Field Technician (Seeds of Success) – El Centro, CA

Position Overview 

The field technician will work on a native seed collection crew in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)  El Centro Field Office. Crew will work four 10-hour days in remote areas to find and collect native seed, while generally camping out for 3-consecutive nights due to the large area covered and long travel distances.

Duration: May 27th – August 15th, 12 weeks.

Responsibilities 

The primary responsibility of the field technician will be to work with their crew to collect seed for the Seeds of Success (SOS) program. SOS is a national native seed collection program with a mission to collect wildland native seed for research, development, germplasm conservation, and ecosystem restoration.

This position will work across land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to collect seed for habitat restoration. The BLM is the nation’s largest land management agency largely overseeing lands in the West. The goal of the BLM is to conserve land while managing multiple uses such as recreation (e.g. hiking, biking, kayaking), and economic development (e.g. grazing, mining). Collaboration with both State Office staff at the BLM, as well as field-based staff at the field office will occur through weekly meetings and coordination throughout the season.

This position will be employed by the Chicago Botanic Garden through a contract with the BLM. The Garden was a founding partner of the SOS initiative in 2002, and has been active in the program since. Over the last 25 years, the primary goal of the Garden Plant Science and Conservation Department has been to improve plant conservation outcomes through: basic and applied scientific research, collegiate education, and supporting practitioners. To this end, the garden has 27 conservation scientists, over 40 students, and over 100 practitioners in 2024. Direct management and support for crews will come from the Garden Conservation Training team. A two-day training in the SOS protocol will be provided virtually by the SOS Headquarters team, and the Garden will provide an in-person onboarding and training on field safety, logistics, and field botany.

The field technician will always work with two more experienced team mates, and will learn many facets of the duties of native seed collection. This position is intended for upper level undergraduates and early career seasonals. Early season duties include learning how to identify target species, familiarizing themselves with electronic data entry, learning major roads and areas in the area and how to navigate between areas. As the season progresses, the team will spend a larger proportion of their time in the field. Field work will include navigating in remote field settings, collecting voucher specimens for herbaria, mapping plant populations, and collecting seed. Seed collection will continue through late summer as conditions permit. Occasional indoor work throughout the field season includes plant identification, seed cleaning and packing, preparation of herbarium specimens, data entry and management, uploading and manipulating GPS data.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Willingness to learn multiple dimensions of field work; plant ID, hiking, navigation, camping & cooking, and remain positive in the face of adversity
• Pack truck and ensure adequate levels of consumable gear (water, food, charged electronic devices, herbarium supplies) for each hitch
• Successfully navigate to prospective sites, many of which are in remote areas, using road maps/apps/GIS and 4WD vehicles and hiking.
• Hike around scouting sites to determine the extent of populations
• Collect and process voucher specimens with crew
• Collect 15+ batches of 30,000+ native seed, which make take from a few hours to a few days per collection depending on the species and population.
• Ensure consistent adherence to QA standards when entering data into electronic apps.

Requirements and Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree, or Senior/Junior, in relevant field (botany, ecology, biology, forestry, environmental science, rangeland management, etc.)
• One field based course in ecology, natural resources management, or research experience identifying plants using dichotomous keys, or haven taken a collegiate level plant systematics/taxonomy/phylogenetics course
• Coursework or practical experience using GIS software such as ESRI products (e.g. ArcMap, ArcPro)
• Experience collecting scientific data in field settings, especially field conditions
• Experience working on teams.
• Experience camping, or car camping
• Valid drivers license on first day of position
• Organized, self-starter, able to learn quickly and adapt to changes and challenges

Location 

This posting is for our team working out of El Centro, CA If you are interested in our 1 other Southwest position (Bishop, CA) please let us know in your application materials.