Botany Technician (Inyo NF, Bishop CA)

Position Description Summary:  

USFS, California

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the USFS, is recruiting a Botany Crew Member to perform vegetation surveys and manage invasive plant species on the Inyo National Forest. This project will contribute to the Basin & Range Forestry program’s mission of assisting the USFS in their critical goal of improving forest resilience in the face of worsening climate conditions and increasing wildfire threats. The work you will do will directly enhance the quality of California’s forests, ensuring their continued vitality for generations to come.

The Botany Crew Member will support agency staff and crew members in conducting botanical surveys to establish distributional occurrences of targeted species and populations in designated project sites and access routes. Data gathered from these surveys will inform mitigation measures designed to protect targeted plant species, manage the prevalence of invasive species, and safeguard vegetation communities that provide habitat for wildlife. Invasive species treatments will focus on addressing risks to diverse ecosystems, watersheds and wildlife habitat across the forest

A Temporary Special Assignment (TSA) employee is one who is hired for a specific temporary assignment external from the institute’s administrative operations with one of GBI’s partners for 52 weeks or greater or less than 52 weeks and may work full-time (30 or more hours per week) or part-time (less than 30 hours per week).

Essential Job Functions may include the following:

• Conduct botanical surveys to determine species identity, population characteristics, environmental conditions, and factors affecting the vigor and extent of species and their habitat
• Implement the forests Integrated Pest Management System (IPM) to treat invasive species, including survey, treatment and monitoring of invasive plant species. Treatment will be conducted using chemical and mechanical methods. 
• Utilize GIS to plan, track and report botanical surveys and Invasive species management actions

LOCATION

Inyo National Forest-

• The Inyo is home to many natural wonders including Mt. Whitney, Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes Basin, and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.   
• Adjacent to multiple land management agencies such as Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Death Valley, and Devil's Postpile National Park Service units, Sequoia, Sierra, and Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. 
• Various geologic features combined with elevation extremes produce a wide range of climatic conditions, resulting in tremendous floristic diversity of the forest vegetation communities. It’s no wonder hundreds of movies and commercials have been filmed in the area for over 100 years! 
• World class recreation with a full range of summer and winter activities, including camping, backpacking, fishing, hunting, hang gliding, skiing and snowboarding, bicycling, off-roading, motorcycling, birding, photography, painting, rock climbing, and horseback riding, to name a few. 

WORK SCHEDULE

This position is seasonal, running from June to mid-November, with start and end dates dependent on project and weather conditions. Botany crew leads typically work four 10-hour days per week but the schedule may vary based on project needs. TSA employees are eligible for holiday pay, subject to partner approval, and will follow the partner’s holiday schedule unless otherwise specified in the employment offer. TSAs working four 10-hour days per week will receive 10 hours of pay for holidays; those working five 8-hour days per week will receive 8 hours of pay for holidays.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The position offers a competitive wage of $21 per hour, with overtime compensation at 1.5 times the hourly rate. This is a full-time role, averaging 40 hours per week.

In addition to a competitive base salary, the position includes company-paid, comprehensive benefits:

• Medical, dental (with an option for upgraded coverage), and vision insurance
• A $25,000 Life/AD&D policy
• Voluntary short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Optional Life/AD&D coverage for family members
• Mental health support resources
• Generous paid time off (PTO) accrual and paid holidays

Reasonable shared accommodation will be provided to the crew lead and member as part of the compensation package.

TSA employees who serve a term of less than 52 weeks, with a break of 30 days or fewer, and then sign a subsequent term that, when combined, exceeds 52 weeks of employment, will be eligible for benefits typically provided to full-time employees.

This exciting opportunity contributes to GBI's significant positive impacts in the fields of environmental research, education, and conservation.

Requirements/Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, employees must be able to satisfactorily carry out each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Familiarity and experience with Botanical survey and invasive species management approaches and techniques 
• Ability or desire to learn to identify plants to species level
• Experience in collecting data accurately and completely and entering data correctly into a computer system
• Ability to use GPS units to record and locate points and to record field data
• Familiarity with use of ArcGIS to create, import, and export maps and data. 
• Willingness to safely handle, mix, and transport herbicide, and maintaining application equipment
• Possess a clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license with the ability to safely operate and maintain a 4WD vehicle on and off paved roads
• Ability to work effectively in a team setting with USFS staff, GBI staff, interns, volunteers, academic, state, and federal partners
• Proficiency in navigation using GPS, topographic map and compass
• Ability to understand, implement and adhere to established data collection protocols
• Capacity to collect and maintain field data in an organized manner that is easily understood and accessible to other resource staff
• Organizational skills and ability to work cooperatively with crew lead
• Physically fit to work outdoors, including hiking up to 10 miles a day with a heavy pack, carry 25 pounds continuously and 50 pounds occasionally, repeated digging and pulling, and similar actions.

TO APPLY

Please submit an up-to-date resume, a one-page cover letter that details your interest in the position, and any qualifications not fully outlined in your resume, and contact information for three

professional references to the unique application link.  Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview.  Contact kmckinnon@thegreatbasininstitute.org should you have any questions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS  

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands, stand, walk, bend, and have specific vision abilities to include close and distance vision, and ability to adjust focus working with computer business equipment and other job/industry specific equipment. The noise level in the work environment is usually low.

NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the organization's ongoing needs.

Disclaimer: Although the organization has attempted to accurately and thoroughly describe this position, GBI reserves the right to change the same, including to change, add to or subtract from the duties outlined, within the sole discretion of the organization, at any time, with or without advance notice.