Botany Technician-Lassen Forest

The Great Basin Institute is recruiting Botany Technicians to perform vegetation surveys within the Lassen Forest. These projects align with the Nevada Conservation Corps program’s mission to assist the USFS in enhancing forest resilience against worsening climate conditions and increased wildfire threats. Your work will directly improve forest quality, ensuring they thrive for generations.

Technicians will gain valuable experience with USFS processes, procedures, compliance measures, reporting, and technical skills. There may also be opportunities to explore additional disciplines such as archaeology, wildlife, hydrology, and recreation. These positions are crucial for protecting sensitive botanical species, contributing to USFS vegetation management, fuels reduction efforts, and supporting initiatives for healthy, productive, and resilient forest landscapes.

Fieldwork, conducted according to USFS protocols, will advance planning for management actions on National Forest lands. Botany Technicians will conduct botanical surveys to establish the distribution of targeted species and populations around designated project sites and access routes. Data from these surveys will inform mitigation measures to protect targeted plant species and vegetation communities considered habitats for designated wildlife. Specific duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Assist the Forest Botanist with botanical program management duties including:
  • Data Management
  • Map Creation Using ArcPro
  • Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plant Inventory and Monitoring
• Assisting with Project Implementations Including Invasive Plant Mapping and Treatment Activities
• Botanical surveys to determine species identity, population characteristics, environmental conditions, factors affecting vigor and extent of species and their habitat
• Lay out monitoring plots
• Photograph or collect specimens as directed
• Produce maps of survey areas
• Record, enter and summarize data
• Use botanical keys to identify plants
• May be asked to assist with reporting tasks

Contract Timeline:

• Tentatively: July - September
• Projects are weather dependent, therefore start and end dates vary according to local conditions and individual project needs

Location:
The Botany Technician position is in Lassen Forest, CA

Compensation and Benefits:
Wage: $25/hour. Full time, average 40 hours per week
Benefits include Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance at no cost, effective from the first of the month after employment begins. Paid Leave accrues at 4 hours for every 80 hours worked, starting from the first day of employment.

At least one of the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in botany, plant ecology, or a closely related field in the biological sciences, including coursework in plant taxonomy and/or systematics; OR
•  Experience conducting rare plant surveys and other botanical field work; OR
•  Six months of professional fieldwork experience.

Required: 

• Experience in plant identification and taxonomy either in school or work
• Capacity to collect and maintain field data in an organized manner that is easily understood and accessible to other resources staff; 
• Ability to communicate effectively, both written and orally, with a diverse audience;
• Possess a clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license;
• Ability to live and work in rural and remote field and office setting; 
• Physically fit to work outdoors, carry up to 50 pounds of personal and/or field equipment and withstand the rigors of a forested and/or high desert environment in all seasons.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of the flora of the Sierra Nevada and/ or Cascade Range on California
• Comfortable with noxious weed control; 
• Ability to understand, implement and adhere to established data collection, inventory, assessment and monitoring protocols; 
• Knowledge of ArcPro or ArcMap
• Ability to safely operate and maintain a 4WD vehicle on and off paved roads.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands, stand, walk, bend, and have specific vision abilities to include close and distance vision, and ability to adjust focus working with computer business equipment and other job/industry specific equipment. Ability to perform heavy physical labor. The noise level in the work environment is usually mid level.

The overall nature of the position is active in nature, requiring frequent physical effort and exertion. There is frequent exposure to environmental conditions such as heat, cold, and temperature changes while in the field.

Nevada Conservation Corps (NCC), a Program of The Great Basin Institute:
Established in 1999 as a federally-funded AmeriCorps program, NCC is a vital component of the Great Basin Institute's efforts in conservation. This 21st-century service corps harnesses the enthusiasm and dedication of youth and volunteers for resource management, focusing on land restoration and conservation internships. NCC offers extensive professional development opportunities for those seeking careers in conservation and land management. Celebrating diversity, the NCC assembles members and staff from varied backgrounds to effectively address the needs of Nevada's public lands and communities. It provides a platform for students and emerging professionals to make impactful contributions to the preservation of Nevada’s natural heritage, while also gaining invaluable experience in the field of natural resource management.

The Great Basin Institute (GBI):
Founded in 1998 at the University of Nevada, the Great Basin Institute is a leading interdisciplinary field studies organization, fostering environmental research, education, and service throughout the West. GBI specializes in applied research to support science-based management of public lands and is fervently committed to the promotion of scientific understanding through its field studies, conservation efforts, and public outreach. GBI is home to numerous influential programs, including the Nevada Conservation Corps, International Conservation Volunteer Exchange, Research Associate Program, Cultural Resource Program, Basin & Range Forestry, NEPA Services, Ecological Monitoring Program, and oversees visitor centers at Taylor Creek, Galena Creek, and the Tallac Historic Site, thereby expanding its reach and impact in safeguarding the region's natural and cultural heritage.

Disclaimer: Although the Company has attempted to accurately and thoroughly describe this position, the Company reserves the right to change the same, including to change, add to or subtract from the duties outlined, within the sole discretion of the Company, at any time, with or without advance notice.