Reno, NV

Position Title: Fire Impact Monitoring (Vegetation) Technician

Organization: Great Basin Institute

Location: Reno, NV

Organization Overview: The Great Basin Institute is an interdisciplinary field studies organization that promotes environmental research, education, and service through the west. The Institute’s mission is to advance applied science and ecological literacy through community engagement and agency partnerships, supporting national parks, forest, open spaces and public lands.

Position Overview: Great Basin Institute (GBI) is recruiting Post Fire Monitoring Technicians to work with GBI and BLM staff. Each technician will work with one other technician under the supervision of a Field Lead to characterize vegetation using the terrestrial AIM core methods. This video highlights the national BLM AIM strategy for landscape-scale data capture across western states. The Bureau of Land Management in the state of Nevada is collecting terrestrial AIM data to inform management decisions related to hazardous fuels reduction and Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ESR) treatments. Monitoring data is needed to determine the locations and desired types of treatments, and to evaluate treatment effectiveness, and to help inform future management decisions on how and when to implement treatments. Crews will collect standard AIM protocols and Plant Density to help inform BLM ESR treatment decisions and restoration efforts. During field work, car camping for 7 night “hitches” in remote locations will typically be required.

Duties:

• Maintaining safety awareness and practices
• Extensive 4×4 driving on unmaintained roads
• Navigating off-trail to sampling sites
• Establishing sampling plots and transects
• Identifying and describing soil horizons to help verify ecological site descriptions (ESDs)
• Collecting vegetation data (including species inventory, forb diversity, species abundance, sagebrush shape, foliar cover, canopy gap, and herbaceous and woody heights)
• Taking photo-points

Qualifications:

• Experience, education, or a combination of both in botany and/or range management to meet the following:
  • • Bachelor’s degree in botany, biology, ecology, or rangeland ecology or other natural resources.
    • At least 9 semester hours in plant or biological sciences.
  • And/or
    • Bachelor’s degree in plant or soil science or similar with at least 9 semester hours in soils or a minimum of 1 year of field data collection describing soils. Any of the 4 certifications from the Soil Science Society of America may substitute for education or experience.

Start Date: April 12 (6 month contract)

Salary/Pay: $18 – 20 per hour depending on experience

How to Apply: For more information and to apply, please visit the Great Basin Institutes website.