Botany Technician (Plumas NF, Feather River)

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the USFS, is recruiting Botany Crew Members to perform vegetation surveys within the Sierra Nevada mountain range. These projects serve the Basin & Range Forestry program’s greater mission of helping the USFS achieve its critical goal of improving forest resilience in the face of worsening climate conditions and increased wildfire threats. The work directly improves the quality of these forests, helping ensure they continue to thrive for generations to come.

Crew members will benefit from exposure to USFS processes, procedures, compliance measures, and reporting, as well as technical experience. Expanded opportunities and exposure to additional disciplines (e.g., archaeology, wildlife, hydrology, recreation, etc.) and projects may exist. These positions protect sensitive botanical species, contribute to USFS vegetation management and fuels reduction efforts, and support initiatives for healthy, productive, and resilient forest landscapes and resources. Outcomes of fieldwork conducted in accordance with USFS protocols will advance planning for management actions on National Forest lands.

Essential Job Functions may include the following:

Botany crew members will conduct botanical surveys to establish distributional occurrences of targeted species and populations in and around designated project sites and access routes. Data from these surveys will inform mitigation measures to protect targeted plant species and vegetation communities considered habitat for designated wildlife.

Specific duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Conducting botanical surveys to determine species identity, population characteristics, environmental conditions, factors affecting vigor, and the extent of species and their habitats.
• Laying out monitoring plots.
• Photographing or collecting specimens as directed.
• Producing maps of survey areas.
• Recording, entering, and summarizing data.
• Using botanical keys to identify plants.
• Assisting with reporting tasks as needed

Work Schedule
This position is seasonal, running from mid-March to mid-November, with start and end dates dependent on project and weather conditions. Forestry crew lead typically work four 10-hour days per week. TSA employees are eligible for holiday pay, subject to partner approval, and will follow the partner’s holiday schedule unless otherwise specified in the employment offer. TSAs working four 10-hour days per week will receive 10 hours of pay for holidays; those working five 8-hour days per week will receive 8 hours of pay for holidays.

Requirements/Qualifications

At least one of the following required:

• Degree in botany, plant ecology, or a closely related field in the biological sciences, including coursework in plant taxonomy and/or systematics (transcripts may be requested); AND/OR
• Experience conducting rare plant surveys and other botanical fieldwork; AND/OR
• Six months of professional fieldwork experience.

Other Required Qualifications:

• Experience using technical keys to identify plants to the species or sub-species level.
• Experience working with hand-held GPS, maps, and a compass for field navigation and data collection.
• Capacity to collect and maintain field data in an organized manner that is easily understood and accessible to other resource staff.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both written and orally, with a diverse audience.
• Possession of a clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license.
• Ability to live and work in rural and remote field and office settings.
• Physical fitness 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 Qualifications:

• Knowledge of the flora of the Eastern Sierra/Great Basin transition zone.
• Skills related to Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
• Comfort with noxious weed control.
• Ability to understand, implement, and adhere to established data collection, inventory, assessment, and monitoring protocols.
• Ability to safely operate and maintain a 4WD vehicle on and off paved roads.