Botany Survey Technician Lead – Payson, AZ

Botany Survey Technician Lead – AmeriCorps (1 opening)

Conservation Legacy Program: Arizona Conservation Corps

Site Location:

Payson Ranger District, Tonto National Forest, 1009 E. Highway 260, Payson, Arizona 85541

Term of Service:

• Start Date: 4/7/2025
• End Date: 10/10/2025
• 27 weeks
• AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 900 Hours

Purpose:

This is an AmeriCorps position with Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC), which is an AmeriCorps program of Conservation Legacy. The member selected for this position will be serving at the Payson Ranger District as an AmeriCorps member with Arizona Conservation Corps, and completing service projects for Tonto National Forest.

AZCC aims to continue the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930's, and is focused on connecting youth, young adults, and recent era military veterans with communities and conservation service projects on public lands. AZCC operates programs across Arizona that engage individuals and strengthen communities through service and conservation. AZCC has program offices in Flagstaff and Tucson.

Tonto National Forest Botany Program:

The Tonto National Forest is one of the most floristically diverse forests in the Southwestern Region – in large part due to the forest’s position across three distinct ecological sections; the Sonoran Desert, Tonto Transition, and the White Mountain-San Francisco Peak-Mogollon Rim. There are a diversity of ecosystems including Sonoran Desert, Arizona chaparral, Semi-desert grasslands, Pinyon Juniper woodlands and grasslands, Madrean oak woodlands, ponderosa pine forests, and mixed conifer forests. The forest also harbors many endemics, rare plant species, and unique plant communities.

The botany program on the Tonto NF manages our national forest native plant heritage including federally listed and sensitive plant species and their unique habitats – especially those identified as special interest areas such as Research Natural areas or Botanical areas. Botanists provide support to all other forest programs including recreation, range, engineering, wildlife, aquatics, minerals, special uses, invasive species work, forest products, timber, and fuels management projects. Botanists are actively involved and lead in habitat restoration efforts, endangered species recovery efforts, rare plant surveys and monitoring, vegetation sampling, and riparian monitoring.

Description of Duties:

The selected individual will support the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) on the Tonto by accomplishing required surveys for at-risk natives and invasives. This position will work with and act as team lead for a crew consisting of 2 Botany Survey Technician members and will be conducting rare plant surveying and monitoring with the Botany Survey Technician members. The Botany Survey Technician Lead will work closely with and report to the North Zone Botanist at the Payson Ranger District office in Payson, AZ. This position is mostly field-going but may include some office work such as setting up field equipment, compiling survey and monitoring forms, data entry, or other routine project tasks. This position will entail a significant amount of camping throughout the term, typically requiring 3 nights of camping in the field per week. The crew lead must be able to drive an AZCC or Forest Service vehicle to several different areas of the Tonto National Forest, hike up to several miles per day, off trail, carrying equipment throughout a “hitch”. Hitches are typically 10-hour days, 4 days on/3 days off. The crew usually camps multiple nights with loaned camping gear and share camp meals and chores. Crews are responsible for their own housing, transportation, and food between camping trips. Embrace of an unconventional schedule and a level of flexibility are necessary to be successful.

The crew lead and other crew members return to the Forest Service office in Payson at the end of each hitch for equipment and data management, unknown plant identification, and any required prep work for the next week.

The Botany Survey Technician Lead takes ownership of, supports, and manages the crew’s risk management, schedule, scientific integrity, efficiency, and professional development. Plans accordingly to reach survey volume targets by the end of the field season. Consistently exercises discretion and judgment. Coordinates and delegates field logistics, hitch plans, food budget scheduling, crew tasks, debriefs, and management of the crew’s equipment. Provides and asks for feedback to and from crew members regarding performance.

