Recreation Technician – Inyo National Forest

Summary

American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with Inyo National Forest, is seeking TWO Recreation Technicians to work alongside Forest Service Staff.

For more information about ACE, please visit: www.usaconservation.org.

Start Date: May 13, 2024

Estimated End Date: September 27, 2024

*a 20-week minimum commitment is required *

Location Details/Description: Inyo National Forest

Mammoth (Town of Mammoth Lakes Duty Station), CA [1 member]

White Mountain (Bishop Duty Station), CA [1 member]

The Inyo National Forest is a large, complex forest, encompassing about two million acres in

California and Nevada. It contains several natural features of national and international interest. There are nine wilderness areas and six research natural areas, as well as the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, and Mt. Whitney – the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. Diverse geologic features, combined with the elevational extremes and attendant wide range of climatic conditions, results in tremendous floristic diversity on the Forest, with vegetation communities ranging from desert scrub, sagebrush scrub, and pinyon woodland, to Jeffrey pine, lodgepole pine, and alpine habitats. Mammoth Lakes and Bishop are both premier locations for outdoor recreation in California. These opportunities include backpacking, fishing, hunting, hang gliding, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, cycling, mountain biking, photography, rock climbing, trail running, off-highway vehicle exploration, and horseback riding.

For more information about the Inyo National Forest, please click here.

Position Overview:

• Performs minor maintenance of developed and dispersed recreation area facilities, including campgrounds and trailheads (cleans restrooms, cleans campsites, maintains fire-safe areas, paints picnic tables and bulletin boards, repairs signs).
• Provides excellent customer service by answering questions and assisting visitors.
• Performs patrols of the campgrounds, trailheads, OHV areas and dispersed sites to ensure they are well maintained and fix or report problems as they occur.
• Coordinate campground needs with hosts
• Work on projects with volunteers groups or other cooperators
• Collects fees and may assist in the management of group reservations.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Perform backcountry work, implementing resource projects
• Join wilderness rangers for overnight trips in the wilderness, gaining knowledge and interacting with public
• Develop and submit reporting on ways to enhance the recreational experience of our visitors
• Join other staff for career and educational experiences pertaining to your field of interest

This individual placement is meant to facilitate professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with professionals. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups.

Schedule: Mon-Fri, 8:00am – 5:00pm

Position Benefits

Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $720/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

Public Land Corps Hiring Authority: Members serving under this agreement may be eligible for a federal hiring authority upon completion of their term of service and 640 hours of service. If the duration of a PLC-eligible term is not long enough for Members to accrue 640 hours of service (~16 weeks), the total hours served at the completion of the term may be eligible to be combined with hours accrued from another PLC-eligible term to meet the 640 hours requirement. PLC projects also include specific eligibility requirements such as age and citizenship. Please contact ACE staff with questions about eligibility, or view general information online: https://www.usaconservation.org/epic/#eligibility-requirements.

Housing: ACE members will be accommodated in Forest Service barracks at no cost for the duration of the term.

Relocation Allowance: ACE members will have access to up to $500 to be used for eligible relocation expenses. Further details regarding distribution of these funds will be provided during the interview process.

Gear Allowance: ACE members will have up to $300 to spend on eligible gear purchases. Eligible gear for this position must be approved by ACE staff prior to purchase.

Provided Training/Orientation: ACE members will receive position specific training and an orientation outlining ACE policies and procedures, clear guidance on prohibited activities, and networks for support.

Qualifications

Required:

• Members must be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident, as required by U.S. government contracts
• Willing and able to represent ACE and the partner organization in a professional, positive, and enthusiastic manner.
• Ability to be both self-directed/work alone, and be a positive, contributing member of a group.
• A valid driver’s license and an insurable driving record (documentation to be provided upon request).
• Willing to undergo and must pass the required two-part criminal history check.
• Ability to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
• ACE Members will need to complete bi-weekly timesheets, beginning of term feedback forms, end of term evaluations and for longer terms, a mid-term evaluation.
• To learn more about eligibility requirements, please visit our website https://www.usaconservation.org/epic/#eligibility-requirements.

Preferred:

• Public outreach and making contacts with visitors is a key component of this role contact is to educate visitors in recreation management and to obtain voluntary compliance with laws/regulations, to resolve problems, and to provide assistance to forest visitors. Contacts will include dealing with some persons and/or groups that may be uncooperative, hostile and who have different viewpoints
• Members must have a high fitness level and be comfortable in various indoor and outdoor work environments, and at times adverse weather conditions
• First Aid/CPR Certification desired; training may be provided
• Have working knowledge of recreation rules and regulations to assist forest visitors, and to detect and report violations
• Have demonstrated skills and knowledge of basic procedures for cleaning and maintaining recreational areas, facilities and/or trails
• Experience and/or ability to learn the use of a GPS unit
• Be able to lift up to 50lbs