Watershed Restoration Crew Member

Title: AmeriCorps Crew Member – Watershed Restoration Crew 

Reports to: Crew Leader 

Location:  Crew will be based out of Chattanooga, TN, camping and serving within the Cherokee National Forest   

Start/End Date: 01/13/2025 – 05/02/2025 

Status: This is a full-time, seasonal, 16-week- 450-hour AmeriCorps National Service position  

Stipend: $600/week AmeriCorps living allowance, dispersed bi-weekly  

AmeriCorps Award: A $1,956.35 AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful completion of the program  

Other Benefits: Rigging training, Wilderness First Aid certification, Public Land Corps Hiring Authority Certificate (upon successful completion of hours) food & transportation provided while in the field overnight, uniform shirts, personal protective equipment, and other developmental opportunities as available  

Crew Structure: 1 Crew Leader, 1 Assistant Crew Leader, 4 Crew Members  

Southeast Conservation Corps:  
Engaging future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation’s lands through community-based service.  

Southeast Conservation Corps (SECC), a program of Conservation Legacy, is a non-profit, AmeriCorps-affiliated organization. SECC selects young adults, ages 18-30, up to 35 for veterans, to complete conservation service projects on public lands throughout the Southeast. SECC provides members with impactful opportunities through a unique set of programs that engage people in meaningful education and service to their communities and natural landscapes. SECC serves a diverse population that is representative of the Southeast, including youth, graduates, veterans, and a cross-section of ethnicities and income levels. SECC is also an active member of the AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team (A-DRT), and as such, selected crews may be deployed on Disaster response projects for up to 30 days.  

SECC partners with various land management agencies in Tennessee and throughout the Southeast region, such as the United States Forest Service, National Park Service, State Parks, and conservation-based non-profits. Projects vary but include trail construction and maintenance, ecosystem restoration, habitat restoration, fire fuels reduction, fencing on public lands, invasive weed removal, herbicide applications, and many others. The projects are manual labor based and most projects require a hike into and out of the project site daily carrying tools and a day pack.    

Crews will serve in frontcountry and backcountry locations in all types of weather conditions. Schedules may vary, but generally are 9 days on and 5 days off for camping crews. Project days are 10-hour shifts with scheduled breaks throughout the day. Depending on project and location, other schedule variations may be implemented. While the staff at SECC strives to provide consistency throughout the season, personal flexibility is expected and should be prepared for when entering the term as schedules, times, and project locations are subject to change per project needs.     

SECC is an independent, non-residential program. Crew Members are responsible for finding and attaining their own housing when not in the field. On-hitch crews prepare all their own meals and participate as a group to complete all necessary chores. Community/camp chores will be completed every evening, with many evenings including group discussions, conservation and/or corps related topics. The Crew Members must supply their own personal outdoor gear and equipment such as a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, day pack, multi-day pack, work pants, hiking/work boots, etc. SECC will provide group camp equipment, tools, protective gear and transportation between SECC Office and project sites.    

Service Project:  

Southeast Conservation Corps (SECC) and the Cherokee National Forest have partnered to host a Watershed Restoration Crew to perform advanced felling and rigging techniques. The crew will be based out of SECCs Chattanooga, TN office and travel to the Cherokee National Forest to primarily focus on the Citico Creek Watershed and other streams in the Cherokee National Forest. The crew will use chainsaws to fell selected trees and then utilize grip hoist rigging techniques to manually place the trees in pre-identified reaches of streams by the Cherokee National Forest Fisheries Biologists and Hydrologists. The crew will collaboratively aid in the restoration of aquatic habitats for native aquatic species by installing large woody habitat structures in streams of the Cherokee National Forest. Although orientations will be implemented, applicants with a strong background in chainsaw felling and rigging are encouraged to apply. 

Crew Life:   

SECC Members with SECC serve on a crew model variation of 4-6 other Crew Members and 2 Crew Leaders who provide project expertise, mentorship, training, and support for the success of all participants. Food is provided while in the field. Together, crew members collaborate to plan meals and complete all necessary chores (cooking, washing dishes, etc.). Most dietary restrictions can be accommodated if known ahead of time. Many evenings include group discussions on conservation topics.  When living on site, members will camp, travel, complete service projects, and eat as a crew. No drug or alcohol consumption is allowed during service-related travel at any time.  

SECC supports a culture of feedback and growth. Crew Members will set goals at the beginning of the season and review their performance through both self-evaluation and a review with their Crew Leader in the middle and at the end of their season. Evaluations will cover areas such as professionalism, responsibility and leadership, communication, engagement, productivity, safety, and equipment use. Crew Members will also be asked to evaluate their Crew Leaders’ performance, the overall program, and their experience at the end of their term. 

