Leadership Development Program – Conservation

Member Position Summary

Members will serve on a restoration crew, which will include additional training and mentorship on leadership, safety, and technical trainings. Dependent upon service project selection members may perform trail construction and maintenance, hazardous fuels reduction, habitat restoration, and exotic weed treatment. Other restoration efforts may include fence installation or removal, cleanup of illegal dumping sites, and unauthorized motorized route decommissioning. Members will also receive additional training on important topics related to taking a leadership role in the field including conflict resolution, prioritization, performance management, accountability, execution, collaboration, team development, decision-making, and goal-setting through training, mentorship, and field experience. Upon successful completion of the retreat members will be eligible to serve as a restoration crew leader.
Member Supervision

Members will be under the guidance of GBI Staff.

Member Schedule & Location

Member will report to Great Basin institute’s Offices for departure to and return from project sites. Member may serve in the field on 4-day tours, 8-day tours, or a mixture of the two, in an outdoor setting, with the possibility of camping in the field for the duration of the tour. Camping locations are often in “front country” settings where there is ready access to crew vehicles, however members often camp in undeveloped sites without access to water or restroom facilities where members practice Leave No Trace techniques for camp etiquette. Members may also camp in back country settings where a base-camp is established several miles from vehicles in remote locations. Project site locations may include remote, backcountry locations requiring hiking over in steep or otherwise rough terrain for several miles carrying tools and equipment.

Typical work days are 10 hours long from 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM. Schedules will be dictated by project site and distance from the field station. All schedules are subject to change due to unpredictable circumstances.

Primary (Essential) Responsibilities

• Utilize hand tools or other necessary equipment to perform trail construction and maintenance on identified project site
• Utilize chainsaw, handsaws, and loppers to perform hazardous fuels reduction & habitat restoration;
• Perform tasks associated with exotic & invasive species removal, native plantings, and riparian restoration;
• Using hand tools to perform tasks associated with illegal road decommissioning, fence/barrier construction or decommissioning;
• Adhere to all AmeriCorps, NCC, and agency sponsor policies while on project sites or at camp locations;
• Maintaining a positive and professional attitude at all times while providing service;
• Communicating effectively with crew members, crew leaders, NCC staff and agency project staff;
• Complying with both production and quality work standards established by NCC administration, crew supervisors and project partners
• Contributing to basic duties at the campsite including cooking, cleaning and organizing crew equipment;
• Show respect when interacting with other members, leaders, staff, project sponsors and community members;
• Participating in in-field education sessions.

Secondary and Related Responsibilities

• Ensure all safety protocols followed;
• Assist with the maintenance, repair, and organization of tools and equipment in the NCC shop and while in the field;
• Complete weekly reporting of accomplishments
• Uphold NCC and AmeriCorps standards of work production and quality.

Statement of supplantation, duplication or displacement of staff:

These positions do not duplicate work of previous or existing employees or volunteers, supplant the hiring of workers, or include service or duties that have been performed or were performed by a current employee, an employee who recently resigned or was discharged, an employee subject to a reduction in workforce, or an employee who is on leave.

Service Environment Description and Inclusive Position Description Statement: Inclusive Position Description:

This program prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, gender, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or disability. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. The functions of this position may be completed with or without reasonable accommodations.

Program Mission:

Nevada Conservation Corps harnesses the energy and idealism of youth to meet the needs of Nevada public lands and communities. The NCC promotes ecological literacy through field research and direct conservation service. The NCC provides students and young professionals opportunities to make meaningful contributions toward protecting and conserving Nevada’s natural heritage, while also gaining valuable work experience in the natural resource management field.

Additional Guidelines or Expectations:

While serving in the field, members will adhere to a strict uniform and personal protective equipment policy as dictated by the specific project requirements and as outlined in NCC or partnering agency policy, including the display of an AmeriCorps logo while in service. Members will be required to participate in any additional service events as required by AmeriCorps. Arrangements for service events will be made by NCC staff, and members will be notified well in advance of the service event.

Evaluation & Reporting:

Members will receive an end of term performance evaluation, and mid-term evaluation if serving for 6 months or more. Members must submit a weekly member service log (timesheet) in OnCorps for review by their Host Site Supervisor. Members are also expected to provide or contribute to a weekly or quarterly report of work accomplishments and service provided. The frequency of these reports will depend on the members? service activities and the report contents will be discussed in the member’s orientation to the program.

Fire Mitigation.

