and range province of the western U.S., elevations range from approximately 4,000 feet to close to 10,000 feet. The District Lead position is based out of the BLM-NV Winnemucca District Office, which encompasses roughly 11 million acres, of which 7.38 million acres are public lands managed by the BLM. *Contract length: *Beginning October 2017 and renewable annually pending positive performance review and available funding. *Rate of Pay: *$1,440 biweekly *Benefits: * • Health insurance • Paid vacation, sick, and holiday time • Field per diem *Qualifications: * *Technical requirements: * · Bachelor’s degree (minimum) in one of the major natural sciences – applicants with advanced degrees preferred; · Field experience in leadership roles; · Familiarity with best practices with preparing for and maintaining field safety; · Relevant or related field experience – knowledge of and/or experience in high desert and Great Basin ecology preferred; · Understanding of basic principles related to botany, soil science, wildlife biology, geology, and/or hydrology; · Experience identifying plants in the field and using a dichotomous key; · Experience in describing and identifying soil horizons; · Experience with data entry and management; · Ability to use handheld GPS units for navigation and to collect spatial data; · Ability to navigate and set a bearing using a compass and to read a topographic map; · Experience with technical writing and/or producing written project summary reports; · Experience with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access). · Ability to collect, QC, and post-process data; · Possess a clear understanding of GIS theory and applications, including experience with ArcGIS 10.x to create maps, manipulate and analyze data, and generate reports; *Additional requirements: * · Possess a clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license and the ability to operate a 4WD vehicle on and off paved roads; and · Meet requirements of federal agency security background checks (i.e., FBI criminal and National Sex Offender Public Registry, Department of Interior Security Screening). · Ability to communicate effectively, both written and orally, with a diverse audience; · Ability to work productively as part of a team to accomplish mutual goals; · Excellent organizational skills; · Experience in and willingness to spend multiple days camping in remote field locations; · Physically fit to work outdoors, carry personal and field equipment, and withstand working and camping in inclement weather during late winter, spring, and summer in northern Nevada; · Experience in best practices for field safety and awareness of low impact principles for living and working in the backcountry; · Willingness to work irregular hours (e.g., early mornings, late nights); · 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; and · Willingness and ability to consistently enact high performance standards and a strong work and team ethic in support of the mission of GBI. The successful applicant must complete a Department of Interior (DOI) Background Investigation (BI) or submit paperwork to BLM human resources indicating an active and fully adjudicated BI has already been completed. *How to Apply: * Please follow this link to apply directly through our online portal: *http://crcareers.thegreatbasininstitute.org/careers/Careers.aspx?rf=ECOLOG&REQ=2017-RAP-074 <http://crcareers.thegreatbasininstitute.org/careers/Careers.aspx?rf=ECOLOG&REQ=2017-RAP-074>* We conform to all the laws, statutes, and regulations concerning equal employment opportunities and affirmative action. We strongly encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply to all of our job openings. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, age, disability status, Genetic Information & Testing, Family & Medical Leave, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We prohibit Retaliation against individuals who bring forth any complaint, orally or in writing, to the employer or the government, or against any individuals who assist or participate in the investigation of any complaint or otherwise oppose discrimination. --
