Forestry Crew Lead – Tahoe National Forest (USFS)

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the USFS, is recruiting one (2) Forestry Crew Leads to perform timber sale-preparation, vegetation management and restoration projects within the USFS Region 5 forest – Tahoe National Forest. These projects all serve the Basin & Range Forestry program’s greater mission of helping the USFS in their critical goal of improving forest resilience in the face of worsening climate conditions and increased wildfire threats. The work that you will do directly improves the quality of these forests helping ensure they continue to thrive for generations to come.

Selected Lead will serve USFS Region 5’s vegetation management and fuels reduction efforts, supporting initiatives for healthy, productive, and resilient forest landscapes and resources. Projects will vary across Sierraville and Truckee Ranger Districts, and include but are not limited to fuels reduction initiatives in wildland urban interface (WUI) areas, in and around sensitive habitats for threatened and endangered species, and watershed protection. The Crew Lead will receive professional development opportunities and benefit from exposure to USFS processes, procedures, compliance measures and reporting, and technical experience.

The Forestry Crew Lead will perform a wide variety of activities to support all stages of project work. The Lead will be responsible for crew safety and oversight, including coordination of daily tasks and affiliated project and crew needs, provide or assist in training, communicate daily/weekly with agency staff to plan and assess crew accomplishments, and communicate with GBI staff as needed. Forestry duties may include:

• Timber sale unit boundary delineation and layout (GPSing, flagging, painting);
• Tree species identification;
• Green and salvage timber marking and cruising;
• Timber and biomass plot cruising;
• Collection of stand examination data;
• General silviculture data collection; and
• Identification of various resource concerns including hydrology, heritage, wildlife and recreation. 

Contract Timeline:– Tentatively: May – November
Projects are weather dependent, therefore start and end dates vary according to local conditions and individual project needs

Location:Tahoe National Forest: Sierraville and Truckee Ranger Districts

Compensation and Benefits:– Wage: $26/hour with overtime at 1.5x hourly rate. Full time, average 40 hours per week

• Health, dental, vision Insurance premiums covered 100% by GBI (equivalent to approximately $350/month); health,
  dental and vision insurance is available on the first day of the month following the start of employment
• Shared housing provided (equivalent to approximately $1000/month); housing stipend not provided if shared housing is denied by employee
• Camping per diem: $15/night as necessary (infrequent)
• Uniform Stipend
  

Job Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Forestry (preferred), natural resource management or related field, with coursework (by position start date) AND one year of forestry related field work OR three years of professional fieldwork experience.
• Experience leading crews in the field, including oversight of crew safety, communication, fidelity to methods and data quality;
• Proficiency in navigation using GPS, topographic map and compass;
• Experience with cruising and marking techniques;
• 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;
• Ability to work safely and productively in remote field settings under adverse conditions. This includes occasionally overnight camping in remote areas for consecutive nights;
• Ability to understand, implement and adhere to established data collection, inventory, assessment, and monitoring protocols;
• Strong organizational skills and ability to work cooperatively as well as independently;
• Strong communication skills with a diverse audiences, both written and oral; and
• Physically fit to work outdoors, carry up to 50 pounds of personal and/or field equipment, and withstand the rigors of a forested and/or high desert environment in all seasons.

Preferred:

• Familiarity with and interest in resource management issues of western states and the ecology of the Sierra Nevada ecoregion;
• Familiarity with the mixed conifer forests typical of eastern California, including common plants (woody and herbaceous), wildlife, and/or geology/topography is desirable;
• Capacity to collect and maintain field data in an organized manner that is easily understood and accessible to other resources staff; and
• Advanced skill using specialized software such as Microsoft Office Suite, ArcMap GIS, and Google Earth.