The USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station and the University of Kansas are seeking three ORISE Fellows (postdocs and advanced graduate students) to assist with a recently funded project from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law titled: “Restoring with culturally significant plants to strengthen food webs for pollinators and Tribal community well-being.” Please feel free to share widely!

1. Landscape Assessment of Restoration Projects Fellowship
The participant will contribute to a project that will help reestablish and maintain relationships between Tribes and culturally significant plants, bees, and the entire ecosystem through knowledge-building and future restoration efforts that promote self-sustaining harvests. The project aims to improve understanding of how acres treated for restoration objectives affects the long-term sustainability, ecological integrity, and resilience of these landscapes, both increasing biodiversity and cultural resources. The goal of this postdoctoral opportunity is to be involved in a broad range of experiences and activities:

• Develop a GIS landscape assessment that identifies the extent of existing non-forest and open canopy restoration efforts on Federal and Non-Federal lands.

• Conduct a regional literature review of upland non-forested and open canopy restoration efforts, and assembling relevant datasets on vegetation surveys, pollinator surveys, and monitoring efforts.

• Coordinate a meta-analysis that includes questions related to culturally-significant plants and pollinator communities.

• Create restoration scenarios that prioritize lands to restore while estimating potential culturally significant plant and pollinator habitat resources.

• Contribute to the translation of results through developing prioritization decision-support tools, presentations, and synthesis reports.

This position is located at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

See https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/USDA-FS-NRS-2024-0194 for more information on eligibility, stipend and learning objectives

2. Integrating Indigenous Knowledge in Restoration Fellowship

The participant will contribute to a project that aims to co-produce knowledge with Tribal, community, and other partners to help restore grasslands, savannas, and related open canopy systems to Midwestern US landscapes. Project goals include reestablishing and maintaining relationships between Tribes and culturally significant plants, bees, and the entire ecosystem through knowledge-building and future restoration efforts that promote self-sustaining harvests. Activities anticipated for the fellow include:

• Assist with relationship-building and co-development of workshops with Tribes to identify restoration and research needs from Tribes and other landowners.

• Coordinate information on how Indigenous Knowledge has guided past restoration efforts, how it can guide future efforts, and identify potential barriers for implementing future restoration projects.

• Contribute to a database of restoration plants for non-forest and open canopy systems, and their pollinator, edible, medicinal and cultural value.

• Participate in virtual and in-person collaborative meetings to evaluate whether and how restoration efforts on non-forest lands have benefited culturally important plants and supported pollinators.

• Collaborate on developing presentations and reports.

This position is located at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

See https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/USDA-FS-NRS-2024-0195 for more information on eligibility, stipend and learning objectives

3. Restoring Culturally Significant Plants for People and Pollinators Fellowship

The participant will contribute to a project that aims to co-produce knowledge with Tribal, community, and other partners to help restore grasslands, savannas, and related open canopy systems to Midwestern US landscapes. Project goals include reestablishing and maintaining relationships between Tribes and culturally significant plants, bees, and the entire ecosystem through knowledge-building and future restoration efforts that promote self-sustaining harvests. Activities anticipated for the fellow include: 

• Coordinating logistics, project planning, and data management for the project 

• Assist with building relationships and co-development of workshops with Tribes  

• Assisting with field research  

• Assisting with developing presentations and reports 

This position is located at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

See https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/USDA-FS-NRS-2024-0196 for more information on eligibility, stipend and learning objectives.

This workshop will provide an overview and some depth into data and tools that are developed and widely used by the U.S. Forest Service: the Forest Inventory and Analysis database (FIADB), the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS), and TreeMap. The data and tools covered by the course are freely available to the public. Therefore, it is not necessary to be part of the U.S. Forest Service to use them; they are widely used by other government agencies, NGOs, academia, and private entities.

FIADB, FVS, and TreeMap can be used together to produce fine-grained simulations of forested land across all types and ownerships of the U.S. Participants will finish the course with a basic understanding of these data and tools, as well as how to explore and manipulate the data in a database and GIS environment.

March 28 + April 4, 11, 18, 25 (Thursdays) from 1-3 MDT! Please email courtney.king@western.edu to RSVP by March 14, 2024, and for more information including details about data/tools to be covered.

Limited to 12 spots! Current students, industry partners, and other aspiring forest data analysts -- we hope to see you there!

Visitor Use Management & Equity Planning Member - Denver Service Center Planning Division

Summary

American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the National Park Service, is seeking one Visitor Use Management & Equity Planning Member to contribute to projects alongside Denver Service Center Planning Division Staff.

About Build Up Technical Internship Program: This position is part of the Build Up Technical Internship Program facilitated by the Historic Preservation Training Center. The Build Up Technical Internship Program is working to expand and diversify the National Park Service workforce while addressing critical maintenance needs by providing professional experiences in technical fields to students and recent graduates.

For more information about the Build Up Technical Internship Program, please visit: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1098/build-up-internship.htm

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

Start Date: Early to mid May 2024 - flexible

Estimated End Date: 16 weeks after start date

*a 16-week minimum commitment is required *

Location Details/Description: The Denver Service Center, located in Lakewood, Colorado, is the central planning, design, and construction office of the National Park Service. The Center delivers services to National Park Service units across the country. This position is able to be completed in-person at the Denver Service Center, or is eligible to be fully remote.

For more information about the Denver Service Center, please visit https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1804/index.htm

Position Overview: The DSC Planning Division works to collaboratively advance the stewardship of resources and visitor experiences by providing servicewide planning expertise and products for parks and programs. This position would help advance visitor use management and resource protection by supporting innovative visitor use and resource focused planning projects. Additionally, this position will engage in organizational development focused on the branch's and division's efforts to integrate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) principles into our work culture, products, and services. The position will serve as an integral part of the visitor use management and socioeconomics team (VUM/SE) and will add capacity to a wide range of planning products and services.

The ACE member will serve as a project specialist to acquire a working knowledge and understanding of the National Park Service organization and its role in protected areas management. The member will gain experience in facilitating and documenting conversations with park staff to develop strategies towards more effectively and strategically managing park resources. In person facilitation and travel may be a component of this position. The member will have the opportunity to work with staff to help advance key aspects of the division's strategic plan.

This position will also assist the team in the further development of products and resources for visitor use management information sharing and communications for a wide audience. The position would likely include the development of accessible overviews and handouts, along with dissemination of case studies through updates to an interagency website. Another component of the internship would be to help further refine a database of indicators used for monitoring purposes. This database would make knowledge and lessons learned on this important step of the visitor use management framework more accessible to practitioners. These materials will be developed with a lens of inclusion and equity to provide high quality and detailed, yet widely understandable, visitor use management best practices to diverse audiences. The ACE member would also have the opportunity to participate in national and interagency workgroups related to visitor use management and socioeconomics, as timing allows. 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: 9am to 5pm MT, or core hours of 9am to 5pm in the member's timezone.

Position Benefits

Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $1,000/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

Direct Hire Authority: This position is classified as a DHA (Direct Hiring Authority) Internship. DHA positions target exceptional, current upper-level undergraduate or graduate students that are interested in pursuing careers with the NPS. DHA positions will be rigorous internships that develop the participant's technical and creative thinking abilities, leadership skills, and problem-solving capabilities.

DHA applicants will be involved in visitor use management and resource protection projects and be required to deliver a presentation to park leadership. After successful completion of the internship and all DHA program requirements, and after graduation from the member's degree program, the member will be eligible to receive DHA non-competitive hiring eligibility.

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. 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.

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. Specific training may include direct training from supervisors and mentors, reviewing existing written and recorded materials, observing work sessions, independent research, participating in team collaboration sessions and written feedback.

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 current and valid form of ID (will be required to provide copies of ID's upon hiring)

• 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:

• Competitive applicants for this position can hold or be pursuing a minimum of a Bachelor's degree and/or have relevant experience in subject areas such as visitor use management, socioeconomics, social sciences, land management, outdoor recreation, planning, tourism and hospitality, communications, and interpretation.

• Knowledge of visitor use management, socioeconomics, and justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion principles.

• Ability and willingness to work remotely and independently, participate on multiple project teams, present on topics, and facilitate conversations as needed.

• Deep interest in visitor use management, socioeconomics, social science, land management, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion principles.

Physical Demands, Work Environment and Working Conditions:

• Physical Demands: Requires frequent sitting, standing, walking, hiking, carrying, using hands to handle or feel, reaching with hands and arms, talking and hearing. Manual dexterity required for use of various tools, computer keyboard/mouse and other office equipment. Required to stoop, kneel, climb stairs, and/or crouch.

• Vision Requirements: Requires close, distance, peripheral and depth perception vision as well as the ability to focus.

• Weight Lifted or Force Exerted: Frequently moves up to 5 lbs., ability to move up to 5 pounds.

• Environmental: Mainly indoor, office environment conditions; indoor air quality is good and temperature is controlled.

• Noise Environment: Moderate noise such as in a business office with equipment and light traffic.

• Travel: This position may require domestic travel.

Environmental Conditions/Hazards: The ACE member(s) may encounter environmental conditions/hazards including extreme heat or cold, rocky terrain, swamp or wetland conditions, biting insects, and potentially dangerous wildlife. The member is expected to conduct duties in a safe and orderly manner so as not to endanger self, fellow staff/members or resources.

To Apply: Please submit your resume, a cover letter demonstrating your interest and experience, and contact information for three professional/academic references to the online application page for this position here: https://usaconservation.applicantpool.com/jobs/. Early consideration will be given as applications are received. This position may close at any time. If you have any questions regarding this position please feel free to contact Member Coordinator, Historic Preservation Training Center Programs, Kyle Ellison at kellison@usaconservation.org

EEO: Employment with ACE is based upon ability, qualifications, attitude, and job-related factors. Every qualified employee or applicant has the same opportunity for recruitment, hire, training, transfer, promotion, compensation, demotion, termination, benefits, employee activities, and general treatment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, national origin, pregnancy, ancestry, citizenship status, genetic information (including of a family member), veteran or military status, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, medical condition, marital or parental status, political affiliation, ethnicity, hair texture or style, arrest record, caste, hereditary status, endogamy, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal law.

To learn more or apply click HERE!