Gunnison, CO

Organization: Western State Colorado University

Contact: Dr. Jennie DeMarco (jdemarco@western.edu)

Duties: Design and implement a research project aimed at assessing the impact of wet meadows restoration on soil carbon in the Gunnison Basin of Colorado. These meadows provide critical habitat for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse, increase the resilience of the ecosystem to climate change, and have the potential to sequester carbon through an increase in plant productivity. This project will be in collaboration with the Upper Gunnison River Watershed Water Conservancy District, The Nature Conservancy, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Forest Service, the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, and the Masters of Environmental Management Program (MEM) at Western State Colorado University. The student will work closely with scientists from these agencies throughout the project.  Specific responsibilities include collecting, processing, and analyzing soil data to assess the impact of restoration on soil carbon storage as well as synthesizing findings in a report to be submitted for peer-review publication.

Desired qualifications: We seek candidates who are self-directed, motivated, and possess strong skills and experience in field work, project management, and oral and written communication.

Start and end dates: The preferred start date for the graduate position is June 1, 2018

Salary/pay: Funding is available for a graduate fellowship through the MEM program as well as paid employment for summer field work in 2018 and 2019.

Application deadline: March 15, 2018.