Botany Support Specialist Intern

Title: Botany Support Specialist Intern (1 opening)

Start/End Date: April 1, 2024 – March 7, 2025 (anticipated); open to May start for graduating seniors.

Living Stipend: $580/week

Term: Full-Time, 40 hours/week – 49 weeks

Location: Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 1024 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur Taos, NM

Status:  1700-hour AmeriCorps Service Term (75% field work and 25% office work)

Benefits: Housing allowance $325/week; $500 travel/training funds; AmeriCorps Education Award up to $6,895 and Public Lands Corps Certificate* that allows for competitive hiring for USA jobs/government jobs – both with successful completion of the internship; eligible for health insurance.

AmeriCorps is the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. AmeriCorps provides opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds to serve their country, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, and improve lives and communities. Environmental stewardship programs help conserve natural habitats, improve energy efficiency, protect clean air and water, and help to mitigate the effects of climate change among other environmental efforts.

Conservation Corps New Mexico (CCNM)

Conservation Corps New Mexico, a program of Conservation Legacy, aims to continue the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930’s. CCNM is focused on connecting youth, young adults, and recent era military veterans with conservation service work projects on public lands. CCNM operates programs across New Mexico and western Texas that engage individuals and strengthen communities through service and conservation. The CCNM Individual Placement Program is managed from the CCNM office in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Mentorship

These Individual Placement Positions are unique development opportunities. Interns are paired with a local supervisor and gain technical, hands-on experience in the work of these organizations or agencies. Site supervisors commit to facilitate career development; provide an introduction to numerous pathways within the conservation field; and create accessible, meaningful, learning opportunities and experiences for interns.

Position Summary:

The BLM Botany Department provides botanical expertise in rare plant conservation, restoration efforts and plant material development. Primary focuses include but are not limited to landscape-level ecology, native seed collection, special status plant species surveying and monitoring, and consultation for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes. A large portion of the Botany Department is dedicated to surveying for and minimizing impacts to special status plant species (SSPS).

 The botany support specialist intern will assist the BLM – Taos field office (TFO) ecologist/botanist with rare plant surveys, monitoring, seed collection, and other duties including data collection and management.

 Essential Responsibilities and Functions:

• Work with BLM Botanist and Botany crews to study and collect data for TFO.
• Conduct rare plant surveys for proposed actions, following a standardized protocol.
• Conduct surveys for milkweed and monarch monitoring, following a standardized protocol.
• Analyze the effects of management activities on botanical resources for environmental assessments.
• Assist in habitat restoration projects and plant material development.
• Assist seed crews in scouting and collection of target plant species.
• Utilize Collector, Survey123, Field Maps, and QuickCapture for data collection.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Per federal grant requirements, this internship is for young adults between the ages of 18-30 (35 for veterans), inclusive, at the time the individual begins term of service.
• Have a high school diploma or GED.
• Applicants must have a background in plant identification and be able to use a dichotomous key.
• Must be able to hike long distances for multiple days a week.
• Applicants must have strong project management, written and oral skills and be proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite and ArcGIS online, Survey 123, Quick Captures.
• Applicants should demonstrate strong organizational skills, have experience working as part of a team, be able to work well with others in a professional setting, be self-motivated, and able to work independently with limited supervision after the initial training period.
• Applicants must have great attention to detail and be capable of problem solving.
• Applicants should have a general understanding of federal land resource management policies (e.g., multiple use management).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field (botany, conservation management, environmental science, biology, etc.).
•  Experience driving a 4×4 vehicle in backcountry conditions.
• Experience with ArcGIS and electronic data collection.
• Proficiency in scientific writing.
•  Knowledge or familiarity of Southwest native plants.

 Working Conditions: Applicants must be able to work long days and successfully adapt to various climates and working conditions. This includes focused driving to field locations and strenuous labor in remote settings and all-weather conditions.