River Assessment and Restoration Assistant – Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership, American Rivers

Organizational Background:

American Rivers is the leading organization working to protect and restore the nation’s rivers and streams. Rivers connect us to each other, nature, and future generations. Since 1973, American Rivers has fought to preserve these connections, helping protect and restore more than 150,000 miles of rivers through advocacy efforts, on-the-ground projects, and the annual release of America’s Most Endangered River®. Headquartered in Washington, DC, American Rivers has offices across the country and more than 355,000 supporters, members, and volunteers nationwide.

American Rivers’ California Region staff has been at the forefront of major river restoration and protection efforts including the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, restoration of headwater meadows in the Sierra Nevada, the historic Klamath River dam removals, and the integration of river ecology in the redesign of California’s flood management system. Through our Regional Office in Nevada City, we are addressing several technical, institutional, and communication needs faced by the river conservation community. American Rivers works closely with many government, conservation, and recreation groups in California to restore rivers, floodplains and meadows that have been harmed by hydropower dams poor water quality, fish passage barriers, historic land use and other ills.

Number of Member Positions at this Site: 1

Site Supervisor’s Name(s) and Title(s): Matt Freitas, Director California Headwaters Conservation

Position Description:

The River Assessment and Restoration Assistant will gain project management, restoration, assessment and outreach skills and experience on a diversity of projects at American Rivers. Assessment experience will include field work as well as desktop methods. Field assessment will include vegetation, groundwater, hydrology, fuel loading, water quality, geomorphology/topographical surveys, and other biological assessments conducted in Sierra streams and high-elevation meadows. Desktop assessment will include GIS analysis, literature reviews, and SNAP 2022-23 Position Description research on best management practices. The member will assist with field monitoring, data analysis, presentations, and writing.

The member will gain experience with a variety of watershed restoration, protection and outreach projects. Our meadow restoration projects are at multiple stages of implementation, from initial assessment and prioritization to construction, and the AmeriCorps member will assist with and gain exposure to each phase of restoration. American Rivers is currently managing several meadow restoration projects, each with different needs, including pre- and post-implementation monitoring, report preparation, data analysis, etc. The forest fuels management and road management service will involve identifying new projects, monitoring fuel reduction projects, and developing priority sites for road repairs and decommissioning to reduce road-related erosion that impacts the local watershed. The AmeriCorps member will also help with outreach for the American Rivers’ California Regional office working with staff in the CA and National office to develop outreach materials specific to river and watershed conservation in California.

The AmeriCorps member will be encouraged to take on leadership of one or more projects with the goal of gaining in-depth experience in restoration project management and implementation. The particular focus project(s) will be decided upon once the member has more knowledge of American Rivers’ program areas and it becomes clear where enthusiasm, aptitude and need overlap best.

Site-Specific Training Provided:

The 2024- 2025 River Assessment and Restoration Assistant will serve closely with the Headwaters Conservation team in the planning, design, implementation and evaluation of a range of projects focusing on rivers and watersheds. The member will also serve closely with staff and AmeriCorps members at the South Yuba River Citizen’s League (SYRCL) on a few of their nearby monitoring and restoration projects. Member service projects in the Sierra will include:

• Sierra Meadow Assessment and Prioritization for Restoration including
  • American and North Yuba watersheds
• Sierra Meadow Restoration and Monitoring including
  • Monitoring and Restoration of Faith Valley Meadow
  • Monitoring and Restoration of Log Meadow
  • Monitoring and restoration of Grouse and Pickel Meadows
  • Monitoring of Wilson and Calf Pasture Meadows
  • Monitoring of Ackerson Meadow
  • Monitoring and restoration of priority meadows in the American, Walker, and Pine Creek Watersheds
  • Monitoring of Truckee watershed meadows
• Forest fuels management projects including
  • Monitoring the Hoyt-Purdon fuel reduction along the South Yuba River
  • Identifying additional fuel treatment projects in the Sierra Nevada
• Outreach for American Rivers California Regional Office
  • Assisting with communications materials including blog posts, website updates, and project tracking updates
  • Tabling at local outreach events

Members will be trained on field assessment and restoration methods by AR staff as they apply to specific projects. Assessment methods may include the Meadow Condition Scorecard, stream flow, groundwater, water quality, forest fuel loading, beaver dam surveys and vegetation surveys. Restoration methods may include willow staking, invasive removal, native plantings, and other SNAP 2022-23 Position Description meadow-specific restoration techniques. Members are also encouraged to identify trainings/conferences of interest – scientific, field skills, professional development, etc.

Things to Note:

American Rivers is a national nonprofit organization and you will be serving in the California office, in Nevada City, CA. At American Rivers, your Sierra service will always be placed in the larger context of what’s happening in river conservation nationwide. We are serious about the professional development of our SNAP members, and all of our SNAP alumni have gone on to either government or nonprofit environmental work or graduate school. Office culture is fun and social (picnics, river trips) and professional. Field work is concentrated in the summer in high alpine meadows and river headwaters. Nevada City is a small, vibrant foothill town with an active local food movement, great access to whitewater, biking, hiking, etc. and two other SNAP host sites.

Desired Qualifications:

• Study or interest in river science
• Bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences, natural resources/planning, geomorphology, or related field OR one year’s experience in natural resource restoration
• Experience in field studies and stream sampling
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Interest in social networking, blogging, and web communication
• Knowledge of GIS software
• Interest in/ability to participate in multi-day trips in the field, including camping

Website: americanrivers.org

Position Location: Nevada City, CA

American Rivers’ California Regional is located in Nevada City, a beautiful and historic foothill community. In addition to being a well-preserved historic mining town, it is a vibrant, thriving community, and entertainment hub of the Sierra Nevada foothills. At the gateway to the Tahoe National Forest, Nevada City offers fantastic hiking, road and mountain biking, and water recreation, not to mention world class skiing and snowboarding just an hour’s drive away. The Wild and Scenic South Yuba River is just minutes outside of town and offers great hiking in the winter and amazing swimming holes in the summer.