Restoration Crew Leader

Employment Period: To begin mid-late April

Work Location: Based out of Asheville, NC (mostly work in Western North Carolina)

Starting Salary: $20/hour, 40 hours per week. Largely weather dependent work especially during the winter months.

Mission Statement: EcoForesters is a non-profit professional forestry organization dedicated to conserving and restoring our Appalachian forests through education and stewardship.

Position Description: The aim of the Forest Restoration crew is to assist landowners with the stewardship practices of their forests primarily through the control of nonnative invasive plants, often with the use of herbicides and hand tools. Other crew projects include occasional forest stand improvement, trail work and native planting work. The Forest Restoration Crew leader will be directly supervised by the Stewardship Director and will be the primary on site supervisor of the restoration technician crew, strategically controlling invasive plants and conducting other forest restoration work on private, public, and conserved lands. This is challenging but rewarding outdoor work. Your work will be contributing to the ecological health of the forests of western North Carolina.

Primary Job Duties: Be available to independently run the day-to-day field operations of the forest restoration crew for 5 days out of the week, unless a time-off request has been communicated to and approved in advance by Stewardship Director who can be available to step in and run the crew as needed.

 Duties include:

• Supporting, supervising, and training technicians on the crew.
• Being the primary communication hub for the crew regarding daily meet time/meeting locale/weather updates (sending out the evening group text message).
• Driving the EF work truck to and from project sites.
• Coordinating and communicating crew purchase needs with the Stewardship Director.
• Keeping as needed inventory of chemical, tools or other gear needs and relaying pertinent information to the Stewardship Director.
• Prepping the EF work truck with enough supplies & water for herbicide mixing operations at the end of each day (as needed).
• Keeping track of daily field work completed (photos, crew hours, herbicide use and Avenza Maps area documentation) and reporting this information to the Stewardship Director.
• Occasionally assisting with taking EF truck in for fuel ups or mechanic maintenance needs.
• Occasionally attending pre-project site visits/scouting missions with the Stewardship Director (as needed).
• Speaking directly to landowners and neighbors who may have questions/concerns and relaying any questions or concerns that you feel unable to answer, to the Stewardship Director or appropriate EcoForesters Staff Member.
• Participate in a weekly or bi-weekly check in (phone or in person, typically Friday afternoon but this is flexible) with the Stewardship Director to discuss upcoming projects and weekly work progress.

Requirements:

• Must be able to maintain a high standard of safety for self and the crew while in the field or on the road; being aware of environmental surroundings and road conditions, crew well-being and morale, and appropriate tool and pesticide use.
• Experience in forestry, farming, conservation, ecological restoration, landscaping, or similar outdoor job.
• Must be proficient in identification of invasive plant species and native look-a-likes and have experience in the identification of Southern Appalachian tree, shrub, and herb layer species.
• Must be comfortable with mixing and applying herbicides and insecticides safely and correctly for non-native invasive species control when/where appropriate.
• Has, or is willing to be trained to obtain, a North Carolina Commercial Pesticide Applicator’s license.
• Must be capable of physically strenuous field work in remote locations (usually within several miles of road), on difficult terrain (steep, mountainous, thick understory vegetation) in adverse conditions (hot, cold, or rain).
• Must be able to assign strategic and specific instructions and capable of planning a field workday specific to that property, target species and work methods.
• Must be able to problem solve, produce solutions when circumstances change, and ask for help when needed.
• Must be approachable, communicative, professional, able to work well with others, maintain a positive attitude, be flexible with changing circumstances, and able to have fun!
• Must be adept at using a compass, GPS, and reading maps to navigate self and crew through the forest
• Has their own cell phone, email access and vehicle.

Preferences:

• Working towards, or has, a degree in forestry, natural resources, or a related field.
• Experience using herbicides and other pesticides.
• Has experience and knowledge of Southern Appalachian Forest systems and their management.
• Has or is interested in obtaining Wilderness First Aid Training.
• Chainsaw operation experience/training from a legitimate professional outfit (i.e., college course, conservation corps, previous job training, etc.) or is willing to receive this training.