Alpine, AZ

Position Title: Wilderness Fellow

Organization: The Society for Wilderness Stewardship

Location: Alpine, AZ

Organization Overview: The Society for Wilderness Stewardship (SWS) is a non-profit organization seeking to promote excellence in the professional practice of wilderness stewardship, science, and education to ensure the life-sustaining benefits of wilderness. In other words, they are a professional society working to set the standard for wilderness management.  For more than 100 years, the Forest Service has brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. The USFS seeks to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

Position Overview: The Wilderness Fellow Program is seeking qualified candidates to fill Wilderness Fellow positions. This fellow will be based out of the USFS bunkhouse on the Alpine Ranger District near Alpine, AZ and work with staff on the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest. Work is roughly 90% office based and 10% field based, and is performed at USFS offices to directly support the goals of a collaborative wilderness character monitoring initiative currently underway in the USFS. This fellow will work closely with wilderness staff to produce a wilderness character baseline report, establishing trends for future wilderness monitoring and preservation. Transportation for field work will be provided. It is highly recommended that this employee have a personal car while living and working out of this area.

Duties:

• Attend one week training at Powell Ranger Station, near Missoula, Montana (travel provided).
• Work out of remote USFS locations, residing in USFS housing.
• Coordinate meetings with USFS resource specialists and line officers to gather information regarding wilderness character.
• Research, compile and analyze legislative and administrative historical data per wilderness area.
• Travel to and into wilderness areas.
• Compile data for selected monitoring and complete components of a baseline assessment for wilderness character monitoring.
• Implement inventory and monitoring strategies for tracking wilderness character.
• Participate in weekly conference calls.
• Set and meet benchmarks and deadlines for data collection, meetings, and draft and final reports.
• Create a narrative report for each wilderness area worked in.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Educational background in Wilderness Management, Protected Area/Natural Resource Management, Recreation Resource Management, Conservation Social Science, Environmental Policy, Natural, Biological and/or Physical Science.
• Deep interest in wilderness/resource management and the US Forest Service.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills.
• Research skill and attention to detail and organization.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively on projects, high degree of initiative.
• Understanding and ability to use GIS software.
• Results-oriented with the ability to set and follow realistic goals and objectives.
• Flexibility to adapt when faced with changing needs and priorities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, comfort with technology and social media.
• Ability to travel to training and remote field locations (travel provided), and to relocate if necessary (assistance not provided).
• Must have a valid driver’s license and a clean driving record (documentation to be provided upon request).
• A personal vehicle is highly suggested for travel to the location and off-day travel.

Start/End Dates: May 1- November 1

Salary/Pay: $15 per hour

Application Deadline: February 24

How to Apply: Email a cover letter, resume, 1-2 page writing sample, and 2 professional or academic references to Julia Cotter, hiringmanager@wildernessstewardship.org. Please include the position title and location you are applying for in the subject line of your email.