Natural Resources Specialist (Seeds of Success) – El Centro, CA

Position Overview 

The natural resources specialist will work on a native seed collection crew in the 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: March 18th – August 15th, 22 weeks.

Responsibilities 

The primary responsibility of the natural resources specialist will be to work with their lead botanist to implement all aspects of 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. CBG 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 Garden will provide an in-person onboarding and training on field safety, logistics, and field botany.

The natural resources specialist will always work with at least one more experienced lead botanist, and will learn many facets of the duties of native seed collection. 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, and some report writing.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• 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 lead botanist
• Collect 15+ batches (80,000+) of native seed, which make take from a few hours to a few days per collection depending on the species and population.
• 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.
• Collect leaf tissue from a dozen plants at 15 populations for genetic research.
• Ensure consistent adherence to QA standards when entering data into electronic apps.

Requirements and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field (botany, ecology, biology, environmental science, etc.)
• Two seasons of field experience in natural resources management (preferred), or research
• Experience identifying plants using dichotomous keys, or a thorough education in plant systematics
• 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 in electronic data capture (e.g. Survey123, Collector), and enacting QA/QC
• Experience working on, or managing, teams.
• Experience driving 4WD vehicles. Commitment to following safe driving techniques and field safety protocols
• Experience camping, or car camping
• Experience navigating remote areas and roads with a map
• 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 4 other Southwest positions (Bishop CA, Cedar City UT, Las Vegas NV, St. George AZ) please let us know in your application materials.

Physical Demands 

This position is primarily fieldwork based. Field work will include long periods of driving and long periods of walking on rough, uneven ground; bending, crouching, and stooping to collect seeds. Field work often occurs in remote locations, where cellular connection is unavailable or inconsistent. Field conditions can be extreme with hot summer conditions and cold nights in the spring.