Essential Responsibilities and Functions:

• Work as a unit alongside the Botany Survey Technician members to accomplish plant surveys and monitoring for selected treatment areas and sensitive plant species (established by the forest botanist).
• Work with and report to the North Zone Botanist as required, serving as the main point of contact between the Forest Botanist and the Botany Survey Technician members.
• Communicates directions, project specifications, and constructive criticism to the crew members throughout the term of service.
• Sets an example of how to work hard with great enthusiasm, positive leadership, and ability to motivate crew members to work safely, efficiently, complete all assigned tasks, and collect good data.
• Record data for all rare species found at each survey site.
• Record data for other special status plants species at survey sites.
• Follow established Forest Service survey, monitoring, and data collection protocols.
• Cross-programmatic assistance, such as working on stream restorations, invasives removal, outreach events and recreation projects.
• Perform closeout work at the end of the field season including downloading data from tablets, complete all data entry for TESP and invasive species data, correct or update any errors, and upload data into FS database.

Qualifications:

• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien.
• At least 18 years of age.
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of elementary or secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant, and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award
• Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check.

• Applicants should be pursuing or have recently completed an undergraduate degree in botany, ecology, natural resource management, or a related field.
• Familiarity of the basic methods, techniques, and procedures necessary to conduct plant species inventories, surveys, and monitoring.
• Familiarity with identifying plant species in the field and working knowledge of using dichotomous keys or other resources to identify plant species (through applied experience or through coursework).
• Must have leadership skills /experience and ability to make sound decisions.
• Effective communicator: ability to follow direction, asks questions as problems arise, and works well with others.
• Possess mentoring skills, strong time-management skills, conflict resolution skills, and team building skills.
• Teamwork oriented with clear, direct communication and have strong interpersonal skills.
• Excellent judgment in assessing physical, mental, and emotional risk in self and crew members.
• Physically able to work regular and recurring physical exertion during fieldwork that may be moderately strenuous in nature, including long hours in the field (10–12-hour days at times), hiking over rough and uneven ground, exposure to high temperatures during the summer, recuring bending or crouching or stooping. Over-night camping in wilderness areas will be required at times.
• Possesses a good driving record, and ability to drive a 4-wheel vehicle on difficult roads.
• Ability to camp in field settings for up to 3 days per week.
• Follows all FS safety requirements including check-in and check-out procedures during fieldwork.
• Ability to conduct thorough and accurate botanical inventorying.
• Self-motivated and able to work both independently and small group with limited supervision after initial training period; must be capable of performing well in an office setting, as well as the field.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working as part of a small team, and the ability to work well with others.
• Experience in a leadership role.
• Experience using taxonomic keys to identify plants to species in the field, from photos, and from pressed specimens.
• Experience surveying and monitoring rare and sensitive plant species.
• Knowledge of Arizona flora and special status or rare plant species sufficient to locate species during vegetation inventories or monitoring.
• Skills in assembling or compiling data for analysis or reporting.
• Technical proficiencies in data collection methods, including using digital tablets or other electronic devices, making any necessary updates to datasheets in Microsoft Word, Excel, or other software.
• Experience working with GIS software; accessing data, creating layers, exporting data, conducting geo-spatial analyses, and producing maps.

Physical Requirements:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Time Requirements:

• Typically, this position is expected to serve Monday – Thursday, 40 hours per week, but exact service schedules may vary. A half hour lunch break will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service
• Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.

Orientation and Training:

• Member will receive an Arizona Conservation Corps Individual Placement Program New Member Orientation at start of service that includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities.

Benefits:

• Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $3,697.50 with successful completion of position.
• Living Allowance of $560 per week.
• Additional Benefit of $200 per week.
• Food allowance provided
• Public Lands Corps Certificate*
• Healthcare Coverage provided by The Corps Network and Cigna
• Childcare Coverage
• Qualifies for Student Loan forbearance and Interest Payment reimbursement through AmeriCorps

• To be eligible for a Public Lands Corps certificate, members must be between the ages of 18-30, or up to 35 if a military veteran, inclusive, at the time the individual begins the term of service and must complete 640 service hours or more to qualify.

Evaluation and Reporting:

As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.

Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.

Supervisor Name and Contact Information:

This position reports to Kenda Svoboda with Tonto National Forest’s Payson Ranger District

To Apply:

Please submit a resume and cover letter along with the online application at https://azcorps.org/ip-positions.

If you have questions, contact AZCC’s Individual Placement Coordinator Preston Sands at psands@conservationlegacy.org.

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse professionals and encourage members of diverse groups to apply. 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.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with AmeriCorps requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.