To help reduce fuels and fire hazards and to create defensible space in the wildland-urban interface, regional land managers have conducted thinning-piling-burning treatments that have effectively demonstrated the value and need of addressing forest conditions through varied fuels reduction strategies. In efforts to reduce high surface fuel loads and potential wildfire severity, a variety of fuel treatments have been applied, evaluated, and assessed for viability and positive conservation outcomes. Studies of common fuels reduction management practices have offered researchers opportunities to quantitatively measure their efficacy in wildfires. Using the availability of data on pre-wildfire conditions, data collected after a fire offers necessary information to assess the effects of different types of fuel treatments. Such research considers tree mortality and tree damage in the context of wildfire severity and is evaluated in randomized controlled trial (RTC) study units, with thin-only treatments, thinning followed by prescribed burning treatments, and no treatment (Chambers et al. 2014). Such comparative field trials have provided resource managers with definitive evidence to determine which fuel treatment methods will be the most successful at reducing fuels and mitigating wildfire severity. Research also indicates fuel treatments favorably impact fire behavior, vegetation, water, and overall diversity within the riparian areas. Corps members will reduce fuels through varied prescriptions, thereby improving forest health and lessening fire risk.

Fire Restoration.

As the number, size, and severity of wildfires escalate across the western U.S., so does the need for post­ fire rehabilitative efforts. With the increase in post-fire restoration, researchers examined and quantified the effectiveness and ecological effects of these treatments. Studies included an evidence-based review of post-fire seeding literature and an assessment of Forest Service Burned Area Reports to examine seeding trends and the probability of successful restoration actions. Forty papers and sixty-seven Burned Area Reports dated between 1970 and 2006 reflect an increased use of native species during seeding treatments over time and reveal marked improvements to rangeland recovery (Chambers et al. 2014).

Results from related studies also suggest that fall herbicide application can extend the restoration interval even further through reduction in cheatgrass density. Corps members will arrest exotic plant species succession and re-vegetate burned landscapes using treatment methods that include broadcast seeding, weed abatement, and re-vegetation with bare-root plant stock, resulting in healthy ecosystem resilience and improved watershed functionality.

Fire Trail Access

The increasing pressure resulting from housing development at the wildland urban interface (WUI) requires a more aggressive implementation of trail maintenance plans. The National Wildfire Hazard/Risk Model rates 74% of Nevada communities as “extreme,” “very high” or “high” fire risk. Approximately 14,000 homes are located in vegetation types capable of supporting fire behavior that will destroy homes and threaten lives in the WUI. Home construction in the WUI is increasing, while the size and intensity of wildfires is also increasing, resulting in record numbers of homes being threatened and destroyed annually. Ongoing human­ environmental conflicts, such as the destruction of homes by wildfire, habitat fragmentation, and the introduction of exotic species, all can be related, in part, to the growing presence of humans along Nevada? s wildland boundaries. To reduce human-caused fire risk, trail systems used for both motorized and non­ motorized recreation will be restored to proper width and grade. The NCC will also mitigate fire threat by reducing vegetation encroachment along trail corridors. Trail systems targeted for intervention include those that serve as fire-fighting trails and roads, offering improved access for fire management. New trail may also serve as fire containment lines and support back-burning operations. As such, Corps members will support agency trail programs for increased protection of forest lands.

Our underfunded government agencies struggle to provide successful conservation intervention programs to address these compelling environmental and constituency consensus challenges. The steady, and at times overwhelming, increased demand for NCC services attests to our successes, while underscoring the ongoing need for a Corps program in Nevada to aid in the recovery of species. Our program’s focus is now largely centered on demonstrating successful conservation actions, thereby supporting and building stakeholder consensus, and fostering an environment in which agencies, private industry, and the general public may agree upon viable strategies that reconcile the competing demands of environmental stewardship and economic development.

Associated Performance Measures:
Acres of Forest Treated for Hazardous Fuels and Ecosystems Treated for Invasive Plants Trail Construction, Restoration, Re-Designation, and Maintenance

Contract Timeline:Members will begin service on February 12, 2024. Members will serve quarter time (450-hour) terms of service. Living Allowance will be $676.92 week. Upon successful completion of service, members will earn an Education Award of $1,824.07.

Location:Las Vegas, NV
Compensation and Benefits:Member Benefits:
Members will be provided a living allowance in an amount determined by the number of hours served and the level of responsibility required for the position. Members are also eligible to receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful completion of their service term and required hours. Health insurance and child care are available for eligible members, and opportunities for professional development are available.

Job Qualifications:

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Physical ability to work long days, in adverse conditions, on labor intensive projects;
• Effective communication skills;
• Ability to adapt to changing project and schedule expectations.

Required Academic and Experience Qualifications

• Previous restoration field work experience, and a desire to become a NCC Crew Leader following program completion;
• Possess a valid, state-issued driver’s license and clean driving record; and
• Meet AmeriCorps eligibility requirements: (1) U.S. citizenship, or U.S. national or legal resident alien status, (2) at least 18 years of age (3) High School Diploma or GED certificate (4) eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award (limit of four in a lifetime, or equivalent of two full-time terms of service), and
• (5) pass National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) and federal criminal background checks.

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