Paper Conservation Fellowship National Park Service – Yosemite National Park

Great Basin Institute, founded at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1998, is a mission-driven non-profit organization headquartered in the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. GBI has been a leader in the conservation stewardship field for over two decades, supporting thousands of individuals pursuing a career in public land management or advancing their academic standing. In partnership with Yosemite National Park (YOSE), GBI seeks to hire one Paper Conservation Fellow for a 63-week placement beginning in summer 2023.

The NPS is responsible for protecting and managing over 420 individual “units”, including 63 National Parks, 74 National Historic Sites, and other designated areas such as battlefields, monuments, nature preserves, and more. The stated goals of this fellowship are to help survey the important works of YOSE that are on paper and assess the necessary conservation treatment needs to preserve them. These important works include: watercolor paintings and historic prints mounted on acidic boards; important historic maps that have been rolled and creased; historic brochures and maps, chromolithographs and engravings, and other mass-produced publications. Works of fine art on paper include early drawings by Thomas Ayres, Thomas Moran, and George Tirrell, as well as engravings and prints by Currier & Ives, Albert Bierstadt, George Baker, and Chiura Obata. Fragile, torn documents will need immediate treatment for stabilization to ensure the preservation of these important artifacts. Items in fragile condition are not accessible to researchers, and cannot be safely exhibited. Acidic mounts damage original objects, sometimes irreversibly.

Location: 
Yosemite National Park is world renowned for its giant granite walls, waterfalls, sequoias, beautiful meadows, and snowcapped mountains. The Park encompasses nearly 750,000 acres of the central Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and is 94% designated wilderness. The elevation ranges from just under 2,000’ to just over 13,000’, and many ecosystems can be found within, including foothill chaparral, oak woodland, mixed conifer forest, subalpine meadows, and alpine fell fields. The Park hosts over 1,500 plant taxa and many animals, including special status, threatened, and endangered species. Yosemite is one of the most sought after climbing and hiking destinations in the world. Many additional recreational opportunities abound including botanizing, birding, fishing, swimming, and skiing.

Compensation & Benefits: 
• Wage: $21.00 hourly
• Paid personal leave, sick leave, and federal holidays
• Fully paid medical insurance premiums (health, dental, vision, prescription)
• Enrollment in a 401K retirement plan – fully vested on day one with up to a 4% employer matching contribution

Contract Timeline: 
• 63-week appointment beginning in summer 2023
• Full-time (40 hours per week)