Hitch Schedule:    

This position will operate on a variable “hitch” schedule, but generally it will follow 9 days on and 5 days off for camping crews. Project days follow a 10-hour shift with scheduled time for breaks.  Applicants should be prepared to camp during hitches for the duration of the season, with lodging provided on a case-by-case basis if necessary. 

While the staff at SECC and partners strive to provide consistency throughout the season, personal flexibility is expected and should be prepared for when entering the term as schedules, times, and project locations are subject to change per project needs.      

Expectations of an SECC Corpsmember:   

• Expect to spend long days in a front country or backcountry location. Project days will include hiking and strenuous labor in remote settings in all weather conditions.
• SECC is a non-residential program, meaning crew members are responsible for attaining and paying for their own housing when not in the field.
• Crews prepare all their own meals while in-field and as a group complete all necessary chores. Community/camp chores will be completed every evening, with many evenings including group discussions on conservation and/or corps related topics.
• Crew members must supply their own personal outdoor gear and equipment such as a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, day pack, multi-day pack, work pants, hiking/work boots, etc. SECC will provide group camp equipment, tools, protective gear, and transportation between SECC office and project sites.
• While participating in a term of National Service, SECC crews engage in a variety of team dynamics, emphasizing respect for fellow members, partners, the public, and the land they encounter.
• SECC expects members to represent the program in a professional manner.
• Crew life will include our corps values of challenge, stewardship, dedication, community, integrity, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
• Members are expected to be timely, hardworking, flexible, and complete all functions of tasks assigned.

 Minimum Qualifications:      

• Must be between ages 18 and 30, and up to 35 if a military veteran.
• Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident and provide primary documentation to support this
• Must be cleared through an acceptable check of the National Sex Offender Public Registry, as well as state and federal Criminal History Checks
• Must have a high school diploma, GED, or agree to work toward attaining either during term of service (this is essential to obtaining and using the AmeriCorps Education Award)

Preferred Qualifications:   

• Current A Bucker USFS recognized chainsaw certification
• General comfort with and prior experience in outdoor environments.

Compensation:      
AmeriCorps members will receive an AmeriCorps living stipend of $600/week, dispersed biweekly. Upon successful completion of the term of service, AmeriCorps members will earn an AmeriCorps Segal Education Award to be used for student loans, qualifying programs/classes, or tuition for traditional Title IV accredited colleges.      

Participant Essential Eligibility Requirements   

Essential eligibility requirements for the program must be met. If you are unable to meet certain requirements, we may be able to assist you with some modification unless it alters the fundamental nature of the program, compromises the health and safety of participants or staff, or places an undue financial or administrative burden on the organization. These requirements are written the same for all positions and therefore may not apply directly to your particular position.  

Participation and Expedition Behavior   

• Serve effectively as a member of a team despite potentially stressful and difficult conditions. This may require problem-solving on an interpersonal or group level as well as a willingness to accept differences
• Contribute to a safe learning environment; no harassment of others for any reason.
• Willingness and ability to complete all aspects of the program including conservation projects, education, training, and national service. Members must commit to participating in all crew/team activities, including service days in local communities where applicable.
• Effectively communicate ideas and concerns as they arise directly to supervisors, colleagues, and organization staff.
• Have the cognitive ability to learn necessary skills and apply them to effectively carry out the service project requirements
• Appropriately represent the Program and AmeriCorps to the public and project partners at all times.

Safety and Judgment: 

• Effectively communicate danger to others in the form of either a warning of danger others may be encountering or a notification of personal distress, injury or need for assistance. You must be able to do so at a distance of up to 50 meters and in conditions with limited visibility or loud background noise such as darkness or high winds.
• Effectively perceive, understand, and follow direction by others so that you will be able to successfully execute appropriate and perhaps unfamiliar techniques to manage hazards. These directions may be given before the hazard is encountered or may need to be given during exposure to the hazard.
• Stay alert and focused for several hours at a time while traveling and serving n varied weather conditions
• Perceive and comprehend significant and apparent hazards, including those hazards previously identified by others.
• Respond appropriately to stress or crises.
• If taking prescription medications, participants must be able to maintain proper dosage by self-medicating without assistance from others.

Environmental Ethics: 

• Learn and practice ‘Leave no Trace’ techniques

Outdoor Skills and Fitness (where appropriate): 

• Learn and safely perform fundamental outdoor living, travel, and industry skills as appropriate to the project. Additionally, remain adequately hydrated, fed, and properly dressed so as to remain generally healthy and safe, avoiding environmental injuries.
• Live in a physically demanding, possibly remote environment for an uninterrupted period of up to several weeks. Conditions of this environment may vary significantly and may include severe and/or trying weather. The remoteness is such that it may require at a minimum one hour, but perhaps in excess of 12 hours, to reach the nearest advanced medical care.

Substance Free  

In accordance with a drug free environment, alcohol and drugs are prohibited while participating in AmeriCorps and program activitise and while on organization property.  

This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages.