Vegetation Monitoring Technician

The Great Basin Institutes Ecological Monitoring (EM) Program focuses on collecting monitoring data to inform conservation and land management in the Intermountain West, while providing emerging professionals opportunities to begin or enhance their careers. This program provides hands-on experience with terrestrial vegetation monitoring and ecological landscape assessments.

One component of the GBI EM program works in cooperation with the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) to implement NDOWs Vegetation Health Assessment (VHA) program. The goal of NDOW's VHA program is to provide ecological monitoring data to inform conservation planning and adaptive management decisions. This data is used by resource specialists and land managers to inform future resource management decisions focused on protecting Nevadas biodiversity and restoring productive terrestrial ecosystems to support wildlife.

For the 2025 field season, GBI is recruiting Vegetation Health Assessment (VHA) Technicians to work with NDOW and GBI staff. Each Field Tech will work under the supervision of a Crew Lead to characterize vegetation using VHA protocols, on various sampling sites across northern Nevada. Monitoring projects are predominantly located in sagebrush ecosystems and focused on post-fire restoration, habitat improvement, and baseline condition of sage-grouse habitat. This opportunity differs from other GBI Ecological Monitoring positions as the primary monitoring goal is to conduct long-term vegetation monitoring, excluding soil indicators.

During the first month of training, the typical schedule is five days on (Monday-Friday) and two days off. During field work, car camping for eight day hitches (Wednesday-Wednesday) in remote locations will be required, followed by six days off (Thursday-Tuesday). At the end of the field season, there are three weeks of office work, primarily focused on data QC.

Field work will include:

• Maintaining safety awareness and practices;
• Extensive 4x4 driving on unmaintained roads;
• Navigating off-trail to sampling sites;
• Establishing sampling plots and transects;
• Collecting vegetation data (including species inventory, forb diversity, species abundance, sagebrush shape, foliar cover, canopy gap, and herbaceous and woody heights);
• Making qualitative treatment assessments; and
• Taking photo-points.

Additional duties include:

• Regular communication with GBI support staff and agency staff;
• Participation in GBI and agency trainings;
• Using Field Maps and Survey 123 software to collect field data;
• Managing ArcGIS Online databases;
• Identifying plants to species using dichotomous keys; and
• Employing and managing extensive QA/QC data checks.

Timeline and Location:

• 4-person vegetation monitoring crew
• Based out of NDOW Field Office in Reno, Nevada
  • Crews will travel across Northern Nevada to monitoring sites on private, BLM, and/or USFS land, depending on the project.
• Duration: 21 weeks from early April August
  • Tentative start date: April 14th, 2025

Compensation:

• $19-21 per hour, depending on qualifications
• $150 bi-weekly housing stipend; untaxed, used at applicants discretion as housing is not provided
• $32.30 monthly cell phone stipend
• $41 camping per diem for every night in the field (up to 7 units in an 8-day work week)
• Affordable Care Act Compliant Health insurance including vision and dental provided at no cost to the employee starting the first day of the month following employment start date.
• Paid state holidays
• Paid personal leave, amount dependent on contract length

Minimum approximate Bi-weekly Compensation before taxes
Office: $1,670 (~$20.87 per hour)
Average Field: $1,957 (~$24.46 per hour)

• Experience, education, or a combination of both in botany and/or range management to meet the following:
  • Bachelors degree in botany, biology, ecology, or rangeland ecology or other natural resources with at least 9 semester hours in plant or biological sciences; AND/OR
  • A minimum of 1 year of field data collection identifying plants;

Technical requirements:

• Experience identifying plants in the field and using a dichotomous key;
• Experience conducting plant surveys using various monitoring protocols, including standard rangeland monitoring protocols, photo plots, and site observations;
• Experience with data entry and management;
• Ability to read, interpret and navigate using topographic maps;
• Experience navigating and collecting coordinates with hand-held GPS units;
• Experience safely operating 4WD trucks on paved and unpaved roads, often in remote areas on unimproved roads;
• Experience with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel);
• Experience creating maps and performing basic functions with GIS software; and
• Experience with Field Maps, Survey 123, and ArcGIS Online.

Additional requirements:

• Willingness and ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic setting, and to consistently enact high performance standards and a strong work and team ethic in support of the goals and objectives of the AIM program and the mission of GBI;
• Willingness to mentor and foster professional development for members of your crew;
• Possess a valid, state-issued drivers license and clean driving record;
• Familiarity with native and invasive plants of the sampling area and associated natural resource issues preferred;
• Ability to work productively independently or as part of a team to accomplish mutual goals;
• Ability to communicate effectively with team members, agency staff, and a diverse public;
• Ability to accurately complete administrative tasks on time i.e. timesheet, paperwork, etc.;
• Possess excellent organizational skills;
• Familiarity with best practices for field safety and Leave No Trace principles;
• Experience in and willingness to spend up to seven consecutive nights camping with no amenities in remote locations;
• Willingness to work irregular hours (e.g., early mornings, late nights); and
• Ability to work in harsh and rapidly changing environments, work in all types of weather conditions, traverse uneven terrain, carry upwards of 40 pounds in a backpack, and otherwise maintain good physical condition.